Comparative intake flow measurement tests at the Kootenay Canal, Canada

Should an intake test be done or not? That is a major question when faced with conducting a field efficiency test on a turbine at a low head plant. How can it be done with the short converging penstocks, where traditional in-penstock flow methods cannot be used? Low head plants are those typically less than 30 m, and are very common, which makes this a major issue. This paper describes a programme which was commissioned in Canada to compare three potentially feasible intake flow measurement techniques for a low-head scheme.