We asked Elena-Maria Klopries, senior researcher at RWTH Aachen University’s Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management, to share her experience in licensing the Hydropower Biological Evaluation Toolset (HBET).
What kind of work do you do related to fish passage and/or hydropower?
Klopries: At the Institute of Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources Management at RWTH Aachen University, we have been doing work on the topics of hydropower and fish protection for over 20 years. This includes analytical analyses, fish behavioral studies in laboratory flumes, computational fluid dynamics of turbines and fish ways, as well as field studies with Sensor Fish to meausure the physical stressors during turbine passage. As a research institute at a university, we have several partners in industry and research we cooperate with.
Why was the institute interested in using the Hydropower Biological Evaluation Toolset (HBET)?
Klopries: Using Sensor Fish in a field study means generating a lot of datasets with tens of thousands of data points. Although it is possible to post-process this data independently and to your own needs and ideas, HBET gives you a very good starting point for your analysis. It is a well-proven tool to get insight into your data visually, as well as by creating key parameters for your data interpretation and statistical analysis.
How has the institute used HBET?
Klopries: We used HBET to analyze and interpret Sensor Fish data we collected at a hydropower plant in Germany and to combine the results from the biological evaluation tool with data from live fish tests at the same plant. We hope to promote the use of autonomous sensors for biological turbine evaluation in future monitoring projects with these results.
How have you worked with the HydroPASSAGE team to understand how to use and apply HBET?
Klopries: I have known some of the HydroPASSAGE team for a couple of years and got the information that they are offering a free workshop on HBET and Sensor Fish. The team was quick, friendly, and flexible in arranging a prompt date for the workshop. All questions about the trial license and the content of the workshop were clarified in advance. I received an individualized two-day workshop from the team, in which I could get to know all aspects of HBET, and we clarified my individual questions point by point. The team took an extraordinary amount of time to explain everything to me in detail and to make sure that I understood everything and could use HBET in a meaningful way in the future. I am very grateful for this kind of support and consider myself well prepared for future use of HBET and hydropower evaluation.