Alpine hydropower plants commonly flush sediment that accumulates at intakes, but the associated rapid rise in discharge, turbidity, and streambed instability put aquatic insects at risk.
A paper from group Alpwise at Idyst has been chose as an Editor’s Highlight by the American Geophysical Union. The paper shows that flushing of hydropower intakes destroys downstream insect populations because insects can’t respond rapidly enough to the rapidly changing flow. Details available at https://eos.org/editor-highlights/hydropower-and-bugs and via https://rdcu.be/bYgeP.