Thesis
Modeling Melvin Price Locks and Dam to evaluate fish passage alternatives
University of Iowa
Master of Science (MS), University of Iowa
Autumn 2025
DOI: 10.25820/etd.008217
Abstract
Locks and dams constructed on the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) ensure a navigable channel for nautical transportation and river commerce, but fragment aquatic habitat and disrupt fish and mussel populations. While fish passage devices are essential to reestablish longitudinal connectivity and restore ecosystem function, their effectiveness on the UMR is poorly understood. This study evaluated the performance of four fish passage alternatives at Melvin Price Locks and Dam (Mel Price) near Alton, Illinois, one of 29 lock and dam structures on the UMR, using a two-dimensional depth-averaged hydrodynamic model. The model simulates hydraulic characteristics including water depth and flow velocity. Fishway design criteria were established based on fish swimming performance (velocity thresholds) and body size (depth requirements) to ensure passage for multiple species with a range of swimming abilities. Four fishway alternatives were tested: three stepped pool alternatives and a nature-like constant sloped rectangular channel with elevated roughness. The stepped pool alternatives feature a series of pools separated by weirs. Flow over the weirs is influenced by blocks placed along their crests. The three stepped pool alternatives are: a rectangular channel with equally spaced blocks along the weir crests, a trapezoidal channel with equally spaced blocks along the weir crests, and a rectangular channel with variable block spacing along the weir crests.
Simulation results revealed current available fish passage guidelines, which focus primarily on salmonids, may not be applicable to Mel Price or other dams on the UMR. Using design criteria based upon UMR species physiology and swim capabilities, results showed the rectangular stepped pool alternative with equally spaced blocks creates the most favorable passage conditions during low UMR flows, and the rough channel alternative creates the most favorable passage conditions during high UMR flows. While these findings are specific to Mel Price, this modeling approach offers a replicable framework for evaluating passage alternatives at other structures. Integrating these hydraulic assessments with future behavioral research on how UMR fish locate, enter, and navigate passage structures will create a comprehensive framework for designing effective passage solutions across the UMR system.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Modeling Melvin Price Locks and Dam to evaluate fish passage alternatives
- Creators
- Matthew Raymond Kliegl
- Contributors
- Larry Weber (Advisor)Nathan Young (Advisor)Priscilla Williams (Committee Member)
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Science (MS), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Date degree season
- Autumn 2025
- DOI
- 10.25820/etd.008217
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- Number of pages
- xv, 148 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright 2025 Matthew Raymond Kliegl
- Language
- English
- Date submitted
- 11/30/2025
- Description illustrations
- Illustrations, graphs, charts, tables
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 113-116).
- Public Abstract (ETD)
The locks and dams on the Upper Mississippi River (UMR) keep boats moving and commerce flowing, but they also block fish from swimming freely along the river. To restore these natural migration routes, we need fish passage structures which are essentially underwater highways that help fish move past the dams. The problem is that most existing fish passage designs were developed for salmon in the Pacific Northwest, and we don t yet know whether those same approaches will work on the UMR.
This study explored whether different fish passage alternatives could work at Melvin Price Locks and Dam (Mel Price) near Alton, Illinois, one of 29 similar structures on the UMR. Using computer models to simulate how water would flow through each design, I evaluated four different options. Three designs use a stair-step approach with pools separated by rows of rocks, while the fourth resembles a natural rocky stream channel.
t there is no one-size-fits-all solution. The stair-step design with evenly spaced rocks works best when river flows were low or average, while the nature-like rocky channel worked better during high river flows. These findings suggest that current fish passage guidelines, which were developed mainly for salmon in rivers in the northwest United States, do not translate well to the variety of fish species found in the UMR system.
Although this study focused on Mel Price, it provides a method that engineers can use to evaluate fish passage designs at other UMR dams. With continued research, these approaches can help restore one of North America s most important river ecosystems while maintaining the navigation that supports local and regional economies.
- Academic Unit
- Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Record Identifier
- 9985135345602771
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