Water oxygenation system and method to improve the efficacy and utilization of fish slides and ladders

A system for managing fish migration in a body of water in the vicinity of an artificial or natural barrier, the system comprising:

• a source of saturated water, the saturated water comprising water having a first gas dissolved therein to a level that is higher than that in the body of water;
• a plurality of outlets in fluid communication with the source of saturated water, each outlet being positioned at a respective predetermined position in the body of water to eject the saturated water from the outlet and into the respective predetermined position to thereby provide regions of water with above ambient dissolved gas levels of the first gas at the predetermined positions, wherein said regions at the respective predetermined positions define a path for the fish to navigate around the barrier;
• a pump in fluid communication with the source of saturated water and the one or more outlets for moving the saturated water from the source to the one or more outlets,
• wherein flow of the saturated water out of the one or more outlets into the body of water raises the dissolved gas level at the respective predetermined positions of the one or more outlets, thereby drawing the fish towards the predetermined positions;
• a fish slide positioned in the vicinity of the barrier for downstream migration of fish past the barrier,
• the fish slide including:
• a slide entrance positioned upstream of the barrier, and a slide exit positioned downstream of the barrier,
• wherein a predetermined position of the respective predetermined positions is located proximate the slide entrance so that outlet corresponding to the predetermined position is positioned proximate the slide entrance;
• a fish ladder positioned in the vicinity of the barrier for upstream migration of the fish past the barrier, the fish ladder including:
• a ladder entrance positioned downstream of the barrier and a ladder exit positioned upstream of the barrier, and wherein another one of the predetermined positions is located proximate the ladder entrance so that outlet corresponding to the another one of the respective predetermined positions is positioned proximate the ladder entrance;
• a fish monitoring system configured to record an entrance time for each fish entering the ladder, wherein the fish monitoring system is positioned proximate the ladder entrance, and wherein the flow of the saturated water is based on data from the fish monitoring system;
• and
• wherein the source of saturated water comprises a saturator configured to dissolve the first gas into the water and to remove a second gas from the water, thereby producing the saturated water.