Salmonid habitat modelling studies and their contribution to the development of an ecologically acceptable release policy for Kielder reservoir, north-east England

Kielder Reservoir regulates the Rivers North Tyne and Tyne. It provides a regular supply of water for downstream users, supports abstractions for a major water transfer scheme and provides hydroelectric power (HEP). Kielder's release regime typically alternates between a 1.3m³ s^-1 compensation flow and 10-15 m³ s^-1 HEP releases of between 3 and 7 days in duration. Occasionally releases of up to 30 m³ s^-1 are made for the purpose of encouraging fish runs, for recreational events or to help in water quality management. The impacts of this release regime on Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and brown trout (S. trutta) habitat at four sites on the North Tyne are assessed and alternative regimes, designed to minimize impacts, are presented. There is no evidence that the compensation flow results in extreme loss of instream habitat. A discharge of 1.3 m³ s^-1 ensures that water is maintained over most of the channel area at sites representative of upper, middle and lower sections of the North Tyne. This discharge lies above breaks in slope of respective site discharge versus wetted area curves; thus, disproportionate increases in discharge wouldbe needed to increase wetted area. Simulations using the Physical Habitat Simulation System (PHABSIM) suggest that the compensation flow provides between 50% and 90% of the maximum possible weighted usable area (WUA) for juvenile (0+) salmonids. During HEP releases, juvenilesalmonid habitat (WUA) apparently falls to between 20 and 40% of site maxima. Newly emerged juvenile fish (March and April) are most affected by HEP releases because they are relatively small (25 mm in length) and water temperatures are relatively low at this time of year. During March and April, critical near-bed displacement velocities for newly emerged fish may be exceeded across large parts (80%) of sites up to 8 km downstream from Kielder Reservoir; fish would either be displ [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]