Aquatic organism passage

Aquatic organism passage is a term that refers to the ability of aquatic animals, plants, and other lifeforms to move freely through structures.
Undersized and poorly placed culverts can cause problems for water quality and aquatic organisms. Poorly designed culverts can degrade water quality via scour and erosion and also restrict aquatic organisms from being able to move freely between upstream and downstream habitat. Fish are a common victim in the loss of habitat due to poorly designed crossing structures. Culverts that offer adequate passage by reducing impediments to movement of fish, wildlife and other aquatic life that require instream passage are less likely to fail in medium to large scale rain/snow melt events.
Poorly designed culverts are also more apt to become jammed with sediment and debris during medium to large scale rain events. This can cause the road to fail, often introducing a large amount of fine/ medium clast sediment. This sediment can clog downstream structures and also cause damage to downstream crops and property. Hard bank armoring and a proper sized structures can help to alleviate this pressure.

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