“…This premise emerged from the assumption that flow conditions at BEP are hydraulically optimal, which in turn minimizes the risks to fish mortality associated with disrupted flow velocities patterns, high turbulent conditions, and extremely low pressures. Such premise was put to test [ 27 ] by estimating collision- and pressure-related risks of mortality at 26 operating points that were nearly uniformly distributed over the operating range of a large Kaplan turbine (runner diameter of 8.5 m, head range of 22 m–35 m, and discharge range of 250–800 m 3 /s). In relation to nadir pressure, passage survival of juvenile salmonids was higher in only four of the twenty-six examined operating points than at BEP.…”