Some Dam Hydro News - Stanford Universitynpdp.stanford.edu/.../some_dam_hydro_news2_26_16.pdf ·...

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2/26/2016 i Dams: (Money is always a show stopper.) Dam costs could flood private owners By Katrina Koerting, February 12, 2016, ctpost.com New state regulations have placed the burden of inspecting nearly 3,000 dams on their owners, a potentially large expense for private and nonprofit landowners. Under the law, which was passed in 2013 and fully implemented this month, owners must have a professional engineer inspect the dams every two to 10 years, depending on the structure’s classification. An emergency action plan must also be submitted to the state and locality affected by the dam every two years for structures that would pose a risk to residents or properties downstream if Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu Some Dam Hydro News TM And Other Stuff 1 Quote of Note: "Chalenges are what make life intrestng and overcoming tem is what makes life meaningfl" - Joshua J. Marine Some Dam - Hydro News Newsletter Archive for Back Issues and Search http://npdp.stanford.edu/ Click on Link (Some Dam - Hydro News) Bottom Right - Under Perspectives “Good wine is a necessity of life.” - -Thomas Jefferson Ron’s wine pick of the week: 2013 Rudi Schultz Syrah & Shiraz (Other than French) "Stellenbosch" No nation was ever drunk when wine was cheap. ” - - Thomas Jefferson Water from the Byram River flows over the Mill Dam in Greenwich, in a photo taken in November.

Transcript of Some Dam Hydro News - Stanford Universitynpdp.stanford.edu/.../some_dam_hydro_news2_26_16.pdf ·...

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2/26/2016

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Dams:(Money is always a show stopper.)Dam costs could flood private ownersBy Katrina Koerting, February 12, 2016, ctpost.com

New state regulations have placed the burdenof inspecting nearly 3,000 dams on theirowners, a potentially large expense for privateand nonprofit landowners.Under the law, which was passed in 2013 andfully implemented this month, owners musthave a professional engineer inspect thedams every two to 10 years, depending onthe structure’s classification. An emergencyaction plan must also be submitted to thestate and locality affected by the dam everytwo years for structures that would pose arisk to residents or properties downstream if

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

Some Dam – Hydro News TM

And Other Stuff

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Quote of Note: "Chalenges are what make life intrestng and overcoming tem is what makes life meaningfl" - Joshua J. Marine

Some Dam - Hydro News Newsletter Archive for Back Issues and Search http://npdp.stanford.edu/Click on Link (Some Dam - Hydro News) Bottom Right - Under Perspectives

“Good wine is a necessity of life.” - -Thomas JeffersonRon’s wine pick of the week: 2013 Rudi Schultz Syrah & Shiraz (Other than French) "Stellenbosch" “ No nation was ever drunk when wine was cheap. ” - - Thomas Jefferson

Water from the Byram River flows over the Mill Dam in Greenwich, in a photo taken in November.

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they fail. “I think what’s going to happen is individual landowners will eventually breach their dams,” said Bart Smith, vice president of the Newtown Forest Association, adding it might be too expensive to maintain and inspect the smaller dams on private property. The association already owns two dams. “We’re taking a wait-and-see attitude, but it will definitely affect how we consider property acquisitions and donations in the future,” he said.

(It took a while.)RWSA: Ragged Mountain Dam Reaches Maximum CapacityFebruary 12, 2016 , nbc29.com

The Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority(RWSA), NC say the Ragged MountainReservoir is now 100 percent full. Friday, theRWSA announced 1.5 billion gallons ofwater now fill the reservoir.“That's a lot of water, and with the other tworeservoirs, that gives us a totally of a littlemore than 2.5 billion for our community,”said Mike Gaffney with the RWSA TheRagged Mountain Reservoir helps securedrinking water, fire protection, and sanitationneeds.

Gaffney and RWSA Executive Director Tom Frederick call this a historic milestone. “Many peoplewho lived here in 2002 remember eating on paper plates in fine restaurants, and not being able toflush their toilets as regularly as they'd wanted to because there was a real fear that this community was going to run out of water,” Frederick said. It took years of planning, meeting and waiting to help change that and bring level back up. “Previously, we were tracking it by the foot. The last week or two we were tracking it by the inch,” said Gaffney. “Watching water rise sounds kind of boring, but for us it is really tremendous because it reminds us of how much work it took for our organization, discussions in the community, discussions with scientists, engineers, environmentalists,” said Frederick. The executive director estimates the total cost for all the work comes out to around $35 million. Fredrick said they might celebrate this milestone with a glass of water.

(Seems like there’s no end to articles on this dam. Maybe, it can’t be fixed.)If this Iraqi dam collapses, half a million people could dieBy Loveday Morris washingtonpost.com, February 13, 2016

BAGHDAD — If breached, it couldunleash a 180-foot-high wave downthe Tigris River basin and drownmore than half a million people, withfloodwaters reaching as far as theIraqi capital, about 280 miles to thesouth. The collapse of Mosul Damwould be catastrophic for Iraq. Thedam has been called the mostdangerous in the world for the pastdecade. But recent assessments bythe U.S. Army Corps of Engineerssay it is at “significantly higher risk” offailing than previously thought. Thedam’s structural problems becameevident as soon as the reservoir behind it was filled in 1985. It is built on layers of clay and gypsum, a soft mineral that dissolves when it comes into contact with water, and the dam

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immediately began seeping. Since then, around 100,000 tons of grouting have been poured into the structure to prevent it from collapsing. However, even this stopgap measure has been disrupted by the Islamic State, which briefly seized the dam in the summer of 2014. The militants still hold the nearby city of Mosul, their de facto capital in Iraq. Political wrangling and a financial crisis in Iraq are also complicating repair work. The hydroelectric dam almost certainlyhas an “unprecedented level ofuntreated voids” in its foundation,according to the Army Corps ofEngineers’ Jan. 30 report, which wasmade public this week when it wassubmitted to the Iraqi parliament. Themonitoring team has identified“significant signs of distress,” it added.When the Islamic State took control ofthe dam, a rigid daily routine of pouringgrout into the structure to stop it fromcollapsing was missed for six weeks,while logistical issues have plaguedthe process ever since.Meanwhile, a government decision to deprive Islamic State-held Mosul of electricity by blocking the flow of water put additional pressure on the dam as water levels rose. Top-level U.S. officials have voiced their growing concerns to the Iraqi government, an adviser to the prime minister’s office said. They have regularly invoked Hurricane Katrina, but warned that the devastation could be “a thousand times worse,” the adviser said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he is not an official spokesman. If the dam fails when water levels are high, the flooding would be disastrous. Mosul, about 30 miles to the southeast, would be hit by a 65-foot wall of water and wiped out within four hours, studies have said. Farther downstream, Tikrit is expected to be deluged in 50 feet of water before the torrent bursts another dam at Samarra. Within 48 hours, floods 13 feet deep would reach Baghdad. Concerns are becoming more acute as Iraqi security forces prepare for an offensive to recapture Mosul from the Islamic State, the adviser said. In recent days, units from the Iraqi army’s 16th Division have arrived in Makhmour, southeast of Mosul, to begin operations in the area, commanders have said. The adviser said Iraqi security officials, worried that militants may try to sabotage the dam if they think they have lost the city, have drawn up emergency plans. Meanwhile, the use of heavy munitions could put additional pressure on the structure, he said.“We had to give a warning to these operations to observe the dam, but there shouldn’t be anything nearby,” said Shirouk al-Abayachi, co-chair of the Iraqi parliament’s agriculture and water committee. The situation remains “very dangerous,” she said. “We don’t have anything that tells us what’s going on under the dam,” she said. “There are sinkholes, but we don’t know how big they are now.”

Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources has played down the threat but was persuaded to reopen the lower gates of the dam to relieve some pressure, even though it meant power was restored to the militant-held city farther south. The Italian company Trevi recently won a bid to repair the dam andis expected to sign the contract soon. The cost is estimated to be more than $300 million, the adviser said, adding that the expense will likely be covered by the World Bank. But the repair bill comes as Iraq is desperately seeking financial assistance as oil prices hover around $30 a barrel.Iraq’s water minister, Mohsin al-Shammari, who is politically aligned with the anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, has dismissed U.S. warnings. He said in an interview with an Iraqi television channel that there is only a “one in a thousand” chance the dam will fail. He has criticized the predictions as an excuse for sending more foreign troops to the country; Italy has said it would send 450 soldiers to provide security for the Italian firm. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has

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stressed the need for the work to begin quickly. Melting snow and more rains are expected to increase pressure on the dam this spring.

(Did you know that global warming causes everything that’s bad? But, the failure of this ice dam helped cause global warming.)Catastrophic failure of ice age dam changed ocean circulation and climateBy heritagedaily, February 13, 2016, heritagedaily.com “This study is important because we arecurrently concerned about the volumes offresh water entering the oceans from themelting ice sheets in Greenland andAntarctica and this gives us an indicationof the likely effects,” the study’s leadauthor, Professor Neil Glasser fromAberystwyth University said. The study,published today in Scientific Reports,reveals that the lake, which was about onethird the size of Wales, drained severaltimes between 13,000 and 8,000 yearsago, with devastating consequences.At its high point the lake extended over7,400km2, held 1500km3 of water andoccupied a basin which now contains LagoGeneral Carrera in Chile and Lago BuenosAires in Argentina.

Held back by a dam formed by a large icesheet, the lake drained rapidly as the icesheet shrank in size. Professor Glasser said: “This was a massive lake. When it drained, it released around 1150km3 of fresh water from the melting glaciers into the Atlantic and Pacific oceans – equivalent to around 600 million Olympic-sized swimming pools. This had a considerable impact on the Pacific Ocean circulation and regional climate at the time. “Much of the freshwater drained into the sea near Golfo Peñas, south of the Chilean capital Santiago. The fresh water would have sat on top of the salt water as it spread out so it affected the regional ocean currents. The event affected the whole of southern South America and would have led to lower rainfall in winter and cooler ocean and air temperatures around Cape Horn, with the effects felt as far east as the Falkland Islands.”

The study, which applied different techniques to investigate the size of the former lake and how it drained, was undertaken by an international team of scientists, including Max Holloway, a PhD student in Bristol’s School of Geographical Sciences. Samples of sediments deposited by the former lake were collected to determine the age of the lake drainage events using a laboratory technique known as single-grain optically stimulated luminescence dating. Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) were applied to identify former lake shorelines and their altitudes and drainage routes and to calculate the volume of water released as the lake drained. An ocean-atmosphere climate model was used to determine the impact of dumping this amount of freshwater into the Pacific Ocean. The research was funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) with support from the Swedish Research Council.

(Why is there always funding to take down a dam?)The Great Dam in downtown Exeter will soon be removed as part of a $1.8 million project. Funding flows in for $1.8m removal of downtown Exeter's Great DamBy JASON SCHREIBER, Union Leader Correspondent, February 14. 2016, unionleader.com

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The catastrophic release of fresh water from a vast South Americanlake at the end of the last Ice Age was significant enough to change circulation in the Pacific Ocean, according to new research co-authored by a PhD student from the University of Bristol.

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EXETER, NH — The end is near forthe Great Dam. A $1.8 million plan toremove the 17th-century dam in theheart of Exeter’s historic downtownrecently got a big boost when theNational Marine Fisheries Serviceand the National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration approved$610,960 of funding for the removalproject through the CoastalEcosystem Resiliency GrantProgram, which aims to createhealthy and sustainable coastalecosystems through habitatrestoration. According to the town,the project was one of only six habitatrestoration projects in the country tobe picked. The project is expected to begin in July after voters in 2014 OK’d the removal of the dam, which dates back to 1647 and sits at the point where the Exeter and Squamscott rivers meet. While they’re part of the same river system, the Exeter River is the freshwater portion while the Squamscott River is saltwater.

After years of debate and study, the 136-foot-by-16-foot concrete dam is being removed to restore the Exeter River to its natural condition, reduce flooding and stop environmental damage. Officials said the dam has contributed to low dissolved oxygen and thermal stratification in the lower Exeter River and has been a barrier for fish migrating between fresh and saltwater. Town officials were told by state Department of Environmental Services in 2000 that the dam wouldn’t be able to hold up in a 50-year storm and would need to undergo improvements or be replaced. “Not many projects that I’ve worked on have had this detailed level of commitment at the local volunteer level,” NOAA fisheries biologist Eric Hutchins told the Exeter River Study Committee at a recent meeting announcing the grant approval. The town already received $190,060 in other grants, bringing the total to $801,020. While the dam has become an Exeter landmark, Steve Kaneb is among those looking forward to its removal. In 2013, Kaneb and his wife purchased the former Loaf and Ladle restaurant, which sits along the river next to the dam and has experienced flooding in the past during severe rainstorms. “It’s basically putting nature back to the way it was built before humans altered it,” he said of the dam removal. Kaneb has invested in a major renovation of the building and a second-story addition and is now discussing leasing options with potential restaurant operators In addition to the environmental benefits, Kaneb said the dam removal will also improve aesthetics. “It’s more pleasant to have rustling water outside, especially if you’re on the deck,” he said.

Great Dam is the latest dam to face removal in a state with approximately 3,100 active dams. More than 20 dams have been taken out across the state since 2001. Most recently, deficiencies forced the removal of the 52-year-old Labin Ainsworth Dam in Jaffrey last year. The Tannery Brook Dam in Boscawen was also removed. According to a state list, several other dams are being considered for removal, including the Gonic Dam and Gonic Sawmill Dam on the Cocheco River; the Union Village Dam in Wakefield; the Israel River Dam in Lancaster; the Macallen Dam on the Lamprey River in Newmarket; and the McLane and Goldman dams on the Souhegan Riverin Milford. “We’re always working with dam owners. If they don’t want to maintain it they have the option to remove it,” said Steve Doyon, administrator of dam safety and inspection for the state’s Dam Bureau. In some cases, owners simply don’t want the expense of bringing old dams up to standards so they choose to remove them. Other times, Doyon said, it may be more cost-effectivefor the owner to maintain the dam rather than shoulder the high cost of removal. “The issue really is funding, and that’s a major nut to crack,” he said.

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(This one gets fixed.)Money secured to fix dangerous dam on Bitterroot River By PERRY BACKUS, Feb 13, 2016, missoulian.com

HAMILTON, MO – If everything comestogether as planned, this will be the lastsummer that floaters will have to fear theSupply Ditch Diversion Dam. Earlier thisweek, the Bitterroot Conservation Districtlearned it had been awarded a $300,000U.S. Army Corps of Engineers grant for theproject to rework the century-old diversiondam. It was the last piece of a fundingpackage needed to make the dam safer forpeople who enjoy floating the BitterrootRiver. “At this point, I’m cautiouslyoptimistic,” said Molly Davidson, the leadMorrison-Maierle engineer for the project.

On Feb. 22, the Bitterroot ConservationDistrict will host an open-house style meeting at its Hamilton office at 5:30 p.m. to provide an update on the project to the public. “Our next step is to go through the permitting process,” Davidson said. “We want to meet with the public to get people up to speed about the project and take any comments they might have on the design.”Under certain water flows, the irrigation diversion dam creates a dangerous recirculating current that has caused numerous boating accidents, including one that killed a 6-year-old girl in 2013.In January, the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission approved a biennial rule that allows Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials to close a portion of the river that includes the dam if conditions warrant. The rule was in place last floating season, but it wasn’t used after floaters were able to use a different river channel that bypasses the dam. Davidson said the project will be engineered to allow floaters to safely cross the structure and provide for fish migration, while ensuring that irrigators can access the water they need for their crops.

Most importantly, the dangerous hydraulic roller immediately below the dam will go away, she said. Other funding sources for the project include $40,000 from Fish, Wildlife and Parks and a Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation Renewable Resource Grant of $125,000. Bitterroot Conservation District Chair Howard Eldredge said the district has served as an intermediary to apply for grants and secure engineering services while working in concert with FWP and the ditch companies. “It’s been a true team effort,” Eldredge said. The hope is the project’s design will be completed this spring and bids let this summer. That would allow construction to get underway after the irrigation and fishing seasons come to an end next fall.“Work should begin in early November,” he said. Eldredge said Morrison-Maierle will oversee the bidding and handle the detailed supervision of the project. The contract will be between the ditch companies and the work contractor. At this point, the estimated cost of the project is $478,000, but Davidson said it could end up being less. The hole behind the dam was not as deep as originally thought. That fact will save some money in the cost of rock needed to fill it. “It’s an estimated cost at this point,” Davidson said. The project has garnered a lot of support from a variety of sources. That support has been helpful in obtaining the necessary funding to make it happen, Davidson said.

(This is NOT a benefit of dams.)Meth Lab Found in Shamokin DamBy Marcia Moore, 2/15/16, dailyitem.com

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The Supply Ditch Diversion Dam on the Bitterroot River northof Corvallis creates a dangerous recirculating current that has caused one death and numerous accidents over the years.

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SHAMOKIN DAM, PA — A meth lab wasfound by Shamokin Dam police Fridaymorning while they were investigating adomestic dispute at a motel. Police ChiefTimothy Bremigen responded to a complaintabout a loud argument in a room at theGolden Arrow Motel at 2681 N.Susquehanna Trail, and uncovered what hedescribed as a “one pot” method ofmanufacturing methamphetamine, alsoknown as “shake and bake.” “It’s even moredangerous,” Bremigen said of the increasedrisk of explosion and fire from combiningchemicals in a single pot. Bremigen said the drug operation put two other motel guests and staff in danger.

While interviewing Savannah Goodling and Charles Hanson, both 23, about the argument, Bremigen said he noticed drug paraphernalia and smelled a chemical odor inside the room. The pair, who had been staying at the motel for two days, were each cited for harassment and disorderly conduct stemming from the alleged argument that brought police to their room.No one has been charged in connection with the meth lab, pending the completion of the investigation, Bremigen said. Goodling is being held at Snyder County Prison on a bench warrant stemming from an unrelated offense. After the initial response, Bremigen obtained a search warrant and returned to the motel room with state police from Montoursville and a state police chemist. Inside, they found a small meth lab that had been used and packed away. “It was brokendown,” Bremigen said. There was no immediate danger to the public, he said, but people were at risk during the manufacturing of the drug. Police asked the motel owner to secure the room pending the outcome of the criminal investigation, said Bremigen who expects arrests will result from it.

(It’s all about money.)Plan for tighter dam safety law draws questions, criticism October storm no reason to toughen dam safety rules, committee toldCritics say average citizen may be over-regulated if law tightenedBy SAMMY FRETWELL, FEBRUARY 17, 2016, thestate.com

COLUMBIA, SC - Farmers and otherproperty owners didn’t have much good tosay at a hearing Wednesday about aproposal to tighten South Carolina’s damsafety law. Despite questions about the law’seffectiveness, some of those who spoke saidthey fear a bill to toughen the rules could bean undue burden on average citizens. A newlaw could cost them money and focus tooheavily on dams that don’t needimprovements, a House committee was told.Laurens County farmer Carroll Thompsonsaid he’s already having problems with theS.C. Department of Health andEnvironmental Control over a dam on hisUpstate property. Since last fall’s flood,DHEC has reclassified his low hazard dam to a high hazard dam, he said. Thompson said he hadto spend about $1,000 on an engineer to help him comply with tougher requirements. But Thompson said his dam is in a rural area and does not threaten homes or property downstream. And it’s always been that way, he said. “We jumped the gun,’’’ Thompson said, noting tougher

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state regulation should not be “a one-size-fits-all deal.’’ Others questioning the bill Wednesday included homeowners from Greenville and Richland counties.

The bill, introduced by House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Darlington, is intended to improve a state dam safety program criticized by dam experts for years as being deficient and underfunded. The state’s regulation of dams came into focus after many of the structures burst following the Octoberdownpour. Lucas’ bill would, among other things, mandate more detailed inspections of hundredsof dams in heavily populated areas, require some dam owners to post bonds to remove structuresif the dams endanger lives, and increase fines for violations. South Carolina has about 2,400 regulated dams. Some groups, such as American Rivers, contend a tighter law will better protect the landscape and people downstream, but it was clear Wednesday the legislation has a long wayto go. The House Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs subcommittee made no decision Wednesday and will meet on the bill again next week. “If we are going to legislate something like this, we need to make sure that it’s fair,’’ agriculture committee chairman Davy Hiott, R-Pickens, said. “We are reacting to an issue that happened in October.’’

(Where’s the dam? It’s just a pile of rock, why does cost so much to remove?)Removing dam to free trapped, primeval fish could be costly By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press, 2/18/16, billingsgazette.com

A proposal to remove a rock weir fromMontana's Yellowstone River so an endangered,primeval fish species can reach its spawninggrounds could cost far more than governmentplans to construct a new dam and fish bypass atthe site for $59 million.Environmentalists who back the no-damproposal say it would be worth the addedexpense to ensure the recovery of a smallpopulation of endangered pallid sturgeon on thelower Yellowstone. But a representative offarmers who rely on water diverted by the weir,which is a kind of dam, warned that removing it could leave them short.Federal officials on Thursday said they would review the proposal to determine if it's feasible, as part of a settlement in a lawsuit brought by Defenders of Wildlife and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The existing, low-profile rock weir diverts a portion of the river near the Montana-North Dakota border to irrigate more than 50,000 acres of cropland in the two states. For decades it's preventedan aging population of about 125 wild sturgeon from swimming upriver to their historic spawning grounds The species' shark-like shape and long snout has changed little over the past 200 million years, earning it recognition among scientists as a "living fossil."The population in the Yellowstone declined sharply last century after dams were built along the Missouri River system. Federal officials declared it an endangered species in 1990 and have been seeking to replace the rock weir to open up 165 miles of upriver habitat for spawning sturgeon. U.S. District Judge Brian Morris blocked construction of the dam just as it was set to begin last September. The plan by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Interior Department included a 2-mile channel for sturgeon get around the dam, but Morris said the agencies never proved it would work.

"Getting the dam out of the river is the best solution for the fish," said Steve Forrest with Defenders of Wildlife, who helped draft the no-dam proposal. Removing the rock weir and installing pumps to provide irrigation water to farmers along the Yellowstone could cost several times the original project's price tag, said Forrest. If the cost is too high, he acknowledged that it could become impractical. But Forrest and the other plaintiffs in the lawsuit said the cost could be greatly reduced, including with the adoption of water conservation measures for the irrigation

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system and the roughly 400 farms it serves. They also suggested the government buy a wind turbine to provide electricity at no cost to the irrigators. That claim was disputed by a representative of farmers from the Lower Yellowstone Irrigation District. Shawn Higley with WWC Engineering told the Army Corps in a letter sent Wednesday that the irrigators need all the water they currently draw from the Yellowstone. He warned of "significant harm" if the amount of water were reduced. A study considering different alternatives for the project is expected to be completed by November, said Army Corps' project manager Christopher Fassero. The study will determine if the no-dam alternative can work and provide a better projection of potential costs. "I can't really say one way or another that we think it would work or not," Fassero said.

Hydro: (Big fella.)Photos: 7-foot Giant Catfish Clogs Hydroelectric Dam in AustriaBy:Daniel Xu +, 2/12/16, outdoorhub.com Apparently catfish in Europe aregetting so big that they have startedclogging dams. The Local reportsthat a 7.4-foot, 200-pound catfishwas found recently by a cleaningcrew in the Danube River in Austria.Workers were attempting to removea blockage from a hydroelectric damwhen they realized it was actuallycaused by a giant catfish. The fishwas so heavy the crew had to use acrane to transport it to the banks ofthe river. “We are seeing more andmore catfish, though I don’t everremember seeing one of this sizebefore,” said fish expert Peter Noebauer. From the photo, the fish appears to be a wels catfish. It should be noted that these massive critters can weigh up to 800 pounds and grow up to 13 feet long. In the catfish family, wels only comes second to the Mekong giant in size, and its voracious appetite has made it popular among European anglers. Fighting these behemoths is not without risk however—they have been known to grab fishermen by their feet and drag them underwater.

(Great photo.)Harness Hydroelectric Power for Off-Grid Energy Generate off-grid electricity from a private stream with a hydroelectric turbine. By Christopher James Marshall, February 2016,

Electricity generated from running water can be one of the most affordable off-grid power sources,but the use of hydroelectric turbines may be restricted in some areas.

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See all the photos here: http://www.motherearthnews.com/renewable-energy/other-renewables/hydroelectric-power-ze0z1602zbay.aspx

(The more, the better.)More green power for Peterborough coming this summerNew hydroelectric generating station on the Otonabee River expected to go online by end of JuneBy Bruce Head, February 16, 2016, kawarthanow.com

The existing hydroelectric station on theOtonabee River at London Street inPeterborough currently produces 4megawatts of hydroelectric power. Thenew generating station will produce anadditional 6 megawatts of green powerby the summer of 2016. The new $30million hydroelectric generating stationon Peterborough’s Otonabee River,adjacent to the existing London StreetGenerating Station, is expected to comeonline by the end of June 2016. Thenew station will generate six megawattsof renewable energy in addition to thefour megawatts already generated bythe existing station — the combinedtotal being enough to power around4,000 homes in Peterborough. Earliertoday, Peterborough Utilities hosted atour of the location for Ontario’s newEnvironmental Commissioner Dianne Saxe. Due to traffic conditions caused by the winter storm, Saxe was unable to attend the tour but did participate in a lunch later at Ashburnham Ale House. The tour involved Peterborough Utilities’ John Wynsma, Vice President of Generation and Retail Services, and Keith Rye, Manager of Generation, along with Paul Norris, President of the Ontario Waterpower Association, and Heather Ferguson, Director of Corporate Business Development (Hydro) at Ontario Power Generation.

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One of the first hydroelectric generating stations in North America, the London Street facility was originally constructed in 1884 to supply power to the American Cereal Company, which later became Quaker Oats.

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The new hydroelectric generating station is located beside the existing station on the Otonabee River at the eastern end of London Street, just north of downtown Peterborough. Constructed in 1884, the existing station is one of the first hydroelectric generating stations in North America and originally supplied power to the American Cereal Company, which later became Quaker Oats (now Pepsi QTG). Peterborough Utilities acquired the station from Quaker Oats in 1975. The existing station has three generators driven by turbines, with each unit producing around 1.3 megawatts of power from the flow of water in the Otonabee River, which falls approximately eight metres at the site. The station generates about 24,000 megawatt hours of clean renewable energy each year. The electricity generated is fed directly into Peterborough Distribution Inc.’s distribution system.

The existing station has been in service for over 90 years and still uses some of the original equipment from when it was first built. One of its turbine generator units recently failed and is being replaced. The new station will extend thelife of the existing station by another 14 years and will eventually replace it. Construction on the new facility began in2014 and was originally expected to be completed in 2015. However, due to issues with water infiltration and soil at the site, adjustments to the original design were required to reduce the needfor further excavation, resulting in several months of delays. While construction continues, all major equipment — including turbines,

generators, gates, and electrical equipment — has been received and is ready for final installation. The facility is expected to be completed by May, with the power plant becoming fully operational by the end of June.

Construction workers at the foundation of the new power plant. The generators in the background covered by tarps will be lowered into the location below the workers. As the new station will be automated, no dedicated staff will be needed to run it. However, because Peterborough Utilities owns and operates another two waterpower generating stations, a solar farm, and the Bensfort

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A rendering of the project site (graphic: Peterborough Utilities Group)

The existing station has three generators driven by turbines, with each unit producing around 1.3 megawatts of power from the flow of water in the Otonabee River.

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Road Landfill Gas Generation project, the number of staff working on power generation has increased from around six to almost 20. Peterborough Utilities expects the new station will create several new jobs. Many people may not know that, during the 2003 blackout, power from the existing station was used to keep the Peterborough Regional Health Centre operating. The increased output from the new generating station, as well as increasing the percentage of green power in the City of Peterborough, could be used in similar situations in the future.

(Good purchase.)Burlington Acquires Winooski One Hydroelectric Plant in Vermont, US for USD16.3 Million Feb 17 - Progressive Digital Media - energycentral.com The City of Burlington and its municipalelectric utility, have acquired Winooski Onehydroelectric plant situated on WinooskiRiver , Vermont, US, for a purchaseconsideration of USD16.3 million.

The total installed capacity of the project is7.4 MW. The transaction implies a dealvalue of USD2.2 million per MW. Followingthe transaction, city of Burlington ownsWinooski One hydroelectric plant or hasenough contracts with renewable energy facilities to provide 100% of the city's electric needs. Of the total consideration, city of Burlington issued a USD12 million bond for the project in month of August, 2014 and rest of consideration came from savings that followed the paying off of debt for the construction of the city's McNeil generating plant.

Water: (This is frightening. We need more dams because it never rains where or when you want it.)Staggering Four Billion People May be Facing Water ScarcityFeb 15, 2016, scienceworldreport.com A staggering four billion peoplemay be facing water scarcity. Anew study shows that two out ofevery three people on our planetsimply do not have enough water tomeet their basic needs. "We findthat four billion people live inareas that experience severe waterscarcity at least part of the year,which is more than previouslythought, based on those earlierstudies done on an annual basis,"said Arjen Hoekstra, co-author of the new study, in an interview with Tech Times.

This doesn't mean that we lack water in the world. In fact, previous studies have shown that we have more than enough water to cover all of our needs. Instead, the issue is getting the water

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where it needs to go; water isn't available at all times, and isn't always available in the places where it's needed. In this latest study, the researchers compared consumption of water to available water on a monthly rather than an annual basis from around the world. The models, in particular, focused on climate, land use, crop growth, irrigation, population densities and industries, according to Voice of America. In the end, the researchers found that the key to more sustainable water use is to add consumer awareness and also government allocation of water resources. Keeping these things in mind is crucial for the future of water sustainability.

Environment: (Costly way to move fish. Hope it works. Don’t know what the photo shows.)Howland Dam project reaches fundraising goalBy Christina Erne, February 17, 2016, wcsh6.com

HOWLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) --Thanks to a $650,000 donation from theAtlantic Salmon Federation, work on theHowland Bypass is almost done. Itcreates a channel re-routing thePenobscot River around the Howlanddam, making it easier for fish specieslike herring and salmon to return to theirhabitat in greater numbers. "I think thefuture is bright on this river here. Andcertainly for Atlantic Salmon I think thisis their best chance of recovering here in the United States," said Andrew Goode, vice president of the Atlantic Salmon Federation.Out of all Maine native fish, Atlantic salmon have the hardest time spawning. The Howland Bypass helps make that a little easier. "We're trying to restore eleven species of fish to the watershed but all of those fish will have benefits to the wildlife along the river corridor, birds of prey, cod out in the ocean, those types of things, so it's really a watershed restoration it's not just a fisheries restoration project," said Goode.

The Howland Dam Bypass includes a channel that mimics the rivets and pools of a natural river so that fish can return to what was once their territory upstream. "This project has always been about balance. The Penobscot since the early 1800s has always been managed as an industrial river. This project begins to bring a balance to the river between energy generation, fisheries restoration, recreational use," said Goode. But not everyone sees the benefit. State Senator PaulDavis has opposed the dam removal project since the beginning. "You go out here to the Belgrade Lakes, and there used to be good salmon fishing there, and there are no salmon now," said Senator Davis. He said creating a passage around the dam invites invasive species like pike upriver of the Piscataquis and Penobscot Rivers. "We don't intend to let fish passage or anything like that be on these lakes to let the pike up through there," said Davis. But things are already starting to flow smoothly. "We are seeing the river begin to rebound. For instance, river herring, in particular alewife and blue back herring, have gone from near zero five or six years ago and this year over a million came back to the watershed," said Goode. The Howland Bypass Channel tooka little under 2 years to dig out. The final stages of the project includes adding vegetation to the riverbanks to bring wildlife back to the area and cleaning up the surrounding area to make it more like a park. The final unveiling ceremony will be in June.

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Other Stuff: (Guess it isn’t what it’s all cracked up to be.)The Mystery of Michigan's Menominee Crack Deepens After 5 years, researchers know what it is but not what caused it By Michael Harthorne, Newser Staff, Feb 12, 2016, newser.com

(NEWSER) – In 2010, Michigan's Upper Peninsularecorded its first-ever earthquake when a large crackopened in the ground near the city of Menominee,according to a press release from MichiganTechnological University. Now researchers finallyknow what caused the mysterious Menominee Crack.Sort of. Live Science reports the crack—360 feet longand 5 feet deep—showed up accompanied by a"deep boom" and the rattling of nearby homes. Theearthquake that occurred along with it measured lessthan a magnitude 1. For years, no one was sure whatto make of the crack, which appeared atop a largelimestone ridge. That area of Michigan is considered"aseismic," and there is no earthquake fault under thecrack. Besides, any earthquake large enough tocause the crack would have done more than shake afew homes.

Researchers now believe the crack is a geological feature known as a "pop-up," according to a study published this week in Seismological Research Letters. Basically, the bedrock limestone "violently heaved upward," creating the bulge and a resulting crack as the surface stretched, Live Science explains. But that opens up an entirely new mystery. Pop-ups are caused when a large amount of downward pressure on the rock layer below the soil is suddenly lessened. So far, they've only been found at the bases of quarries and areas where glaciers have recently receded.But there are no quarries near the Menominee Crack, and Michigan hasn't seen a glacier in more than 11,000 years. "As far as we can tell, this is a one-of-a-kind event," research leader Wayne Pennington says in the press release. "The earth is still full of surprises," he tells Live Science. "It's just a little surprise, but it's still interesting."

(How about this in your yard? What they don’t tell you is that you’ll need backup from the power grid or batteries,)The wind turbine for your backyard: 26ft 'Wind Tree' uses tiny silent blades to generate electricity from light breezes

• The 'Wind Tree' uses tiny blades housed in the 'leaves' that turn in breezes• A French firm is installing the first model at Place de la Concorde in Paris• 'Aeroleaves' generate electricity in wind speeds as low as 4.5mph (7km/h)• This can provide enough power to supply 15 street lamps or one electrical

car for 10,168 miles (1,360km) over the course of a yearBy Victoria Woollaston for MailOnline, 17 February 2016, dailymail.co.uk

Monstrous, noisy conventional wind turbines may soon be a thing of the past thanks to tree-shaped wind turbines being installed in Paris. What started out as a concept is now being turned into reality, with several being planned for the French capital. French company 'New Wind' is installing the first at Place de la Concorde in Paris and is hoping to expand throughout the countryand abroad.Monstrous, noisy conventional wind turbines may soon be a thing of the past thanks to tree-shaped wind turbines being installed in Paris. What started out as a concept (pictured) is now

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being turned into reality, with several beingplanned for the French capital and beyondin the coming months

The 26ft trees are fitted with aeroleaves.Tiny blades inside the 'leaves' cangenerate electricity in wind speeds as lowas 4.5mph (7km/h), and regardless of thewind's direction. A light breeze is classifiedas having a wind speed of between 4mphand 7mph on the Beaufort Scale. Thepower output of the tree is 3.1 kilowattswith the potential to generate 3,500 kWh to13,500 kWh a year depending on the windspeed and the location of the tree. This could provide enough power to supply 15 street lamps, 83 per cent of the electrical consumption of a typical family household or one electrical car for 10,168 miles (1,360km) over the course of a year. An average onshore wind turbine with a capacity can produce more than 6 million kWh in a year - enough to supply 1,500 average EU households with electricity. The 26ft (8 metre) trees are fitted with 63 aeroleaves. Each one usestiny blades inside the 'leaves' and can generate electricity in wind speeds as low as 4.5mph (7km/h), and regardless of the wind's direction. A light breeze is classified as having a wind speedof between 4mph and 7mph on the Beaufort Scale.

The company's founder, Jérôme Michaud-Larivière, hopes the trees can be used to exploit small air currents flowing along buildings and streets, and could eventually be installed in people's backgardens and urban centres. The power output of the tree is 3.1 kilowatts a year depending on the wind. The trees are also silent, so sound pollution would not be an issue - a major improvement from past designs. The trees currently retail at £23,500 ($33,670). 'The idea came to me in a square where I saw the leaves tremble when there was not a breath of air,' said Jérôme Michaud-Larivière, the founder of the Parisian start-up. Last year, after three years of research, the team of engineers developed a prototype and installed it in the Pleumeur-Bodou commune in Brittany in northwestern France. Mr. Michaud-Lariviere said the tree is profitable afterwinds of 7.8mph (12.5km/h) on average over one year. He admits there are more consistent winds 160ft in the air but they require 'monstrous machines', far from where energy is consumed, he added. In the future Mr. Michaud-Larivière hopes to develop a 'perfect tree that has leaves with natural fibres, roots that could generate geothermal energy and 'bark' covered with photosensitive cells. However, Robert Bellini an engineering expert at the Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME), said the potential of small wind turbines in the city remains 'quite low'. (Here’s some facts to digest.)Water Vapor Rules the GreenhouseSystemgeocraft.com

Just how much of the "Greenhouse Effect" iscaused by human activity? It is about 0.28%,if water vapor is taken into account-- about5.53%, if not This point is so crucial to thedebate over global warming that how watervapor is or isn't factored into an analysis ofEarth's greenhouse gases makes thedifference between describing a significanthuman contribution to the greenhouse effect,or a negligible one. Water vapor constitutesEarth's most significant greenhouse gas,

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accounting for about 95% of Earth's greenhouse effect (5). Interestingly, many "facts and figures' regarding global warming completely ignore the powerful effects of water vapor in the greenhousesystem, carelessly (perhaps, deliberately) overstating human impacts as much as 20-fold. Water vapor is 99.999% of natural origin. Other atmospheric greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and miscellaneous other gases (CFC's, etc.), are also mostly of natural origin (except for the latter, which is mostly anthropogenic). Human activities contribute slightly to greenhouse gas concentrations through farming, manufacturing, power generation, and transportation. However, these emissions are so dwarfed in comparison to emissions from natural sources we can do nothing about, that even the most costly efforts to limit human emissions would have a very small-- perhaps undetectable-- effect on global climate.

(Or, the other view.)Three-Quarters of Climate Change Is Man-MadeAn independent study quantifies the human and natural contributions, with solar radiation contributing only minimallyBy Quirin Schiermeier, Nature magazine on December 5, 2011, scientificamerican.com

Natural climate variability is extremelyunlikely to have contributed more thanabout one-quarter of the temperature riseobserved in the past 60 years, reports apair of Swiss climate modelers in a paperpublished online December 4. Most of theobserved warming—at least 74 percent—is almost certainly due to human activity,they write in Nature Geoscience.Since 1950, the average global surface airtemperature has increased by more than0.5 degree Celsius. To separate humanand natural causes of warming, theresearchers analyzed changes in thebalance of heat energy entering and leaving Earth—a new "attribution" method for understanding the physical causes of climate change.

Their findings, which are strikingly similar to results produced by other attribution methods, provide an alternative line of evidence that greenhouse gases, and in particular carbon dioxide, are by far the main culprit of recent global warming. The massive increase of atmospheric CO2 concentrations since pre-industrial times would, in fact, have caused substantially more surface warming were it not for the cooling effects of atmospheric aerosols such as black carbon, they report. Previous attempts to disentangle anthropogenic and natural warming used a statistically complex technique called optimal fingerprinting to compare observed patterns of surface air temperature over time with the modeled climate response to greenhouse gases, solar radiation and aerosols from volcanoes and other sources. "Optimal fingerprinting is a powerful technique, but to most people it’s a black box," says Reto Knutti, a climate scientist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich, one of the authors of the report.

A balanced viewKnutti and his co-author Markus Huber, also at ETH Zurich, took a different approach. They utilized a much simpler model of Earth’s total energy budget and ran the model many thousands of times, using different combinations of a few crucial parameters that contribute to the energy budget. These included global values for incoming shortwave radiation from the Sun, solar energyleaving Earth, heat absorbed by the oceans and climate-feedback effects (such as reduced snow cover, which amplifies warming by exposing darker surfaces that absorb more heat). By using thecombinations that best matched the observed surface warming and ocean heat uptake, the authors then ran the so-constrained model with each energy parameter individually. This enabled them to estimate the contribution of CO2 and other climate-change agents to the observed

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temperature change. Their study was greatly assisted by a 2009 analysis of observed changes since 1950 in Earth’s energy balance, says Knutti.Knutti and Huber found that greenhouse gases contributed 0.6–1.1 degrees C to the warming observed since the mid-twentieth century, with the most statistically likely value being a contribution of about 0.85 degree C. Around half of that contribution from greenhouse gases 0.45 degree C—was offset by the cooling effects of aerosols. These directly influence Earth's climate by scattering light; they also have indirect climate effects through their interactions with clouds.The authors calculated a net warming value of around 0.5 degree C since the 1950s, which is very close to the actual temperature rise of 0.55 degree C observed over that period. Changes in solar radiation—a hypothesis for global warming proffered by many climate skeptics—contributed no more than around 0.07 degree C to the recent warming, the study finds. To test whether recentwarming might just be down to a random swing in Earth’s unstable climate—another theory favored by skeptics—Knutti and Huber conducted a series of control runs of different climate models without including the effects of the energy-budget parameters. But even if climate variability were three times greater than that estimated by state-of-the-art models, it is extremely unlikely to have produced a warming trend as pronounced as that observed in the real world, theyfound. "This tightens estimates of past responses," says Gabriele Hegerl, a climate scientist at theUniversity of Edinburgh, UK, "And it should also lead to predictions of future climate change that are grounded in the kind of changes already being observed."

Theory: The average temperature of Earth is about 58 degrees F. The average temperature of a person is almost 99 degrees F. So, if you keep adding things (people) to the planet that are warmer than its average temperature, the average temperature of the planet should rise! Maybe global warming is that simple-minded!

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iThis compilation of articles and other information is provided at no cost for those interested in hydropower, dams, and water resourcesissues and development, and should not be used for any commercial or other purpose. Any copyrighted material herein is distributed withoutprofit or payment from those who have an interest in receiving this information for non-profit and educational purposes only.