RUN-OF-THE-RIVER HYDROELECTRIC SYSTEM
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FIGURE 10.45 The low dam at the intake to a run-of-the-river hydroelectric power station impounds only enough water to keep the intake to the penstock (pipe) submerged, therefore avoiding most of the environmental changes caused by large-scale hydroelectric systems. If a small fraction of the total flow on any given season is diverted, the river will continue with something close to its natural flow pattern.