Work Has Begun on the Construction of a Fish Bypass and Spawning Channel at the Bagaevsky Hydroelectric Complex

Construction of a Flood-Breaking Dam of the Fish Bypass and Spawning Channel

At the construction site of the Bagaevsky Hydroelectric Complex (BHC), the Rostov Region, JSC Stroytransgaz has commenced to construction of a fish bypass and spawning channel (FBSCh).  This facility as part of the BHC is of particular importance for the region and the development of its fisheries – an artificial spawning ground will increase feeding opportunities for juveniles and adult fish. The channel capacity will exceed current figures by 2.5-3 times.

Now, at the RBSCh site, flood-breaking dam construction is in progress. This structure will ensure protection against channel area erosion by the Don River during floods. For these purposes, soil removed during dredging in the course of the BHC construction is used. The amount of soil used will exceed 480,000 cubic meters.

Both dam slopes will be strengthened: the inner one – by sowing grass, and the outer slope along the Don River – by sowing grass and a geomat (a rolled sheet of Enkamat A20 composite polymers filled with crushed stone).

Along the entire perimeter of the dam (10 m in width), a service lane is provided. At the same time, builders are excavating soil directly under the channel and spawning grounds. The channel length will be more than 5 km It is planned to process almost 1.8 million cubic meters of soil.

The project provides for construction of more than thirty dams for various purposes at the Bagaevsky Hydroelectric Complex, including for protecting settlements from flooding during flood periods.

Project background:

The Bagayevsky Hydroelectric Complex is the most important infrastructure project not only for the Rostov Region, but also for the whole country. The hydroelectric complex under construction will be composed of: a shipping lock with a central control room, upper and lower approach channels with mooring-guiding structures, a spillway and earth fill dam, a meandering fish bypass and spawning channel and a fish passage lock, industrial, service, engineering and auxiliary facilities, a settlement for operating personnel. To ensure the navigation safety, channel-regulating dams are arranged, as well as shore protection dams that will prevent the development of bank erosion processes (washout and collapse), protect from the impact of ship waves and reduce the negative impact of waters on the population living in these areas. In order to ensure guaranteed waterway dimensions (depth – 4 m, width – 80 m, bending radius – 500 m) in the section from the Kochetovsky Hydroelectric Complex site at km 3,004.5 of the waterway of the Unified Deep Water System (UDWS) to the Bagaevsky Hydroelectric Complex site at km 3,089 of the UDWS waterway, dredging and river cut-off are envisaged.