Poster Presentation International Conference on River Connectivity (Fish Passage 2018)

The invention of fish escalator (#226)

Manuel Enrique Posada González

THE FISH LADDER / FISH ESCALATOR

A new system is developed that respects the water creatures, taking advantage of hydroelectric energy and without causing damage to the environment. This invention is based on the screw without end of Archimedes and assumes the real possibility of postage of obstacles in rivers, facilitating the rise and descent of fish without problems or damage to their physical ability. The travel along the endless screw does not entail any effort for them. Likewise, the device generates electrical energy during the descent of the fish, in this way its operation will be self-financing without any charge for the administration or the owners of the concession, since it produces an economic return through the sale of the generated electric power. The idea was patented in Spain and PCT international treaty.  The fish lift is achieved by the mechanical drive by electric motor, an endless screw or Archimedes, located in an adapted channel, with the axis inclined with respect to the horizontal, which rotates on its axis clockwise, allows raise the water of the rivers, including the fish existing in it. The operation of raising the fish is done to fulfill their desires of upward migration. It is set in motion by operators who constantly monitor this need. The descent of the fish is achieved through the passage of water with the fish through the endless screw, which inducing a levorotatory turn in the screw, is used to produce electrical energy by the same electric motor operating as a generator. The compliance with the legal ecological flows, the electricity generation allows financing the investments and maintenance costs of the system, without additional costs for the concessionaire of the use of water, and for the Administration.