How Fish Survive Hydro Turbines

[@PracticalEngineeringChannel]

🌌Get Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: go.nebula.tv/Practical-Engineering 📖Signed copies of my book are back in stock at store.practical.engineering 🌊Huge thanks to Pacific Northwest Nation Laboratory and the US Army Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District for hosting my team and sharing the incredible work they do.

[@HubertHuijbregts]

I would like to subscribe to Nebula but it only takes payments through a credit card. Couldn't find another payment option like Paypal. I don't have a cc anymore.

[@pat8988]

This video ought to be shown in the dam’s visitors center!

[@attilajuhasz2526]

Hi Grady! Another awesome and inspired video, well done. I say this with the greatest respect for you and tremendous love for your documentary style: Please, please stop saying 'impact' and 'impacts' when you mean influence, effect, result etc. With such a rich source of descriptive words in English, it's insulting to hear an engineer (engineering communicator, no less!) sound like a marketing executive! All the best, from an Australian fan!

[@tanelviil9149]

at 3:14 bro that seems highly dangerous.. anything caught in that rotating thing and its done. Why are there no protective glass or anything there, so someone's hair or what ever cant possibly get in there ? I hope someone doesn't bring their kids to work.. a little kid putting their hand there and the kid will be instantly dead.

[@iamdmc]

what do you guys have against turbans? It's an important religious symbol for some... and what's this juvenull juvenile business?

[@PNNL]

Thanks for coming to PNNL and sharing our hydropower and fish passage science with the world!

[@takingbacktheplanet]

o hey! either it's a russian troll farm or the actual PNNL! 😂lol jk - this was an amazing video, thanks for having Grady over, been following him since his beginnings basically and he sounds like not only a sound and smart and savvy engineer, but a pretty great guy (and extremely valuable member of society) in general also 😃 !!

[@workingguy-OU812]

Thank you, PNNL, so much for helping Grady teach us about the improvements. Some of us are so old school that the last updates we've seen on fish moving around dams included the old tanker trucks full of water and fish dumping them above the dams.

[@Alex_skittles1]

Bruh the real PNNL didn’t get the attention

[@AtomicBuffalo]

Thanks for sharing so much dam knowledge with Grady and us. I hope more folks check out your own channel to see what you do beyond dams.

[@beaub152]

What if you guys put a decoy predator above the juvenile pipe exit to scare away more birds of prey?

[@jasongoodrich9055]

I once wrote a letter to the Army Corps of Engineers in grade school about how juvenile salmon got down. I was doing a science project about some people wanting to have the Snake River dams removed. I was so excited to get a letter back from an engineer answering my question.

[@50potatoes]

its not just some people. there are real and powerful arguments for getting those dams removed

[@jasongoodrich9055]

This was in the 90’s. There were not that many people in favor of removal. Even now it is a small group pushing for removal. But my comment was really about an experience I had with engineering as a kid that really meant a lot to me. There is no reason to make it political. Just like there is no reason to make an issue as complex as dam removal political.

[@50potatoes]

@@jasongoodrich9055 nobody mentioned politics but you. i was simply stating there is more to the argument than “some people” and you shouldn’t discredit their valid opinion

[@jasongoodrich9055]

I never even expressed a position on the topic. I am simply sharing a positive and impactful experience with engineering from my childhood that related to the topic of the video.

[@cadthunkin]

I still cannot figure out why they have a bunch of train drivers in the military.

[@JustinDrentlaw]

We seriously need an extended cut, "second channel" video about your tour through the dam. I can not emphasize this enough.

[@EmmaHopman]

Ooh that would be great.

[@jaymiddleton4663]

Calm down buddy

[@thecrowcook]

@jaymiddleton4663 YOURE NOT HIS SUPERVISOR!

[@goosenotmaverick1156]

​@@thecrowcooktoo right, a supervisor would not have such a grand idea!

[@fightthepowerman]

​@goosenotmaverick1156 Yes comrade. Smash unjust hierarchies.

[@geoffreystevens2916]

I believe that videos like this increase the quality and intelligence of humanity. Thank you for your services.

[@far2ez]

@Based_transition_Clocker The sort of person who finds a video like this interesting is just someone who is fascinated by curiosities. On the other hand, homeless are starving on the street while taxpayer dollars go to getting lamprey where they need to go. While the video overall was cute, it never went into the economics of why it's actually more cost-effective this way. So bears upstream won't go extinct - how much tourism revenue are they bringing to Washington, anyway? What's the ecosystem look like? Who are the actuaries that determined that the ramifications of screwing over the salmon outweigh millions on making a fish bible? Real intelligence considers more than just a fascinating curiosity at hand, but broader implications. Without an actual discussion here as to what those implications are and what work was done to consider them, this is just a puff piece for the location and a feel good place for the humanity behind it. You don't need to be a genius to think dams are interesting, but you need to be pretty arrogant to consider this kind of puff piece to be an intellectual pursuit.

[@Max-hn5fs]

@@far2ez One very low detailed economic reason for all this: If salmon can't get upstream, they can't reproduce. If they can't reproduce the population will go down. Fishers that will catch salmon will have a harder time and most likely get restricted in how much salmon they are allowed to catch to not make them extinct. And thus salmon will get more expensive.

[@warpdriveby]

Totally, now please tell us you also know how to get the other 95% of people to watch content like the group that seeks out this kind of content

[@bigchooch4434]

@@far2ez Brother YOU are the one who is pretty arrogant.

[@andrewomalley2688]

As Fish biologist who works closely with hydropower dams, I've enjoyed learning some of the principals of engineering and hydraulics from your videos. Its great to see some videos come full circle back to what us biologists can teach the engineers so we can all work together to come up with better solutions.

[@rjcoady21]

I don't know how prevalent it's story is, but the power canal in Sault Ste. Marie has an interesting story for both sides. It's been making power for a long time and currently is part of a project to raise sturgeon and they have/had fish cams outside the sluices.

[@paulfraley7990]

Forgive the hubris of the following question: why would they accommodate lampreys? Yes they’re native there… educate me (sorry, I’m asking this without looking it up first).

[@eric13hill]

Thanks for coming to PNNL! It is great that you came here.

[@DaneJessen101]

PNNL is SO cool! It's absolutely amazing what the National Labs do to make our lives better. The same goes for Grady, 100%! Keep up the great work everyone 👍

[@gus473]

Thanks for having him and crew! 😎✌️

[@ninjaswordtothehead]

As a layperson, thank you all for allowing us some insight into some of the inner workings of something so important.

[@clayel1]

a comment from themselves!

[@hybridstoatdragon]

"Best dam tour guide Ive ever met". Thats one way to get around youtube trying to censor you to hell😂

[@BallBusta]

Not gonna lie, these videos where you go to locations and talk about the science and engineering behind everything are my favorite.

[@marc8223]

Thank you for not lying.

[@1.N.F.1.N.1.T.3]

Tom Scott core lol

[@jettrom609]

@@1.N.F.1.N.1.T.3for real

[@Elbereth42]

I didn't think you were going to lie until you professed your innocence.

[@AvallonYo]

He’s the new Tom Scott…

[@jarrodvonkchalee3821]

“Best dam tour guide I’ve ever met”. Well done

[@robertthompson3447]

Had to scroll down further than I expected to find this dam comment. 👍

[@AquaticGems]

That's an old joke from a long time ago. I can recall it being used in Chevy chases vegas vacation like 30 years ago when they're at the hoover dam

[@davidakridge2831]

I see what he did there!! 😂

[@bastiangugu4083]

I'm no engineer, but was always interested in this stuff. So glad I found your channel some time ago. I'm learning a lot, and sometimes things I didn't even think about. As I watch your stuff on Nebula, I always try to find your videos on YT afterwards and given them a thumbs up to heighten their visibility. More people need to know these things, even if only to really appreciate the work done by so many people in this field. Things most people take for granted and don't even think about.

[@oceancon]

As the FERC inspector of fish passage facilities at non federal dams here in the northeast US (retired), it was gratifying to watch the Corps efforts in trying to balance energy generation and natural resources at their power facilities. We do not have the size and scale of those facilities here so the fish passage designs are much smaller but no less important and much more varied. If you're a hydro guy you know its the only real renewable power resource. It's too bad the Klamath River projects could not be retrofitted similarly and instead just removed.

[@shmunkyman33]

2 questions: how do you end up in a job like that? It sounds really interesting, but your job and so many others are the kind of jobs you don't even know exist until you hear about them. The other question is what do you mean by hydro being the "only real renewable power resource"?

[@oceancon]

@@shmunkyman33Actually found my job through the NY Times (to coin a phrase)! The position was environmental protection specialist for the northeast region. As for why I say its the 'only renewable energy source', maybe I could qualify that statement as its the only real renewable energy source that meets all the needs: it has 1- constant availability, 2- established technology, 3- energy storage capability, 4- scalability and 5 -longevity. Hydro provides many energy attributes such as baseload and spinning reserve as well as dispatchability. Wind, solar and biomass not so much.

[@shmunkyman33]

@@oceancon That's fascinating! Thanks for sharing that!

[@Elemblue2]

This is the 22 minute answer to my how fish survive turbine question Ive been waiting for my whole life.

[@memed4509]

​@RNE33_search_TGno

[@newtybot]

I wont lie; I been kinda curious

[@DJ_POOP_IT_OUT_FEAT_LIL_WiiWii]

I would not survive it, my Wii Wii stucked in the turbine.

[@bubbleman2002]

@@DJ_POOP_IT_OUT_FEAT_LIL_WiiWii Is that Nintendo's new console?

[@Zurd33]

Same here but at the same time it's not the same on every dams. Most of them are ecologically destructing. This one in the video is, AFAIK, the latest and best.

[@f4rtsman425]

"Dammed if you do Dammed if you don't" -the fish

[@gregorholmes1837]

How much does the fish plan cost and what’s your reduction in power because of it ?

[@russianbear0027]

​@@gregorholmes1837 however much it costs it's much much less than the migratory fish going extinct would cost. As for power generation it doesn't seem to have a large impact per the video especially as new turbines that don't mulch fish are being deployed.

[@ryanreedgibson]

I'll be damned.

[@darealmrog]

​@@ryanreedgibson I don't give a dam.

[@bmanpura]

Dam jokes

[@A38]

Shoutout to ecologically-friendly civil engineering. All my homies respect the USACE

[@MonkeyJedi99]

I refill my ice trays on an angle to let the water fill all the spaces without splashing and making a mess. While I'm doing that that, I sing a song, "Fish ladder, a ladder for fish".

[@bc4065]

I'm an evil single-family/ multifamily civil engineer. I wish I would have gotten into something more ecologically friendly but there isn't much of that in Texas.

[@Tasz_]

Today I learned that fish don't read signs. Another great video thanks.

[@warlocc-paul]

He said "generally". This implies that some do.

[@StruggleButtons]

Dory could, just not very well.

[@donovanulrich348]

There was a woman who was upset the city put a deer crossing sign up. . . . . . . She was mad cuz the deer should be crossing in a neighborhood or residential place, not on a empty road with speeds over 35. . . . . . Baby girl, you're like 35 years old. Did no one tell you animals don't care about our signs and society, those signs are there for you're convince 😂

[@york2600]

As an Oregonian it's great to have one of your videos showing off how our dams work.

[@willstevenson4843]

"Best dam tour guide..." 😂 Well played Grady!

[@JoshuaC923]

😂😂😂 came here for this comment

[@ArmandoRamirez-yx5be]

Was gonna comment on this myself

[@shadowpenguin3482]

2:20

[@angelikalindenau943]

I am so thrilled to have found this video. Several years ago I worked on a project relating to the Ardnacrusha power station on the River Shannon in Ireland. Turns out that the fish pass was only built 60 years after the hydroelectric station began its work - with the result that most of the salmon and eels that used to travel far upstream to reproduce had fallen victim to the impossibility of getting over the hurdle. With the remedial work a hatchery was installed that eventually helped restock rivers in Ireland and abroad, e.g. the Rhine. That hatchery attracted me like a magnet and I followed the complete cycle - and fell in love with the hatchlings. Knowing that the whole business can be managed so much better now and the negative impact on the fishes reduced considerably gives me great joy.

[@takingbacktheplanet]

thanks for the excellent reply. x) 🤩

[@ottavva]

back in 2009 I saw the ''fish ladder'' in Pitlochry, Scotland, with a set of 34 cascading pools, enabling the inbound salmon to dodge the power dam - guess this is similar to what is shown here

[@zumabbar]

3:20 man i don't think i'd be able to hold myself from touching those spinning shafts lmao

[@paradox...]

Man imagine having your favorite hot wheels car with you there... I couldn't resist

[@Pow3llMorgan]

Tempting as it might be one should never. However unlikely, there _could_ be a burr that could nick you pretty bad. As a machinist I'll say this: Never touch the spinning things. In fact, don't even put your hands near them unless absolutely necessary.

[@tyttuut]

​@@Pow3llMorganbut i wanna :(

[@zumabbar]

@@Pow3llMorgan that's why I'm glad I'm nowhere near these bad boys 😂

[@TheDarklingWolf]

The intrusive thoughts would be strong, that's for sure.

[@Lizlodude]

The constant discussion of fish in a serious scientific context is amusing, but I think the animation in the background at 15:50 is my favorite. Also fish filters and fish pumps

[@SackamanjaroX]

Just wait till you find out about salmon cannons

[@me_smort5279]

and fish bible

[@MrNicoJac]

Lol, I didn't even see that, first time. Good catch!

[@baylinkdashyt]

8:26 - They need to point a webcam at that window, and put it up on their public outreach website; people love that kinda stuff.

[@jasonhurdlow6607]

There is a livestream already. Just do a search for it.

[@colonelfustercluck486]

In the commentary, he did mention that the fish window was online (live) and viewable by anyone who connects to it.... but I couldn't find any reference to that particular web address in this article.

[@mitchelldurward8863]

Grady is awesome. He's so passionate and wholesome. No one else could make me care about dams.

[@JustinDrentlaw]

Feels like a missed opportunity to say: No one else could make me give a dam.

[@OutbackCatgirl]

@@JustinDrentlaw opportunistic punsters unite!!! ✨

[@9HighFlyer9]

​@@bljdeep He's always had that delivery.

[@OutbackCatgirl]

@@bljdeep bruh god forbid men have any intonation in their voiceovers instead of the monotone you clearly prefer 🙄

[@jiversteve]

On KZbin you cannot be certain of your audiences level of comprehension. Brady has developed a technique that is understandable by a wide range of comprehension from young children to adults. It’s all about science communication. You probably don’t listen to the closing minutes of his presentation, that’s OK, but being a good science communicator is a skill that few people have.

[@marsrocket]

I love hearing about human beings using science and engineering to make life for fish easier. It’s a welcome change from everything else going on in the world these days. Hats off to the staff at PNNL.

[@AnonymousOtters]

Fantastic video. I'm a hydrogeologist working in WA on fish and hydropower infrastructure, and its super difficult to condense knowledge into usable tid bits that educate the public. These videos are a fantastic resource for us

[@saucerset12]

I've seen a lot of dam videos, but may be one of the best dam videos I've seen in a while. Lots good dam information while showing plenty of happy dam people. Great dam video.

[@Themostprofessionaldrunkdriver]

*you*

[@ninjawatchdog]

I saw this dam video in my recommended and thought that's a dam, good recommendation KZbin. And sure enough this dam video was packed full of this dam information about the dam fish.

[@wissamkadamani]

This cracked me up😂😂😂

[@pedrocruz4409]

Thanks, Grady! Love your channel! I think in a different life I would have been a “good” civil engineer ‘cause I’m entertained and fascinated by your videos. Great work!

[@ReinhardB100]

I like that somebody looked at that rotating deathtrap at 1:47 and said: "Eh, a simple railing should be fine!" X-D

[@Apostate_ofmind]

thats the safest rotating behemoth i have ever seen. the problem isnt the rotation, the problem is something getting caught in it. The surface is smooth so there is no risk of that.

[@notahotshot]

​@@Apostate_ofmind "The problem is something getting caught in it. The surface is smooth, so there's no risk of that." "Challenge accepted" ~ intrusive thought.

[@Apostate_ofmind]

@@notahotshot loll

[@JayVal90]

@@Apostate_ofmindUhhh that’s not true. A perfectly smooth rotating surface like that will pull things right along with it

[@Apostate_ofmind]

@@JayVal90 pray tell, what law of physic applies to a smooth surface that gets greased often to PULL things along? Because its not friction.

[@PurpaFur]

As a Hermiston local working in electric infrastructure, this is SUPER cool to watch! Thanks for coming out here!

[@elliotsmith9812]

Great show. I wish more people understood how complicated our civilization is. I once had the pleasure of attending a new product release for a PLC. Among the few hundred participants were people who ran water and sewage systems, electric grid engineers and technicians from the entire Eastern US. It was fantastic.

[@takingbacktheplanet]

yeah. i used to be pretty "hippie" about things, (you know - screw money, technology truly does/did/might not bring us much in the end, and peace and love and animals are great and all) but eventually the way too many of people over there thought just pissed me off. i try to understand and respect EVERY aspect of life, society and civilization now (and glad i did!), and while dams are dam' great, i am very happy to see endeavors like this one 😃.

[@elliotsmith9812]

@@takingbacktheplanetRight. If only we would all get high and stop F'n everything up. I have heard that for so many years.

[@tiberianexcalibur]

I’m still appalled at how people built tall skyscrapers that are still standing today.

[@diesel5357]

I love that you cover Hydro content, been working in Hydro ever since I left school 10 years ago and its my absolute passion, thanks for spreading awareness on efforts we make to make sure they're as environmentally friendly as possible whilst still providing electricity.

[@thoughtful_criticiser]

I have visited as tourist and been taken around as an engineer a 3.2GW hydropower station. When stood next to the turbine you don't so much hear the noise but feel. It vibrates through your entire body. Being shown around as an engineer I saw more technical areas where tourists never got to see. Unfortunately they closed the visitor centre during the pandemic and have demolished it.

[@MrYates67]

This must be overseas? I’ve worked at 3 of the top 8 power producing hydro facilities in the U.S as a mechanic, and the only one bigger than 3.2 GW is Grand Coulee.

[@mikaelabourque7090]

Thanks for coming and working with my husband and his team, it was great meeting you guys! This turned out great. 🎉

[@davewitter6565]

Practical Engineering. Maximize the performance and minimize the waste. Society needs a sustainable balanced alternative to cut, kill, dig and drill. I appreciate your efforts to educate and inform the interested.

[@pcmacd]

Awesome, awesome, awesomeness. You answered a zillion questions I had about fish migration and dams. I'm a degreed mechanical engineer, and did not feel talked down to, nor would a welder, plumber, electrician, housewife, grade school kid or carpenter for that matter. Absolutely excellent approach and tone. Perfect level of detail. I don't know how you do it. I've generated all manner of adult technical training, and I could not possibly have done such a well rounded job as well as you have, sir. You rock. I'm just sayin'... ...

[@andrewwilson1781]

I used to live in Umatilla Oregon which is just east of the dam and mcnary. I remember as a kid going to the little view room and watching all the fish swim by. So awesome to see this dam in a video!!

[@kappagrapes]

Aww, you're having so much fun when you give that intro line over the industrial sounds! It really makes me happy seeing people make videos about things they're passionate about and have fun doing it.

[@Phartonium]

I've been watching your videos for a few years now. Before, I never payed much attention to all the feats of engineering which surrounds us in evereyday life. You made me interested in them, and sparked a new joy in me when I pass by engineered structures everyday. Thank you from France, for your excellent work!

[@trevorhanlin4247]

"Best dam tour guide" NICE

[@davemo04]

😂

[@trevorhanlin4247]

@@davemo04 This is a great dam video.

[@WanderTheNomad]

Probably just a coincidence(cuz it's a common joke), but it reminds me of Percy Jackson.

[@trevorhanlin4247]

@@WanderTheNomad Which interation, the book, the movies or the most recent series? I have not read the books, my younger brother did and I later watched the movies with my own children. haven't watched the series past the first 30 min of the first episode.

[@WanderTheNomad]

@@trevorhanlin4247 The books, or really just one book from the initial series. I forget which one, but they were at a dam making this dam joke 😆 and it kept going over one character's head.

[@Alex-sz2tq]

I am a student in civil engineering in Québec, where our electricitie comes from hydropower. It's very interesting to learn about those important things. Thank you for those greats videos!

[@joesomebody3365]

Great video, seeing all the machinery and equipment at the dam was fantastic.

[@GlassOfMilk45]

I spent 2 years at the USGS performing the field work and managing the Total Dissolved Gas instruments on McNary and all 4 of the Lower Snake Dams. These sensors inform how much spill is allowed during snowmelt timing to ensure TDG is not excessive, which will kill the smolts.

[@erfquake1]

Grady, last time I toured the Bonneville hydroelectric dam (very close to this one in the video) there were ten enormous turbines in the main room, and not a single one of them was generating electricity at the time despite the roaring Columbia River outside. The tour guide said that's often/typically the case, explained as "economics," though I can't understand how free clean energy could be any more economical. I wasn't about to lock horns with the guy during a tour, but it would be great if you could do a deep-dive on why turbines are typically/often just left off. Thanks!

[@billfsmusic]

I have heard that hydro generation is more expensive than the wind turbines that line the eastern gorge, so that the wind power is used preferentially. It is good to have a hybrid power system. I am not any kind of expert, I just recall hearing this.

[@blaydCA]

Sometimes the generator acts as a motor to keep the grid in balance. Other times, other sources bid less than hydro, lowest bidder gets to supply the juice. Sometimes it's for water conservation.

[@hornetscales8274]

Always knew about "fish ladders" Learned (and even understood a bit) even as a toddler, but never gave a thought to the "other end" of it. Really, REALLY informative video. My only regret to seeing this is not being able to go on the tours WITH you. Great work, none the less!!!!

[@jcran42]

As someone who works in the hydropower industry, I love this series. Keep making awesome videos Grady!

[@makennacornwall3288]

Having grown up on the Columbia River, I remember school field trips to tour Wells, Chief Joseph, and Grand Coulee Dams. And also the push to get fish ladders built on the dams. Salmon conservation was and still is a big part of the scientific culture of Washington

[@elijahkerrigan5567]

I used to live right above this dam, those shotgun blasts during daylight hours get old fast 😅 but we always understood it was for scaring the birds away from the fish and as a fisherman I figured it was worth the headache.

[@jdsoftwaredesign]

Great video! I've had the privilege of working for both Walla Walla USACE and PNNL and they both do great work.

[@croatoan8143]

I am desperately jealous of the person that gets to count and identify fish through a window all day

[@lsswappedcessna]

it's like fishing without the hooks!

[@robumf]

I have a book for you by Dr. Seuss.

[@seanhagerty3562]

Do you get to take a break? Identifying the specie, the size, the number pass...that's one busy job!

[@aaykay4060]

@@seanhagerty3562cameras and AI programs can do the majority of the work now.

[@TheAlison1456]

I've come back two days later just to comment this. 9:08-9:24 this is the part of the video that most impressed me. Instead of just saying it's "better" and that they do "good" things for "the environment", he says EXACTLY what they do, in ordinary, civil, simple, understandable language. No esotericism involved, no elitism.

[@danpatterson8009]

Helps to talk to people who know what they're talking about.

[@andrewcollins2366]

Thanks Grady, my daughter and I love watching and learning from your videos, really fascinating stuff. Warm regards from the UK

[@ericlotze7724]

9:24 I’m so excited! I was reading up on Fish Ladders (and then Eel Ladders) and all that, *as well as their effectiveness* , to try and see if there is a such thing as “green hydropower”. This will clear things up more! Granted I need to read actual papers and whatnot, and of course the construction “cost” notwithstanding it seems like they can somewhat work. The main bits i am unsure on especially are the non-Salmon (or other “big name” wildlife), so eel ladders being mentioned has me excited. Another Bit: Controlled Sediment Release was mentioned a while back on the news, i need to read up on it, but basically allowed a *little* flooding to keep the sediment flowing / make the river *slightly* more natural. Granted you may have mentioned this in the video, if so ill edit this out lol, enough rambling back to watching!

[@Uncle-rhynchus_mykiss]

The effect of lost sediment is a really good point! The Columbia River estuary has been heavily degraded from loss of new sediment and changes in flow regime. It equates to an approximately 70% loss of estuary habitat because these dams alter the system so drastically. Also, I'm glad you think about non-salmonid passage. Fish ladders are selective and do not help less charismatic (i.e. forgotten) species that they were never designed for....

[@ericlotze7724]

@@Uncle-rhynchus_mykiss Let me see if KZbin takes the link, but i'll grab that NPR bit on the sediment stuff, it was really neat. I'll put a quote here, then the link in the next comment in case they don't take it: "SEVIGNY: Sandbars were once common in the canyon, built by the sand, washed down in annual spring and summer floods. Then in the 1960s, the dam was built, and beaches started to vanish. Chapman says that's a problem not just for river runners but also native plants and animals. CHAPMAN: There's kind of some calm areas. And the back of the eddy is kind of tucked in behind the sandbars, called backwaters or return channels, that are a critical habitat for a bunch of the native aquatic species. SEVIGNY: That includes four endangered native fish. In the '90s, Federal river managers started to experiment with artificial floods, ramping up the water released from the dam over several days. These floods are small compared to what used to come down the river but four or five times higher than typical dam releases. It worked."

[@Malusdarkblades11]

I always loved water infrastructure and found the fish transportsystems interesting!

[@benmcreynolds8581]

Living in Oregon it's greatly impacted how much our salmon runs flourish & how our waterways naturally function. This is making progress. Our biggest mistake was moving away from nuclear energy options

[@wattheheck6010]

I toured this dam in late 1980's. Pleased to learn PNNL continues to learn and improve its mission, operations, maintenance while teaching the world.

[@henningerhenningstone691]

Even though this was already over 20 minutes long, it felt like merely a preview video. So much "they showed me this, they told me that" without going into much detail, it's crazy just how involved this whole topic is. Others here have said it already and I agree that an extended-cut would be extremely interesting for sure!

[@paulc6471]

This man seems genuinely happy to talk about engineering.

[@zumabbar]

15:41 I'd be interested in watching a video from you and/or Brian (Real Engineering) about those new turbines!

[@BananowyDoktorXOXOXO]

Not gonna lie, when I saw the title, I though that you're going to make a small scale turbine at your house and put some goldfish through it 👀

[@im1random263]

Would have been interesting though

[@SensitiveFernn]

I can remember spending loads of time as a kid watching the fish ladder that runs alongside a dam in the next city over, along the St. Joe river. Much to the annoyance of my parents who would have much rather kept walking instead of watching garbage, foam and the occasional fish lol. Not sure why but I've always been drawn to these types of structures

[@blueline15]

Pretty cool you were able to come to my backyard and show how these dams work and the effort going into helping the fish. Spent most of my life here and have passed McNary dam countless times.

[@kermehderg]

Look at the absolute JOY of that civil engineer at 1:45. He's a 4 year old at Disney World.

[@iris4547]

never heard someone say turbans so often in my life.

[@Stafernisy]

Where is that from? Like I don’t know if this is regional or individual lol. I hear wind turbine often but never wind turban.

[@bashkillszombies]

8:36 So kind of like what the fourth dimensional beings did when they created 'Earth' so we'd bypass their super highway without getting run over by their multi-dimensional 18 wheelers! :O

[@Katylest]

The quality of your content is just fantastic. Interviews, tours, detailed explanations. Fascinating stuff.

[@workingguy-OU812]

Grady, and everybody at the dam and river system who helped inform this video: OUT OF THE PARK video and education. Thank you all so much!

[@JeThKo_MSW]

"fish generally don't read signs" 😂

[@rbrtcrowther]

A Turban is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. A Turbine is a turbomachine with at least one moving part called a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades so that they move and impart rotational energy to the rotor. There is a very big difference between a Turban and turbine .

[@aformofmatter8913]

They are pronounced the same way in certain accents, just like how some accents pronounce pen & pin the same

[@colonelfustercluck486]

so there is (in some localities) a 'bandana day' where people are encouraged to wear a 'bandana' to raise funds for worthy charities. Not 'Banana' day, but peoples spelling and comprehension skills seem to have been abated over the years...... Don't try to wear bananas. Not a good look.

[@Mo-mu4er]

Political take, but this is an excellent use of our taxes, and I love to see all the progress they've made, and are still making!

[@ebx100]

A decade ago, when I was living in Portland, OR, I was allowed to enter one of the dams on the Columbia River. I had to fill out many forms, and wait a few weeks for a background check. When the day came, I presented a letter that was sent to me at the gate, and I was in! To my surprise, no escort was needed. A fun day touring the inner workings of the powerhouse, and chatting with the engineers there.

[@luketmarx]

Thank you for coming to visit my hometown! We have a lot of science/engineering things here. I expect your next video will be showcasing some of the efforts out at Hanford.

[@sw8741]

This is so much better than hearing whining people scream "Tear down the dam!" I hope fish passage becomes more and more efficient, not only so people stop complaining but for the fisheries to thrive.

[@asaxander740]

I live in the Tri-Cities about an hour or so from McNary Dam and I think its so cool that you traveled to Eastern Washington to shoot this video. If you have the time in the future you should Visit the Hanford Site. It is one of the first Nuclear reactors built in this country and the Bomb used on Nagaski was built there.

[@spawnofyakub8390]

Thank you for these videos! I just started working in hydropower 2 years ago and your channel has been instrumental in not only educating me, but my company's interns as well.

[@paulholmes672]

So Grady, what did you think about the NorthWest? If I could go back to living in Idaho, I would, but family and retirement base me in North Texas. Lived in Idaho for 6 years, and there is not much better than the clean air and honest weather of the NorthWest. Of course, getting a chance to fish the Kokanee Salmon and Steelhead (and Rainbow) Trout and Truly Renewable Power is icing on the cake!

[@turtledove41]

This is an extremely informative video and addresses an important topic as fish passage on the snake river and other dams has gotten more and more attention, McNary Dam and the Columbia River system of locks and dams which stretches from the Pacific Ocean to Lewiston, Idaho should really have a video of its own talking about the benefits of the dams and the drawbacks to the ecosystem, focusing on McNary dam tells one part of the story but the entire system really deserves to be looked at for context

[@DalBraillinsford]

I was just at this dam a few months ago as a road trip pit stop. You answered basically all of the questions I was wondering at the time. Great video! I'm excited for more on fish ladders.

[@WesternExpanses]

I think this is your best video yet. I learned a ton, and have a new appreciation for the care some dam operators are taking to balance care of our precious natural resources with our needs for stored fresh water and energy. Thanks!

[@ouch1011]

I just drove by the McNary dam yesterday, as well as Bonneville and The Dalles dams. Hydroelectric power is a big deal for us in the PNW since the majority of our power comes from it.

[@desireeholloway3353]

Wow! I had no idea! I’m so proud of humanity for the effort they put into developing all these things to make fish safe and happy.

[@Zombine45]

7:10 It's comforting to know that even an expert on a complex system gets confused by it at times.

[@peterhughes3648]

Brilliant, thank you for making this. This is one of the best engineering sites on KZbin.

[@leakingamps2050]

Grady looked really happy during this video! Made me smile :) Love seeing people who love what they're doing!

[@sn0tkore]

Im so impressed by this. The amount of effort they put in, the scale of the engineering and the openness to talk about it. Great!

[@andrewbartelheimer6127]

This was an awesome video and very well done. I learned a lot from my dad on the engineering behind fish safe pumps and even got the opportunity many times as a kid to go with him to test and inspect the pumps (he is a Biological Systems Engineer that specializes in fish passage). This video was cool to see the additional engineering to protect fish while enabling human use of the waterways.

[@aidankeller1717]

My dad works at PNNL in the cyber security department. So that's cool that you're teaming up w/ a lab that's local to me.

[@gizmobowen]

Great job Grady. Wish I knew you were in my neighborhood, I would have said hi! This is such a complex and important issue for peoplein the northwest, I'm glad you've given it such a thorough review. I worked at Rocky Reach dam during a summer internship over 30 years ago and we were collecting flow velocity profile data for the inlet of the turbines to improve fish screen design. The designs at the time had a serious problem with fishing being impinged on the screens and we were working hard to improve survivability. The current designs may be complicated to maintain but they are critcal to the success of the overall system. Thanks for the coverage.

[@empressassassin9975]

This is one of my favorite videos you've made! I really enjoyed the look at science and engineering in the field as well as seeing you talk to the various researchers at the facility!

[@JustHear4DaPopkorn]

I'm from Northern Ontario (land of the Dam) and I'VE LITERALLY ALWAYS WONDERED THIS BOUT FISH.

[@texhunter1820]

Back in the in the 1990's I was working for a company doing asbestos abatement at McNary Dam. Asbestos was used extensively as thermal insulation on cooling lines inside the turbines. The was asbestos insulation in most of the electrical components. There was also sound absorbing coatings made with asbestos on various surfaces to reduce noise. Since McNary spans the border between Oregon and Washington, there is a line inside the dam marking the border. Employees have to keep track of the time spent in each state for taxes and other labor expenses.

[@deborahbourque1434]

Fascinating and so well done! Lots of brilliant, dedicated and practical professionals at PNNL and at the dams, making a difference (generally out of the public eye). Thanks for the meticulous attention to detail and thorough "reporting!"

[@fdajax5107]

Environmental stewardship is awesome Taking what we need and preserving nature as we do it

[@grsafran]

A recent study at Oregon State university showed that 9 billion dollars have been spent to install things like fish ladders and it doesn't work. Native salmon are in steep decline and hatchery fish aren't increasing in numbers. At one time 16 million salmon used to plied this river and now 1.5 do. It all looks impressive but a little perspective kinds of takes the shine out of it.

[@aaykay4060]

No fishway is very effective and on average only pass something like 3% of fish.

[@keromblum]

I live on the Colombia near Bonneville Dam but have never been to McNary. Great to see so many people working hard to retrofit our power infrastructure to be less impactful to the natural processes of the river. Great video!

[@brotherbax4083]

Several years ago I interviewed for a job at the John Day Dam down river from the McNary. The hiring manager gave me a complete tour of the dam and I was greatly impressed. He said that projects are “all about the fish”, which makes sense because those dams were originally designed to make power. There was a better candidate, so I’m not sorry about not getting the job, but I was impressed by the people who operate and the people who maintain the dam. Amazing infrastructure and great attention is paid to the wildlife that inhabit the river.

[@StoneWeevil]

I grew up in Hermiston, I've been on a couple field trips to this very dam lol I remember watching the fish in the observation window, one time there were lampreys stuck to the glass which was pretty cool At 3:35 you can see the park my mom would always take me to _(above_ the dam on the Oregon side)

[@McTroyd]

I remember first reading about that salmon ladder decades ago, but I was today years old when I finally understood how it worked. As interesting as the dam is in itself, thanks for including the fish ladder, and I look forward to your forthcoming video about it. 👍

[@lucky1time811]

Waiting for you to do a series on oil/gas wells. Exploration, drilling, logging, reservoir simulation, productions, completions, etc. there are so many aspects with a plethora of engineering knowledge packed into one field. Petroleum engineering has so many aspects and I love everything about it!

[@zlm001]

The picture at 7:40, by Eric Gustavus Michelson, was extremely enlightening and helpful in understanding how the powerhouse and fish ladder operate. It’d be cool if there were more pictures like this based off the engineering diagrams. I really appreciate how much of the actual documentation you include in your videos overall.

[@alejandroblancofelix4537]

As an animal lover and an enigineer this video was just amazing, you should really make more videos like this, I love that finally humans are using their intelligence to care for animals and not only us

[@grsafran]

The only thing is that we have spent 9 billion dollars on these efforts and they don't work. See OSU study about Columbia River salmon.

[@Ranthos1]

Me and my family would pass the McNary all the time when passing through the Columbia Gorge for trips. So exciting to finally see the inside! Great video, Grady!