The Columbia River System Inside Story · River Basin. Within the drainage, there are numerous...
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THE COLUMBIA RIVER SYSTEM INSIDE STORY
Transcript of The Columbia River System Inside Story · River Basin. Within the drainage, there are numerous...
THE COLUMBIA RIVER SYSTEMINSIDE STORY
THE COLUMBIA RIVER SYSTEMINSIDE STORY
S E C O N D E D I T I O N
FEDERAL COLUMBIA RIVER POWER SYSTEM
BONNEVILLE POWER ADMINISTRATION
U.S. BUREAU OF RECLAMATION U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS
Published April 2001
This publication is an updated version of the original prepared for the System Operation Review, a joint project of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Bonneville Power Administration.
Photo Credits: U.S. Bureau of ReclamationU.S. Army Corps of EngineersBonneville Power AdministrationNorthwest Power Planning CouncilPhilip W. ThorRobin Cody
If you have comments or questions, please contact:
Bonneville Power Administration U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NWD U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
1-503-230-3000 1-503-808-3710 1-208-378-5021
P.O. Box 3621 P.O. Box 2870 1150 N. Curtis Road, Suite 100
Portland, Oregon 97208-3621 Portland, Oregon 97208-2870 Boise, Idaho 83706-1234
Printed on recycled paper
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Introduction . . . . . . . . . 2
II. The Columbia River System . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
A. The Basin . . . . . . . . . . . 4B. Uses of the River System . . 6C. The Dams and
Water Projects . . . . . . . . 9D. The Coordinated Columbia
River System . . . . . . . . 16
III. The Agencies and the Operating Agreements . . . . . . . . . 18
A. The Forecasters . . . . . . 18B. Project Owner/
Operators & Affiliated Agencies. . . . . . . . . . . 18
C. The NMFS Regional Implementation Forum. . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
D. The Operating Agreements and Guidelines. . . . . . . . . . 21
IV. System Operation –The Big Picture . . . . . . 26
A. Hydrology of the Basin . . 26B. The Drivers of System
Operations . . . . . . . . . 27C. Overview of System
Operations . . . . . . . . . 27
V. Multiple Uses of the System . . . . . . . . . 32
A. Flood Control . . . . . . . 33B. Fish and Wildlife . . . . . 38C. Power Generation . . . . 45D. Navigation . . . . . . . . . 52E. Irrigation. . . . . . . . . . . 53F. Recreation. . . . . . . . . . 55G. Water Supply and
Water Quality . . . . . . . 55H. Cultural Resources . . . . 56
VI. System Planning & Operations . . . . . . . . . 58
A. Current Operating Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . 58
B. The PNCA Planning Process . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
C. In-Season Management for Salmon . . . . . . . . . 63
D. Real-Time Operations . . 64E. System Operation:
In Action. . . . . . . . . . . 66
VII. Conclusion . . . . . . . . 70
Appendix APacific Northwest Hydro Projects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Appendix BGlossary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Appendix CAcronyms and Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . 76
Appendix DReference List . . . . . . . . . . 78
projects throughout theregion are fed by the watersof the Columbia Basin river
system. Through cooperativeefforts, floods that periodi-cally threaten developmentnear the river can be controlled.
This publication presentsa detailed explanation ofthe planning and operationof the multiple-use damsand reservoirs of theColumbia River system. Itdescribes the river system,those who operate and useit, the agreements and policies that guide systemoperations, and annualplanning for multiple-useoperation. A glossary
The Columbia River isone of the greatest naturalresources in the westernUnited States. The river andits tributaries touch the livesof nearly every resident ofthe Pacific Northwest—fromfostering world-famousPacific salmon to supplyingclean natural fuel for 50 to65 percent of the region’selectrical generation.
Since early in the 20thcentury, public and privateagencies have labored tocapture the benefits of thisdynamic river. Today, dozensof major water resource
I.Introduction
Celilo Falls, shown here, was a Native American fishing site before The Dalles Dam was built. The Federal government isworking to encourage more tribal involvement in planning and operating decisions.
Federal water projects, includingLower Granite Dam on the SnakeRiver, were constructed on theColumbia River and its tributariesfrom the 1930s to the mid-1970s.
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An operating strategy was
developed that supports recovery
of Columbia Basinfish listed under the EndangeredSpecies Act, as
well as other, non-listed species.
and a reference list can befound at the end of thisdocument.
The Inside Story wasoriginally written for theparticipants in a multiyearenvironmental study of riveroperations called theColumbia River SystemOperation Review (SOR).The SOR was conductedjointly by the U.S. Army Corpsof Engineers (Corps), theU.S. Bureau of Reclamation(Reclamation), and theBonneville Power Administra-tion (BPA). In 1995, as aresult of actions under theEndangered Species Act(ESA) and the SOR, the threeFederal agencies formallyadopted an operating strategy for the river systemthat supports the recoveryof Columbia River Basinfish listed under the ESA.
The strategy incorporatedthe recommendations of theNational Marine FisheriesService (NMFS) and the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS) to recover severalstocks of Snake River salmonand the Kootenai Riverwhite sturgeon. The SORprovided the environmentalanalysis of the ESA strategyand led to renewal of the Pacific NorthwestCoordination Agreement(PNCA) and other agreements related to theColumbia River Treaty(Treaty) between theUnited States and Canada.These complex contractsare explained in the following pages.
If you have questions or comments about theColumbia River system, we invite you to contact one of the agencies at theaddresses and phone numbers on the inside front cover of this publication.
Electricity generated on the riverpowers homes and businessesthroughout the Northwest.
The river and its reservoirs provide countless recreational opportunities for residents and visitors to the Northwest.
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and Utah. In addition, theColumbia River Basindrainage covers 102,300square kilometers (39,500square miles) in BritishColumbia, Canada.
The Columbia Riveroriginates at Columbia Lakeon the west slope of BritishColumbia’s Rocky Mountains.It flows from Canada into theUnited States and eventuallybecomes the border betweenOregon and Washington.The river is 1,954 kilometers(1,214 miles) long, and it
empties into the PacificOcean near Astoria, Oregon.
The Rocky Mountainsto the east and north, theCascade Range on the west,and the Great Basin to thesouth are the principalboundaries of the ColumbiaRiver Basin. Within thedrainage, there are numeroussub-basins formed by tributaries of the mainstemriver. The major tributariesin the United States are theKootenai, the Flathead/Pend Oreille, the Snake,and the Willamette.
The Highs and Lows
of Streamflows. On average, about 25 percentof the Columbia River flowcomes from Canada. Beforeany mainstem dams werebuilt, natural instantaneousstreamflow at the borderranged from as low as 396cubic meters per second(m3/s) (14,000 cubic feet per second (cfs)) to as high as 15,575 m3/s (550,000cfs). This enormous variation in flow is seasonal.Most of the annual precipi-tation in the Columbia River Basin occurs in thewinter with the largest sharefalling in the mountains assnow. The moisture that isstored during the winter inthe snowpack is released in the spring and early summer, and about 60 percent of the naturalrunoff in the basin occursduring May, June, and July.
A. The BasinThe Columbia River is
the predominant river in thePacific Northwest. It is the15th longest river in NorthAmerica and carries the sixthlargest volume of runoff.The river and its tributariesare the region’s dominantwater system. The systemdrains 567,000 square kilo-meters (219,000 square miles)in seven western U.S. states:Washington, Oregon, Idaho,Montana, Wyoming, Nevada,
II.The ColumbiaRiver System
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The people of the Northwest use the Columbia River in nine primary ways. Thewater projects make up a multiple-use system.
The Columbia River Uses
A. Flood Control D. Power G. NavigationB. Recreation E. Fish Migration H. Water SupplyC. Irrigation F. Fish & Wildlife Habitat I. Cultural Resources
Today, dozens of major water
resource projectsthroughout the region are fed
by the Columbia River.
The Columbia River hasan average annual runoff atits mouth of about 244 billioncubic meters (198 millionacre-feet) (average year-round flows of 7,787 m3/s(275,000 cfs)), making itsecond only to the Missouri-Mississippi River system inthe United States in runoff.The Canadian portion of thebasin generally contributesabout 62 billion cubic meters (50.2 million
acre-feet) annually.For operational purposes,
runoff is usually measuredat The Dalles, Oregon. Herethe annual average is 165billion cubic meters (134million acre-feet) (averageyear-round flows of 5,038 m3/s(177,900 cfs)).
Beginning in 1909, theColumbia River has beenharnessed for the benefit ofthe U.S. Pacific Northwestand the Canadian Pacific
Southwest. Federal agencieshave built 29 major dams on the river and its tributaries. Dozens of larger non-Federal projects,and hundreds of smallimpoundments, have beendeveloped as well. Thesedams provide flood control, irrigation, navigation, andrecreation benefits. Inaddition, they form one ofthe largest hydroelectricsystems in the world.
B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A
O R E G O N
I D A H O
M O N T A N A
Columbia River
Snake River
B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A
P A C I F CO C E A N
McNary
Ice HarborBonneville
Lower Monumental
Little Goose
Lower Granite
Dworshak
Grand Coulee
Chief Joseph
Albeni Falls
Libby
HungryHorse
John Day
The Dalles
- COLUMBIA RIVER AND MAJOR TRIBUTARIES
- STATE BORDERS
- COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN
- MAJOR FEDERAL DAMS
The Columbia River BasinMajor Federal Dams
The Columbia drains 258,500 square miles in the United States and Canada.
Runoff: That part of precipitation,snowmelt, or irrigation water that runsoff the land into streams or other surface water.
Streamflow: Streamflow refers to the rateand volume of water flowing in varioussections of the river. Streamflow recordsare compiled from measurements takenat particular points on the river, such asThe Dalles, Oregon.
Acre-feet: A common measure of thevolume of water in the river system. It isthe amount of water it takes to coverone acre to a depth of one foot.
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Major Dams: Large hydro-electric projectsdeveloped by Federal agencies withinthe Pacific Northwest. Twenty-ninemajor dams are in the Columbia RiverBasin. Two dams are in the Rogue RiverBasin. A total of 31 dams comprise theFederal Power System.
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downstream migration. Morework is under way toenhance fish passage.Indian tribes and commer-cial and sport anglers sharethe salmon and steelheadharvest in the river. Nearly401,000 kilograms (900,000pounds) of steelhead troutand chinook, coho, chum,and sockeye salmon werecaught in 1998. Fish hatch-eries are an important partof the river system. Somestocks of Columbia Basin
salmon and sturgeon fallunder the protection of the ESA, and this hasbecome an important factorin how the hydro system is operated.
• Fish and wildlife
habitat. The Columbia Basinis alive with wildlife andboth resident and migratingfish. State and Federal lawsrequire protection of thehabitat that supports theseanimals. The region has spenthundreds of millions of dollarsrestoring and protectinghabitat. The investmentsinclude programs to reestab-lish wetlands, control erosionof streambanks, purchasesensitive wildlife tracts, and acquire harvest rightsfor old growth timber toprotect habitat.
• Electric power gen-
eration. The hydroelectricdams on Columbia Basinrivers have a maximum
B. Uses of the River System
There are nine primaryuses of the Columbia Riversystem.
• Flood control.
Because the ColumbiaRiver’s flow varies so widely,the river is subject to severefloods. Controlling thedamaging floodwaters wasone of the original purposesfor many of the dams onthe river. Flood controlremains a high priority forsystem operations duringhigh runoff years.
• Fish migration. TheColumbia River is famous forits salmon runs. Federal damsin the lower Columbia andSnake rivers have fish laddersto help adult anadromous fishmigrate upstream. Bypass sys-tems have been installed tohelp juvenile smolts in their
Columbia Riverdams provideflood control, irrigation, navigation, power generation,and recreationbenefits to theNorthwest.
0
2 0 0 , 0 0 0
4 0 0 , 0 0 0
6 0 0 , 0 0 0
8 0 0 , 0 0 0
1 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0
1 , 2 0 0 , 0 0 0
1 , 4 0 0 , 0 0 0
OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP
- HIGHEST EVER OBSERVED
- AVERAGE
- LOWEST EVER OBSERVED
F l o w ( C u b i c F e e t P e r S e c o n d )
Columbia River Streamflows
Flow on the Columbia River is generally measured at The Dalles, Oregon. Historic records show an annual pattern, withpeak flows in late spring.
Fish Ladder: A series of stair-step poolsthat enables salmon to get past thedams. Swimming from pool to pool,salmon work their way up the ladder tothe top where they continue upriver.
Barges travel up and down the river,transporting fuel, fertilizers, andagricultural products.
Anadromous Fish: Fish, such as salmonand steelhead trout, that hatch in freshwater,migrate to and mature in the ocean, andreturn to freshwater as adults to spawn.
Over 900,000pounds of
steelhead troutand salmon
were harvested in 1998.
miles) from the PacificOcean. Four Federal damson the mainstem of theColumbia River—Bonneville,The Dalles, John Day, andMcNary—have navigationlocks through which boatsand barges can pass. Locksat Ice Harbor, LowerMonumental, Little Goose,and Lower Granite dams onthe lower Snake River alsoaccommodate river traffic.
• Irrigation. Six per-cent of the Columbia Basin’s
water (measured at itsmouth; 9 percent of flowsat The Dalles) is divertedfor agriculture. Growers in arid parts of easternWashington, northeasternOregon, and southern Idahodepend on this water toproduce wheat, corn, pota-toes, peas, alfalfa, apples,grapes, and a vast assort-ment of other crops.
• Recreation. Therivers and lakes in theColumbia Basin attractboaters, sport anglers,swimmers, hunters, hikersand campers throughoutthe year. Thousands ofsightseers visit the river andthe projects. The wind inthe Columbia River Gorgehas made the area a world-class destination for windsurfers.
• Water supply and
quality. The ColumbiaRiver system supplies water
nameplate capacity of about22,500 megawatts and produced in 1998 an average of about 12,000 megawattsof electricity. The dams are the foundation of theNorthwest’s power supply.Power lines originate atgenerators at the dams andextend outward to utilitycustomers throughout theregion and beyond. Thetransmission grid in theNorthwest is interconnectedwith Canada to the north,with California to the south,and with Utah and otherstates to the south and east.Power produced at dams in the Northwest serves customers locally and thou-sands of kilometers away.
• Navigation. TheColumbia and Snake riverscan be navigated as farupstream as Richland,Washington, and Lewiston,Idaho, 748 kilometers (465
Salmon River
Pa
ci f
i c O
ce
an
M O N T A N A
U T A HC A L I F O R N I A N E V A D A
I D A H O
O R E G O N
Sn
ake Rive
Columbia River
Clark Fork River
Will
amet
teRi
ver
ootenai
River
Substation/Complex
Power is delivered to cities around the region over a network of transmission lines. The BPA transmission grid interconnectswith Canada to the north and California to the south.
BPA Transmission Grid
Megawatts: A measure of electricalpower equal to one million watts.Megawatts delivered over an hour aremeasured in megawatt-hours.
Marinas and boat launches giverecreational boaters ready access tothe reservoirs.
Transmission Grid: The network of high-voltage transmission lines that serves theregion, carrying power from generatingplants to cities.
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these users is maintainingthe high quality ofColumbia River water sothat it continues to providean attractive source of supply for municipal andindustrial purposes.
• Cultural Resources.
The prehistory of human
beings in the ColumbiaRiver Basin spans thousandsof years. Indian culturesmay have existed in thebasin perhaps 10,000 yearsago, and the European andAmerican influence beganin the late 1600s and early1700s. Because operations
to numerous municipalitiesand industries. Whilemunicipal and industrialuses do not consume a significant portion of theriver’s water, these with-drawals are considered insystem operations. Of particular importance to
Columbia Basin Fish Facilities
The region’s fish and wildlife planners have recognized the importance of fish by calling for construction of fish facilities.
Name Location Type In-Service Date Managing Agency
Beaver Creek Washington Hatchery 1957 Wash. Fish & WildlifeBig Creek Oregon Hatchery 1941 Oregon Fish & WildlifeBonneville Dam Oregon-Washington Ladders/Screens 1938/1998 Corps of EngineersBonneville Hatchery Oregon Hatchery 1909 Oregon Fish & WildlifeCarson Washington Hatchery 1938 U.S. Fish & WildlifeCascade Oregon Hatchery 1959 Oregon Fish & WildlifeChelan Washington Hatchery 1965 Wash. Fish & WildlifeClackamas Oregon Hatchery 1979 Oregon Fish & WildlifeClearwater Idaho Hatchery 1987 Idaho Fish & GameCowlitz Washington Hatchery 1967 Wash. Fish & WildlifeDworshak Idaho Hatchery 1982 U.S. Fish & WildlifeEagle Creek Oregon Hatchery 1956 U.S. Fish & WildlifeEastbank Washington Hatchery 1989 Wash. Fish & WildlifeElokomin Washington Hatchery 1954 Wash. Fish & WildlifeEntiat Washington Hatchery 1941 U.S. Fish & WildlifeEntist Washington Hatchery 1941 U.S. Fish & WildlifeFallert Washington Hatchery 1895 Wash. Fish & WildlifeGnat Creek Oregon Hatchery 1989 Oregon Fish & WildlifeGreys River Washington Hatchery 1961 Wash. Fish & WildlifeHagerman Idaho Hatchery 1933 U.S. Fish & WildlifeIce Harbor Washington Ladder/Screens 1961 Corps of EngineersIrrigon Oregon Hatchery 1985 Oregon Fish & WildlifeJohn Day Dam Oregon-Washington Ladders/Screens 1968/1999 Corps of EngineersKalama Washington Hatchery 1958 Wash. Fish & WildlifeKlaskanine Oregon Hatchery 1911 Oregon Fish & WildlifeKlickitat Washington Hatchery 1940 Wash. Fish & WildlifeKooskia Idaho Hatchery 1969 U.S. Fish & WildlifeLeaberg Oregon Hatchery 1953 Oregon Fish & WildlifeLeavenworth Washington Hatchery 1940 U.S. Fish & WildlifeLewis River Washington Hatchery 1979** Wash. Fish & WildlifeLittle Goose Dam Washington Ladder/Screens 1970/1997 Corps of EngineersLittle White Salmon Washington Hatchery 1896 U.S. Fish & WildlifeLooking Glass Idaho Hatchery 1982 Idaho Fish & GameLost Creek Oregon Hatchery 1973 Oregon Fish & WildlifeLower Granite Dam Washington Ladder/Screens 1975/1996 Corps of EngineersLower Monumental Dam Washington Ladder/Screens 1969 Corps of EngineersLyons Ferry Washington Hatchery 1983 Wash. Fish & WildlifeMagic Valley Idaho Hatchery 1986 Idaho Fish & GameMarion Forks Oregon Hatchery 1950 Oregon Fish & WildlifeMcCall Idaho Hatchery 1981 Idaho Fish & GameMcKenzie Oregon Hatchery 1902 Oregon Fish & WildlifeMcNary Dam Oregon-Washington Ladders/Screens 1953/1997 Corps of EngineersMerwin Dam Washington Hatchery 1993 Wash. Fish & WildlifeMethow Washington Hatchery 1992 Wash. Fish & WildlifeNiagara Springs Idaho Hatchery n.d. Idaho Fish & GameNorth Toutle Washington Hatchery 1985** Wash. Fish & WildlifeOak Springs Oregon Hatchery n.d. Oregon Fish & WildlifeOxbow Oregon Hatchery 1913 Oregon Fish & WildlifePahsimeroi Idaho Hatchery 1969 Idaho Fish & GamePriest Rapids Washington Hatchery n.d. Wash. Fish & WildlifeRapid River Idaho Hatchery 1940 Idaho Fish & GameRingold Washington Hatchery n.d. Wash. Fish & WildlifeRoaring River Oregon Hatchery 1924 Oregon Fish & WildlifeRound Butte Oregon Hatchery n.d. Oregon Fish & WildlifeSandy Oregon Hatchery 1951 Oregon Fish & WildlifeSawtooth Idaho Hatchery 1984 Idaho Fish & WildlifeSouth Santiam Oregon Hatchery 1923 Oregon Fish & WildlifeSkamania Washington Hatchery 1956 Wash. Fish & WildlifeSpring Creek Oregon Hatchery 1901 U.S. Fish & WildlifeThe Dalles Dam Oregon-Washington Ladders 1957 Corps of EngineersTurtle Rock Washington Hatchery n.d. Wash. Fish & WildlifeUmatilla Oregon Hatchery 1991 Oregon Fish & WildlifeVancouver Washington Hatchery 1930 Wash. Fish & WildlifeWallowa Oregon Hatchery 1985* Oregon Fish & WildlifeWarm Springs Oregon Hatchery 1978 U.S. Fish & WildlifeWashougal Washington Hatchery 1959 Wash. Fish & WildlifeWells Washington Hatchery n.d. Wash. Fish & WildlifeWillamette Oregon Hatchery 1955 Oregon Fish & WildlifeWillard Washington Hatchery 1952 U.S. Fish & WildlifeWinthrop Washington Hatchery 1940 U.S. Fish & Wildlife
* Hatchery built in 1920, modified in 1985 ** Total rebuild n.d., Date unavailable
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Indian cultureshave existed in the basin up to10,000 years.
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Storage reservoirshelp adjust the
river’s natural flowto meet the various
needs of waterusers.Water flowing into the sys-
tem is at its peak during thespring snowmelt, and thereis more water than is neededfor power production, irrigation, and some otheruses. Reservoirs capture asmall portion of the runoff.Traditionally, they have held the water until the late summer, fall, and winter. Inthe past several years, salmonrecovery has become a key factor in operating thereservoirs. Depending uponoverall water conditions,some of the runoff is storedand some is released tospeed migrating juvenilesalmon on their journey tothe ocean.
The top priority foroperating storage dams isto shape the heavy springand summer snowmeltrunoffs to help preventflooding. In the fall andwinter when streamflowswould ordinarily be low,water is gradually releasedfrom the reservoirs for manyriver uses. Reservoir levels at
storage projects vary greatlyduring normal river opera-tions. There is a significantdifference between a storagereservoir when it is full andwhen it is down to its lowestoperating level (i.e., verticaldistance). For example,Hungry Horse operates overa range of 68.3 meters (224feet); Libby, 52.4 meters (172feet); Dworshak, 47.2 meters(155 feet); and GrandCoulee, 25 meters (82 feet).
Storage is the key to theoperation of a multiple-useriver system. The total waterstorage in the ColumbiaRiver system is 67.8 billioncubic meters (55 millionacre-feet), of which 51.8 billion cubic meters (42 mil-lion acre-feet) are availablefor coordinated operation.Surprisingly, this storagerepresents only about 30percent of an average year’srunoff at The Dalles. Bycomparison, dams on theMissouri River system holdtwo to three times its annualrunoff. While there is storage
of the hydro system affecthistoric and cultural sites,the Federal agencies adopteda Record of Decision in theSOR that acknowledges thepotential for adverse effectsand addresses long-termprotection and preservationof significant culturalresources.
C. The Dams and Water ProjectsThe dams of the
Columbia River and its tributaries fall into twomajor categories: storagereservoirs and run-of-riverprojects. It is important tounderstand the differencebetween the two types.
Storage Reservoirs.
The main purpose of storagereservoirs is to adjust theriver’s natural flow patternsto conform more closely towater and energy-demanduses and to provide floodcontrol. Water from rainand snowmelt is put intostorage until it is needed.
R u n - o f - R i v e r P r o j e c t
S t o r a g e P r o j e c t
Storage and Run-of-River Projects
Storage projects are important for regulating river flow to serve multiple uses; run-of-river projects are primarily for navigation and power generation.
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1. BONNEVILLEColumbia River, USACE
2. THE DALLESColumbia River, USACE
3. JOHN DAYColumbia River, USACE
4. MCNARYColumbia River, USACE
5. PRIEST RAPIDSColumbia River, Grant Co. PUD
6. WANAPUMColumbia River, Grant Co. PUD
7. ROCK ISLANDColumbia River, Chelan Co. PUD
8. ROCKY BEACHColumbia River, Chelan Co. PUD
9. WELLSColumbia River, Douglas Co. PUD
10. CHIEF JOSEPHColumbia River, USACE
11. GRAND COULEEColumbia River, USBR
12. KEENLEYSIDEColumbia River, BC Hydro
13. REVELSTOKEColumbia River, BC Hydro
14. MICAColumbia River, BC Hydro
15. CORRA LINNKootenay River, W. Kootenay
16. DUNCANDuncan River, BC Hydro
17. LIBBYKootenai River, USACE
18. BOUNDARYPend Oreille River, SCL
19. ALBENI FALLSPend Oreille River, USACE
20. CABINET GORGEClark Fork River, WWP
21. NOXON RAPIDSClark Fork River, WWP
22. KERRFlathead River, MPC
23. HUNGRY HORSEFlathead River, USBR
24. CHANDLERYakima River, USBR
25. ROZAYakima River, USBR
26. ICE HARBORSnake River, USACE
27. LOWER MONUMENTALSnake River, USACE
28. LITTLE GOOSESnake River, USACE
29. LOWER GRANITESnake River, USACE
30. DWORSHAKN.F. Clearwater River, USACE
31. HELLS CANYONSnake River, IP
32. OXBOWSnake River, IP
33. BROWNLEESnake River, IP
34. BLACK CANYONPayette River, USBR
35. BOISE RIVER DIVERSIONBoise River, USBR
36. ANDERSON RANCHBoise River, USBR
37. MINIDOKASnake River, USBR
38. PALISADESSnake River, USBR
39. PELTONDeschutes River, PGE
40. ROUND BUTTEDeschutes River, PGE
41. BIG CLIFFN. Santiam River, USACE
42. DETROITN. Santiam River, USACE
43. FOSTERS. Santiam River, USACE
44. COUGARMcKenzie River, USACE
45. GREEN PETERM. Santiam River, USACE
46. DEXTERWillamette River, USACE
47. LOOKOUT POINTWillamette River, USACE
48. HILLS CREEKWillamette River, USACE
49. MERWINLewis River, PP&L
50. YALELewis River, PP&L
51. SWIFTLewis River, PP&L
52. MAYFIELDCowlitz River, TCL
53. MOSSYROCKCowlitz River, TCL
54. GORGESkagit River, SCL
55. DIABLOSkagit River, SCL
56. ROSSSkagit River, SCL
57. CULMBACKSultan River, Snohomish Co. PUD
58. LOST CREEKRogue River, USACE
59. LUCKY PEAKBoise River, USACE
60. GREEN SPRINGSEmigrant Creek, USBR
Major Northwest DamsThe dams on this map generally represent the largest projects and those that have a significant role in river system management. A complete list ofprojects in the basin can be found in Appendix A. Acronyms and abbreviations are defined on page 76.
Kootenai River
Will
am
ette
Rive
Des
chut
esRi
ver
S nakeRiv
er
Clark Fork River
Salmon River
Clearwater River
FlatheadRiver
PendO
reille River
Columbia RiverPa
ci f
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ce
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O R E G O N
M O N T A N A
B R I T I S HC O L U M B I A
U T A HC A L I F O R N I A
A L B E R T A
N E V A D A
I D A H O
W A S H I N G T O N
1
41
4039
2 34
26
27 28 29
24
5
6
25
7
57
54 5556
8
9
18
12
15
13
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2021
17 23
1910 11
45
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444647
48
58
49 5051
535230
22
31
3233
34
35
59
36
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- FEDERAL DAMS
- NON-FEDERAL DAMS
- CANADIAN DAMS COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN
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Pa
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ce
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WA S H I N G T O N
O R E G O N
C A N A D A
I D A H O
M O N TA N A
Keenleyside
Corra Linn
Albeni Falls
Ice Harbor
Brownlee
The Dalles
Grand Coulee
133.6
55.3
81.5
39.5
29.620.7
207.1
18.35.8
36.111.7
12.7 9.5
- AVERAGE ANNUAL RUNOFF
- ACCUMULATED UPSTREAM STORAGE CAPACITY
All Measurements in Million Acre-feet
1 Million Acre Feet= 1.2335 billion cubic meters
Canadian and U.S. Storage
Storage at all projects on the major tributaries and the mainstem Columbia River totals 67.8 billion cubic meters (55.3 million acre-feet). As this diagram shows, most storage has been developed on the upper Columbia system; only about 8 percent of the capacity is in the lower Columbia River below its junction with the Snake River.
The ColumbiaRiver is unique in having more annual runoff thanstorage capacity.
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The Columbia River has high runoff and a small amountof storage compared to two other large river systems, theColorado and Missouri.
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100
50
0C O L O R A D O M I S S O U R I C O L U M B I A
- AVERAGE ANNUAL RUNOFF
- TOTAL STORAGE CAPACITY
All Measurements in Million Acre-feet
1 Million Acre Feet= 1.2335 billion cubic meters1 Million Acre Feet= 1.2335 billion cubic meters
Maf
Columbia River Runoff andStorage Compared to theColorado and Missouri Rivers
A few key reservoirs, including three in Canada and fivein the U.S., hold most of the storage in the ColumbiaRiver Basin.
A l lO t h e rD a m s
3 3 %
M a j o rF e d e r a lS t o r a g e
D a m s 3 0 %
C a n a d i a n D a m s 2 8 %
N o n - Tr e a t y S t o r a g e 9 %
M i c a
K e e n l e y s i d e
G r a n d C o u l e e
H u n g r y H o r s e
L i b b y
O t h e r F e d e r a l
P r i v a t e U t i l i t i e s
A l b e n i F a l l s
D w o r s h a k
D u n c a n
P u b l i c U t i l i t i e s 5 5 . 3
5 0
4 0
3 0
2 0
1 0
0
All Measurements in Million Acre-feet1 Million Acre Feet= 1.2335 billion cubic meters
Columbia River SystemStorage Space
on the Columbia River, thereis not the degree of controlthat exists on the Missouriand Colorado River systems,thus giving the Columbia amore natural runoff shape.
It should be noted thatreservoirs west of theCascade Mountains areoperated differently thanthose in the interiorNorthwest, because most of
the winter precipitation onthe west side falls as rain.At these projects, reservoirsare lowered during the latesummer and fall to providespace in case of heavy
- DAM TYPE
- USAGE
other obstacles to permitbarge navigation. Run-of-river projects pass water atthe dam at nearly the samerate it enters the reservoir.Water that backs up behindrun-of-river projects isreferred to as pondage.Water levels behind theseprojects vary only three tofive feet in normal operations.
Diversion projects maybe either storage reservoirsor run-of-river projects.They include irrigationcanals and pumping systemsthat take water from the
river and its reservoirs tonourish crops. These projects, such asReclamation’s massiveColumbia Basin andMinidoka irrigation projects,have turned hundreds ofthousands of hectares ofarid land into productivefarmland. Some of thewater that is diverted forirrigation eventually findsits way back into the riverdownstream; the rest re-enters the hydrologic cyclethrough evaporation andtranspiration from plants.
winter rains which can meltsnow and cause flooding. If space is used to controlflooding, the water may bereleased immediately after-wards to regain space forcontrolling future floods.
Run-of-River Projects.
These projects have limitedstorage and were developedprimarily for navigation andhydropower generation. All run-of-river projects provide hydraulic head forpower generation, andmany also give sufficientwater depth over rapids and
Water from irrigation projects
nurtures cropsmany miles away.
O R E G O N
WA S H I N G T O N
M O N TA N A
I D A H O
Seattle
Yakima
Pasco
PortholesReservoir
Ephrata
BanksLake
LakeRoosevelt
ColumbiaBasin
Project
Twin FallsLake Walcott
American Falls Damand Reservoir
Pocatello
MinidokaDam
Island Park Damand Resevoir
GrassyLake
GrandCoulee
Dam
MosesLake
Palisades Damand Resrvoir
Jackson Lakeand Dam
W Y O M I N G
Main Canal
Columbia River
Snake River
Snake River
Main Canal
The Columbia Basin and Minidoka Projects
be expanded to 445,000 hectares (1.1 million acres).
The Minidoka Project consists ofsix storage dams and reservoirs and two diversion dams. Four of the facilities are on the upper Snake Riverin Idaho, and two reservoirs—JacksonLake and Grassy Lake—are in Wyoming.The project dates back to 1909.American Falls Dam, which backs upthe largest of the reservoirs, was built in 1927. Thousands of kilometers of distribution canals in the MinidokaProject provide irrigation service to
more than 445,000 hectares (1.1 million acres) of farmland.
The Columbia Basin Project, whichbegan in the late 1930s, uses water thatis diverted from Roosevelt Lake behindGrand Coulee Dam to irrigate crops.Water is drawn from Roosevelt Lake bygiant pumps and lifted into Banks Lake,which was formed by damming bothends of a natural geologic formationcalled the Grand Coulee. The waterthen flows through a system of tunnelsand canals to irrigate croplands manykilometers away. The project currentlyprovides water to over 271,000 hectares(670,000 acres) and had the potential to
13
Snak
eRi
ver
Salmon River
ver
M O N T A N A
A L B E R T A
T O N
I D A H OKootenai
River
LOWER GRANITE• Snake River, Washington• Corps of Engineers• In service April 3, 1975• 810,000 kilowatts of capacity• Project uses include power, recreation, navigation,
irrigation, and fish & wildlife• Run-of-river dam• Average annual discharge of 49,680 cfs
DWORSHAK• Clearwater River (North fork), Idaho• Corps of Engineers• In service March 1, 1973• 400,000 kilowatts of capacity• Project uses include power, recreation, navigation,
flood control, and fish & wildlife• Storage dam• Average annual discharge of 5,820 cfs• 2.02 million acre-feet of storage in Dworshak Reservoir
ALBENI FALLS• Pend Oreille River, Idaho• Corps of Engineers• In service April 1, 1955• 2,000 kilowatts of capacity• Project uses include power, recreation, navigation,
flood control, and fish & wildlife• Storage dam• Average annual discharge of 25,340 cfs • 1.16 million acre-feet of storage in Lake Pend Oreille
LITTLE GOOSE• Snake River, Washington• Corps of Engineers• In service May 26, 1970• 810,000 kilowatts of capacity• Project uses include power, recreation, navigation, and
fish & wildlife• Run-of-river dam• Average annual discharge of 47,230 cfs
HUNGRY HORSE• Flathead River (South Fork), Montana• Bureau of Reclamation• In Service October 29, 1952• 285,000 kilowatts of capacity• Project uses include power, recreation, flood control,
irrigation, and fish & wildlife• Storage dam• Average annual discharge of 3,517 cfs • 3.16 million acre-feet of storage in Hungry Horse
Reservoir
LIBBY• Kootenai River, Montana• Corps of Engineers• In service August 13, 1975• 525,000 kilowatts of capacity• Project uses include power, recreation, flood control,
and fish & wildlife• Storage dam• Average annual discharge of 11,350 cfs• 4.98 million acre-feet of storage in Lake Koocanusa
GRAND COULEE• Columbia River, Washington• Bureau of Reclamation• In service September 28, 1941• 6,494,000 kilowatts of capacity• Project uses include power, recreation, navigation, flood
control, irrigation, and fish & wildlife• Storage dam• Average annual discharge of 107,700 cfs• 5.19 million acre-feet of storage in Lake Roosevelt
15
Will
am
ette
Rive
r
Colu mb
iaRi
ver
Columbia River
W A S H I N G T O N
O R E G O N
B R I T I S H C O L U M B I A
DAM
1 Million Acre Feet= 1.2335 billion cubic meters1 cubic foot per second = 0.028 cubic meters per second
McNARY• Columbia River, Oregon/Washington• Corps of Engineers• In service November 6, 1953• 980,000 kilowatts of capacity• Project uses include power, recreation, navigation, irrigation,
and fish & wildlife• Run-of-river dam• Average annual discharge of 169,800 cfs
ICE HARBOR• Snake River, Washington• Corps of Engineers• In service December 18, 1961• 603,000 kilowatts of capacity• Project uses include power, recreation, navigation,
irrigation, and fish & wildlife• Run-of-river dam• Average annual discharge of 47,680 cfs
BONNEVILLE• Columbia River, Oregon/Washington• Corps of Engineers• In service June 6, 1938• 1,050,000 kilowatts of capacity• Project uses include power, recreation, navigation, and
fish & wildlife• Run-of-river dam• Average annual discharge of 183,300 cfs
LOWER MONUMENTAL• Snake River, Washington• Corps of Engineers• In service May 28, 1969• 810,000 kilowatts of capacity• Project uses include power, recreation, navigation,
irrigation, and fish & wildlife• Run-of-river dam• Average annual discharge of 47,670 cfs
CHIEF JOSEPH• Columbia River, Washington• Corps of Engineers• In service August 20, 1955• 2,069,000 kilowatts of capacity• Project uses include power, recreation, navigation,
irrigation, and fish & wildlife• Run-of-river dam• Average annual discharge of 108,000 cfs
JOHN DAY• Columbia River, Oregon/Washington• Corps of Engineers• In service July 16, 1968• 2,160,000 kilowatts of capacity• Project uses include power, recreation, navigation,
flood control, irrigation, and fish & wildlife• Run-of-river dam• Average annual discharge of 172,400 cfs
THE DALLES• Columbia River, Oregon/Washington• Corps of Engineers• In service May 13, 1957• 1,780,000 kilowatts of capacity• Project uses include power, recreation, navigation, and
fish & wildlife• Run-of-river dam• Average annual discharge of 177,900 cfs
14
Major Federal Columbia River Hydroelectric Projects
• fish ladders, spillways, downstream bypass andcollection facilities, and hatcheries;
• irrigation diversions and pumps;
• parks and recreation facilities;
• lands that are dedicatedto the projects;
• areas set aside to replacewildlife habitat; and
• cultural resource protection areas
Additionally, there are anumber of Federal projects,such as those in theWillamette sub-basin westof the Cascade Mountains,which operate more inde-pendently. In system plan-ning terms, the Willametteprojects are referred to as “hydro independents”because they are not coordinated as part of thePNCA. The output at theseprojects is used in meetingthe region’s electricitydemand, but the way theyare operated and the water
D. The Coordinated Columbia River System
Operations on theColumbia River must takeinto account diverse interestsand a broad spectrum ofagencies and river users.This fact demands an inte-grated approach to planningand operations among the projects. This is known as “coordination.”
The CoordinatedColumbia River Systemrefers to projects operatedunder several separatearrangements: the PacificNorthwest CoordinationAgreement (PNCA), theColumbia River Treaty,Federal flood control statutes,and several environmentaland fish and wildlife statutes.In general, the planning andoperations describedthroughout this documentrefer to the CoordinatedColumbia River System.
Of the 31 hydro projectsthat make up the FederalColumbia River Power System(FCRPS), there are 14 large-scale multipurpose facilitieslocated in the interior of thebasin that play a key role in coordinated operations.Along with dams and reser-voirs at these sites, there are:
• navigation channels and locks;
• hydroelectric power plants;
• high-voltage power lines and substations;
• boat launches;
16
The complex operation at each dam and its effect on other projects on theriver make coordination essential. Coordinated planning and operations maximize benefits.
Multipurpose Facilities: The ColumbiaRiver and the reservoir system are usedfor many purposes or uses. Projects that were authorized to serve a variety of purposes are referred to as “multipurpose.”
Coordinationincreases the benefits the river provides.
Planning accounts for water removed from the river system to irrigate crops.
Fourteen Federalmultipurpose
projects are thekey to coordinated
operations
they store is not factoredinto the region’s coordinatedplanning scenarios.
Of the 14 Federal projects that are coordinatedunder the PNCA, five arestorage dams. They areLibby, Hungry Horse, AlbeniFalls, Grand Coulee, andDworshak. The combinedstorage in the reservoirsbehind these dams is about19.7 billion cubic meters(16 million acre-feet). Three Canadian dams alsoincluded in coordinatedplanning—Mica, Duncan,
and Keenleyside—addanother 25.3 billion cubicmeters (20.5 million acre-
feet) of storage. These eightprojects are particularlybeneficial because they arestrategically located in themiddle and upper basin tocapture runoff for laterrelease to control floodevents and augment downstream flows.
The remaining nineprojects are run-of-riverdams. They are Bonneville,Chief Joseph, Ice Harbor,John Day, Little Goose,Lower Granite, LowerMonumental, McNary, and The Dalles.
The maintenance of major equipment is also considered in planning for coordinated river operations.
A fish counter tallies the number offish that pass up the ladder at eachdam. Fish protection figures promi-nently in all operating decisions.
17
B. ProjectOwner/Operatorsand AffiliatedAgencies
The Corps and Reclama-tion planned, designed, con-structed, and currently ownand operate the Federalwater projects in theNorthwest. The BPA mar-kets and distributes thepower produced by theprojects. Together, the threeagencies for ESA biological opinion purposes are called“action agencies.”
U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers. The Corps operates 12 of the 14 majorFederal projects in theColumbia River Basin andthus has a key role in
coordinating multiple-purpose use of the system.It also shares responsibilitywith BPA and B.C. Hydro in determining operation of Columbia River Treatyreservoirs. The Corps isresponsible for flood controloperations at all reservoirsin the basin both in the U.S.and Canada. In addition,the Corps has constructed and maintains all navigationchannels to accommodatebarges and other river traffic, as well as providingoperations to accommodateirrigators, recreators, and fish and wildlife needs.
U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation. Reclamationoperates Grand Coulee andHungry Horse Dams, thetwo other major Federal
A. The Forecasters
It all starts with thewater cycle—evaporation,condensation, precipitation,and runoff. Sophisticatedforecasts of weather andwater conditions in theColumbia River Basin eachyear make it possible tomanage the coordinatedsystem for maximum benefit.There are two general typesof forecasts required: watersupply forecasts, which predict the volume of runoffexpected over a given timeperiod; and rate-of-flow fore-casts, which predict stream-flows. Several organizationshave a role in collecting andanalyzing information thatgoes into these forecasts.Among them are:
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps);
• U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation);
• British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro);
• Columbia River Forecasting Service;
• National Weather Service’s Northwest River Forecast Center;
• U.S. Geological Survey;
• Natural Resources Conservation Service (formerly U.S. Soil Conservation Service);
• Columbia River Water Management Group; and
• Northwest Power Pool.
III.The Agenciesand theOperatingAgreements
18
Water from snowmelt and rainfall is the essential ingredient in all river operations. The depth and water content of the winter snowpack are used toforecast the volume of spring runoff.
Many agenciesand organizations
have a stake inriver management.
storage projects in the basin.Because of its size and keylocation, Grand CouleeDam plays a prominent role in the coordinatedoperation of the ColumbiaRiver system. Reclamationalso operates numerouswater resource projectsthroughout the ColumbiaBasin, which provide irrigation, power, and otheruses, particularly in theUpper Snake River Basin.
Irrigation Districts.
Irrigation districts also operateand maintain water resourcefacilities in the basin, suchas storage and diversiondams, pumping plants, andcanal and pipeline distributionsystems. Some irrigationdistrict facilities are private-ly owned, and some were constructed by Reclamationand are operated by the districts under contract.
Public and Private
Utilities. Public utility districts, municipal utilities,and investor-owned utilitycompanies also own andoperate dams and generatingprojects in the CoordinatedColumbia River System.Three public utility districtsown five mid-Columbiadams—Wells, Rocky Reach,Rock Island, Wanapum, and Priest Rapids. Theseowners plan and coordinatetheir operations with theFederal agencies.
British Columbia Hydro
and Power Authority.
B.C. Hydro is a Canadianmember of the reservoirmanagement team. ThisCanadian CrownCorporation controls projects on the upperColumbia River in Canadathat provide storage forflood control and powergeneration. These large-scaleprojects contain over one-third of the storage on thesystem and are operatedunder the Columbia RiverTreaty for the joint benefitof Canada and the UnitedStates. B.C. Hydro alsocontracts for coordinationwith owners of smallerCanadian dams on tributariesof the Columbia River, suchas the Columbia PowerCorporation, Columbia BasinTrust, West Kootenay Powerand Light, and Cominco.
Other Agencies. Otheragencies act in a regulatoryor advisory capacity toColumbia Basin projectoperators. They include:the Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission(FERC), a Federal agencyresponsible for regulatingthe interstate activities ofthe nation’s electric andnatural gas utilities andnon-Federal hydroelectricpower producers; the U.S.Department of State, whichinteracts with its Canadianagency counterpart onTreaty matters; NMFS;USFWS; and the U.S.Environmental Protection
Priority Rights: Publicly owned entitieshave priority over private entities to purchase the power generated atFederal projects. This priority right, granted by Federal law, is called “preference;” public and cooperativeutilities that purchase power from BPAare called “preference customers.”
Crown Corporation: Canadian Federallyor provincially owned organization.U.S. examples would be the PostalService or Amtrak.
Agency (EPA). State waterresource agencies enforcewater rights laws and control how much water iswithdrawn from streamsand reservoirs for irrigation,municipal and industrialwater supply, and other purposes.
Bonneville Power
Administration. BPA wascreated in 1937 as a part ofthe U.S. Department ofInterior. In 1977, it becamea part of the newly createdDepartment of Energy.Owning no dams, the agencyis charged with marketingthe power generated at the Federal dams on theColumbia River and its tributaries and some othergenerating plants, to wholesalepower customers, primarilypublic and private utilitiesand direct service industries.BPA has the obligation topay for the Federal Hydrosystem on behalf of Corpsand Reclamation.
BPA built and operatesover 25,000 kilometers(16,000 miles) of transmissionlines that deliver electricity.Federal law requires BPA to give priority rights toelectricity produced at theFederal dams to publiclyowned utilities and to entities in the U.S. PacificNorthwest. Under the 1980 Northwest PowerPlanning and ConservationAct (the Act), BPA is alsorequired to fund certain
19
20
replaced in 2000, which setmeasures for how annualhydropower operationsshould be carried out sothat they do not jeopardizelisted species. USFWS alsoissued biological opinionsin 1995 and 2000, whichaddressed resident fish.
The Forum provides forregional discussion anddecisions on the operationand configuration of theFCRPS. The ImplementationTeam and the ExecutiveCommittee, which constitutethe NMFS Forum, arecharged with implementingthe requirements of the biological opinions. Thereare several additional teamsthat work under the directionof the ImplementationTeam. These include theTechnical ManagementTeam, Water Quality Team,and System ConfigurationTeam.
Technical Management
Team (TMT). The TMT isan interagency technicalgroup responsible for makingin-season recommendations
on dam and reservoir operations to optimizepassage conditions forjuvenile and adultanadromous fish.The TMT consists ofrepresentatives fromNMFS, USFWS,Reclamation, theCorps, BPA, EPA,National WeatherService, state agencies,and Indian nations.
The TMT operatesyear-round. It developsa water managementplan each year basedon the annual runoffforecast. If necessary,
the TMT meets weekly dur-ing the anadromous juvenilefish migration season (April- September) to conduct in-season managementactivities and make recom-mendations for implementingthe plan. The “salmon managers,” representativesof state, tribal, and Federalagencies with anadromousfish responsibilities, providebiological information onsalmon numbers, migration,and timing to the group atlarge. The USFWS and others provide informationon other fish and wildliferesources.
Using this information,the TMT makes weeklyoperating recommendationsto the action agencies—theCorps, Reclamation, andBPA. TMT recommendationsare made by consensuswhen possible. If consensusis not reached, issues are elevated to theImplementation Team.
Implementation Team
(IT). The ImplementationTeam consists of policy-
fish and wildlife mitigation programs.For power purposes,the Corps, Reclamation,and BPA collectivelyare sometimesreferred to as theFCRPS (FederalColumbia River PowerSystem).
The Corps andReclamation developoperating requirementsfor all the non-poweruses at their projects,and, within these limits, BPA schedules and dispatches power.System operationrequires continuous commu-nication and coordinationamong the three agenciesand with other utilities thatown generation resources,market power, and areinterconnected by transmission facilities.
C. The NMFS Regional Implementation Forum
As described later in theFish and Wildlife section ofChapter V, NMFS, a Federalagency of the U.S. Depart-ment of Commerce, ischarged with developingrecovery plans for speciesof ocean-going fish listedunder the ESA. The USFWS,part of the U.S. Departmentof the Interior, is responsiblefor ESA listed resident fishand terrestrial animals.
The NMFS RegionalImplementation Forumresulted from the biologicalopinion issued by NMFS in1995, adjusted in 1998, and
Dynamic policiesgovern planningand operations.
Operating Requirements: These are thelimits within which a reservoir or dammust be operated. Some requirementsare established by Congress when aproject is authorized; others evolve withoperating experience.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service performssnow course surveys to collect data about the annualsnowpack. The measurements are analyzed andtranslated along with other data into forecasts of thevolume of runoff that can be anticipated in theColumbia River system.
The NMFS Forumhas a dramatic
influence on system operations.
wildlife in the ColumbiaRiver Basin.
Indian Nations.
Indian nations have historicand treaty rights to take fishfrom the Columbia Riverand its tributaries. Theycarry out fish and wildliferesource management programs and have participated in a variety of forums in the past (forexample, the “three sover-eigns”—the Federal andstate governments andIndian nations) that havediscussed long-term institu-tional arrangements formaking river governancedecisions.
River Users. Thereare also dozens of agencies,organizations, and coalitionsthat use the river and itsresources or have an interest in the way the riversystem is managed. Theiropinions on Columbia Riverwater management issuesare diverse, and representa-tives from many of thesegroups participate in publichearings, meetings, andother forums that addressriver operations.
D. The Operating Agreements and Guidelines
Planning and operationson the Coordinated ColumbiaRiver System are guided bya complex and interrelatedset of laws, treaties, agreements, and guidelines.While some of the laws havebeen in effect for manydecades, the governing policies are dynamic, andimportant additions have
level managers from theFederal and State agenciesand tribal sovereigns that are represented on the TMT. One of theImplementation Team’s jobsis to resolve policy issueson which the TMT cannotreach agreement.
Water Quality Team
(WQT). The WQT is composed of scientists andtechnical-level analystsdrawn together to exploreways to reduce the total dis-solved gas levels and watertemperatures harmful to fishand wildlife in the Basin.This team’s ultimate goalsare to identify the sourcesof dissolved gas and hightemperatures in the Basin’srivers at different times ofthe year and to recommendstrategies to improve waterquality for the benefit of fishand wildlife.
System Configuration
Team (SCT). The SCTreviews the physical make-upof the hydroelectric systemin the Basin—dams, fishscreens and ladders, spilldeflectors (“flip lips”), and other structures—to determine what the optimalsystem would look like thatincorporates all the needsof the system. It meets regularly to prioritize capitalexpenditures on systemconfiguration facilities forimproving fish passage.
State Fish and Wildlife
Agencies. These agenciesare responsible for managingand protecting fish and wildlifepopulations in each of theNorthwest states. Theyparticipate in the NMFSForum and share responsi-bility to protect fish and
21
been made in recent years.Prior to construction,
Congress specified themajor intended uses in theauthorizing legislation foreach Federal hydro project.Most were authorized forone or more purposes,including flood control,navigation, irrigation, andpower production. However,the laws seldom containexplicit provisions for operating individual projects or for their coordinated operation within the total system.
The Corps andReclamation are responsiblefor deciding how to operatetheir projects based onrequirements of the biological opinions, recommendations fromthe NMFS Forum, principlesof multiple-use operation,their agency charters, operating experience, and public concerns. TheFederal agencies and otherproject operators havedeveloped principles and agreements amongthemselves; some are in formal contracts, and some are informal.
Among the laws andagreements that have adirect bearing on systemoperation are the following:
Endangered Species
Act. The ESA is a Federallaw that protects threat-ened or endangered speciesof plants and animals.Several species of fish that live in the Columbiaand Snake rivers have been listed for protectionunder the ESA (see Fishand Wildlife section,Chapter V).
Authorizing Legislation: Congress mustapprove the construction of all Federalwater projects. The legislation thatauthorizes the project spells out its purposes, the agency in charge of construction and operation, and theterms of financing under which it will be built, operated, and repaid.
Flip Lips: A structural device that redirectswater as it comes over the spillway of adam. Flip lips reduce deep plunging ofwater into the pool below; this keepsthe water from becoming supersaturatedwith nitrogen. Fish are naturally attractedto the rapidly moving water at the baseof the dam but can suffer from gas bubble disease when the water is supersaturated with gas.
environmental impact statement (EIS) must beprepared, and public hearingsheld, for any proposedaction that might affect theenvironment. Significantmodifications of existingoperations fall under theprovisions of NEPA. The 1995SOR was a programmaticenvironmental analysis con-ducted in accordance withNEPA requirements on the operation of the FCRPS.
Columbia River Treaty.
The Columbia River Treaty between the United Statesand Canada, signed in 1961and put into effect in 1964,grew from the recommen-dations of an InternationalEngineering Board. This
Board was appointed by the International JointCommission established bythe 1909 Boundary WatersTreaty and studied whetheran extension of the use ofthe Columbia River would bepractical and in the interestsof both nations. Concurrentwith the Commission’s study,the Corps began updating itsmaster plan for developmenton the Columbia River.Both efforts indicated thatadditional storage on theupper reaches of the riverwould be of joint benefit forflood control and powerproduction.
The Treaty requiredbuilding three storage reservoirs in Canada (Mica,Hugh Keenleyside, andDuncan) and the option tobuild a fourth (Libby) in theUnited States. The Canadianreservoirs built and operatedunder the Treaty representalmost half the water storage on the CoordinatedColumbia River System.
The Treaty dams addedmuch needed flood controlalong the entire river. Theyalso made it possible todeliver flood control morereliably and to “firm up”nonfirm energy. The benefitsof the projects were divided
As a result of the ESA,a biological opinion issuedby NMFS in 1995 mandatedchanges in Columbia Basinsystem operations toemphasize salmon recovery.This biological opinion wassupplemented in 1998 andreplaced in 2000. A secondbiological opinion for theKootenai River in Montana,issued by the USFWS in1995 and replaced in 2000,outlined operations to protect sturgeon initially,and later, other species likebull trout. Various measuresto protect these fish havebeen implemented, such asincreased and more carefullytimed flow, increased spill,and reservoir drawdowns,and others are under study,such as habitat and hatchery measures.
National Environ-
mental Policy Act. The 1969National EnvironmentalPolicy Act (NEPA) requiresenvironmental scrutiny ofactions proposed by Federalagencies. Under NEPA, an environmental assessment,a finding of no significantimpact (FONSI), or an
The EndangeredSpecies Act hasdramaticallychanged systemplanning and river operations.
Parties to the Coordination Agreement have developed and use a variety ofcomputer modeling techniques to plan for upcoming power production and toguide system operation.
Flow: Agencies have agreed to increaseflows at certain times and at certainplaces to aid migrating fish.
Reservoir Drawdown: The water levelsin a reservoir can be lowered, or drawndown, by releases from the dam. Thesedrawdowns have the effect of speedingup the water that flows through a reser-voir by decreasing its cross-sectionalarea.
Flood Control: Streamflows in theColumbia River Basin can now be managed to keep water below damagingflood levels in most years. This level offlood control is possible because storagereservoirs on the river can capture andstore heavy runoff as it happens.
International Joint Commission (IJC): TheI JC also serves as an arbitration bodyunder the Columbia River Treaty.
Mica Dam, shown here under construction, is one of three Canadian projectsthat are among the most recent major projects built on the river system. Theyhave greatly increased the ability to control streamflows.
22
The CoordinationAgreement calls for
annual planningof reservoir operations.
giving priority to non-powerobjectives. It recognizesproject and system requirements that are frequently changing toserve multiple river uses.Individual project ownersset the requirements forusing their own reservoirs.
All CoordinationAgreement parties coordinateto meet multiple-use systemrequirements. Power generation, which is plannedunder terms of the agreement,complies with theserequirements. TheCoordination Agreementplanning process, whichestablishes day-to-day poweroperations and
between the two nations inrelated agreements. TheTreaty does not specify anend date. Instead, eithercountry has the option,with 10 years’ notice, to ter-minate the Treaty afterSeptember 2024.
Pacific Northwest
Coordination Agreement.
The Columbia River Treatyinspired the PacificNorthwest CoordinationAgreement (PNCA, orCoordination Agreement).It is a complex agreementfor planned operationamong the Federal projectoperators and hydroelectricgenerating utilities of thePacific Northwest. It wasoriginally signed in 1964, withan expiration date of 2003.
The CoordinationAgreement calls for annualplanning, which mustaccommodate all theauthorized purposes of theColumbia River hydro projects. It establishesprocesses that coordinatethe use of planned Canadianstorage operations withFederal and non-Federalproject operations in theNorthwest. The CoordinationAgreement enables theregion’s power producers tooptimize system reliabilityand power production after
associated transactions, isdiscussed in Chapter VI.
After extensive negotiations among all parties and completion ofthe SOR environmentalimpact analysis, the revisedCoordination Agreementcompleted in 1997 was submitted to FERC forextension through 2024 andsupplemented with a newset of operating procedures.The 1997 CoordinationAgreement is quite similarto the 1964 agreement. It retains a coordinated planning process andprovides for improvedaccommodation of non-power requirements.
23
Parties to the 1997 Pacific Northwest Coordination Agreement• Federal Agencies: BPA, Corps, and Reclamation.
• Investor-owned Utilities: Enron/Portland General Electric, Scottish Power/PacifiCorp, Puget Sound Energy, Avista, and Montana Power.
• Municipal Utilities: Seattle City Light, Tacoma City Light, and Eugene Water & Electric Board.
• Public Utility Districts: Grant County PUD*, Chelan County PUD*, Douglas County PUD*, Pend Oreille County PUD, and Cowlitz County PUD (* mid-Columbia PUDs).
• Private Company: Colockum Transmission Company, a subsidiary of Aluminum Company of America (ALCOA).
0 . 5 C a n a d i a n S t o r a g e
2 . 5 N e w N o n - Tr e a t y S t o r a g e
A g r e e m e n t ( 1 9 9 0 )
2 . 0 N o n - Tr e a t y S t o r a g e
A g r e e m e n t ( 1 9 8 4 )
7 . 0 C o l u m b i a R i v e r T r e a t y S t o r a g e
8 . 1 U n u s a b l e S t o r a g e
F u l lP o o l
M i n i m u mP o o l
To t a l1 2 M a fU s a b l eS t o r a g e
All Measurements in Million Acre-feet1 Million Acre Feet= 1.2335 billion cubic meters
Storage Allocation at Mica Dam
The Columbia River Treaty and subsequent storage agreements govern howwater held behind Canadian dams will be used. Mica Dam, the largest of theTreaty storage projects, is located near the headwaters of the Columbia andplays a pivotal role in storage operations.
Federal Project Operators: The U.S.Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S.Bureau of Reclamation operate Federalwater projects in the Columbia River system and are known as the projectoperators.
24
generate from Canadianflows for delivery to the CSPEutilities. The agreementswere set to expire beginningin 1998.
In 1997, BPA, afternegotiations with the mid-Columbia PUD project owners and completion ofthe SOR, adopted a new setof allocation agreements,the Canadian EntitlementAllocation ExtensionAgreements. These distributethe obligation for returningthe Canadian Entitlementbetween the downstreamFederal and non-Federalparties that benefit from theupstream Canadian Treatystorage dams. These agree-ments allocate 72.5 percentof the power generation tothe Federal hydro projects,and 27.5 percent to non-Federal (mid-Columbia)hydro projects.
The new CanadianEntitlement AllocationExtension Agreements beganto replace the existingEntitlement Agreementswhen the first portion of the
Canadian Entitlement powerwas returned to Canada in1998. The CanadianEntitlement is delivered to points on the borderbetween Canada and theUnited States, near Blaine,Washington, and Nelway,British Columbia, as a default.Following a 1999 exchangeof diplomatic notes betweenCanada and the United States,the Canadian Entitlementowner—the Government of British Columbia—mayelect to dispose of CanadianEntitlement power directlyin the United States. Thenew agreements extend to 2024 since the UnitedStates’ obligation to returnthe Canadian Entitlementcontinues to at leastSeptember 2024.
Non-Treaty Storage
Agreement. In 1984, BPAand B.C. Hydro signed a 10-year agreement to coordinate the use of anadditional amount of thewater stored in the reservoirbehind Mica Dam in south-eastern British Columbia.
Columbia Storage
Power Exchange and the
Canadian Entitlement
Allocation Agreements.
Water released from reser-voirs in Canada increasesproduction of power atdams in the United States.The Columbia River Treatydivides power benefits fromthe Canadian Treaty damsequally between Canadaand the United States.Canada sold its share of thepower for the first 30 yearsof project operation. Forty-one utilities in the UnitedStates formed the ColumbiaStorage Power Exchange(CSPE) to purchase theCanadian power benefits aseach Canadian dam becameoperational, beginning in1968. CSPE utilities receiveCanadian power from BPAand the three mid-Columbiapublic utility districts withprojects on the mainstemColumbia River.
The CanadianEntitlement AllocationAgreements are contractsthat divide the Treaty’s powerbenefits and obligationsamong the non-Federal beneficiaries in the UnitedStates. There are fiveCanadian EntitlementAllocation Agreements, onefor each of the five publicutility district-owned damson the mid-Columbia. Thesedams are Wells, owned byDouglas County PUD; RockyReach and Rock Island,owned by Chelan CountyPUD; and Wanapum andPriest Rapids, owned byGrant County PUD.
These agreementsdetermined how much powereach of the five utilities must
Allocation agreements dividethe power benefitsand obligationsamong U.S. parties.
The Northwest Power Planning Council is responsible for preparing a Fish andWildlife Program to protect, mitigate, and enhance the Columbia River Basin’sanadromous fish, resident fish, and wildlife. The program was adopted inNovember 1982, and amended in 1984, 1987, 1994, and 1995.
CSPE Utilities: The Columbia StoragePower Exchange is made up of four private utilities and 37 public utilities in the Northwest. In1968, these utilitiespurchased Canada’s downstreampower benefits for 30 years with tax-exempt revenue bonds.
The Act called fora Fish and
Wildlife Program.
treaties are contractualagreements between sover-eign tribal nations and theUnited States Government.Under the treaties, tribesceded lands to the Federalgovernment in return forreservation land and a number of guaranteed rights.There are 13 Federally rec-ognized Indian tribes in theColumbia River Basin. Theoriginal treaty councils wereheld in 1855. After that time,other reservations were created by executive order.The treaties and the
executive orders are thebasis for recognizing Indianlands, ceded lands, and usualand accustomed fishing sites.Tribes retain privileges tohunt, fish, gather wild sub-sistence foods, and pasturelivestock on ceded lands.
Subsequent interpretationof the treaties has identified atrust responsibility betweenIndian nations and theFederal government. Thetrust responsibilities obligatethe government to provideservices that protect andenhance Indian lands andresources, which includes theneed to maintain harvestablestocks of anadromous fish.
Since the use of this storagespace was for power production not covered inthe Columbia River Treaty,the agreement is referred toas the “Non-Treaty StorageAgreement.”
The two agencies agreedin 1990 to expand the Non-Treaty Storage Agreementand extend it until 2003.The new agreement morethan doubled the amount of water storage coveredpreviously, from 2.5 billioncubic meters (2 millionacre-feet) to 5.6 billioncubic meters (4.5 millionacre-feet). BPA and B.C.Hydro equally share thepower-generating benefitsrepresented by this storage.
In addition to BPA andB.C. Hydro, the owners ofthe five non-Federal mid-Columbia hydroelectricprojects and their powerpurchasers are interestedparties to the Non-TreatyStorage Agreement andshare its obligations andbenefits. BPA completed acompanion agreement withthese owners, and with manyof the utilities that purchasepower from these projects,because the hydropowerbenefits represented by the Non-Treaty StorageAgreement depend on thecooperation of the mid-Columbia dam operators.
BPA, B.C. Hydro, andMid-Columbia parties havere-opened negotiations onboth Non-Treaty StorageAgreements to determine ifthere are sufficient benefitsto these parties to continuethe agreements past 2003.
Tribal Treaties and
Executive Orders. Indian
Pacific Northwest
Electric Power Planning
and Conservation Act of
1980. Congress passed theAct on December 5, 1980.This law created an eight-member Northwest PowerPlanning Council. The governors of the fourNorthwest states—Idaho,Montana, Oregon, andWashington—each appointtwo members. The councilis entrusted with adopting aFish and Wildlife Programfor the Columbia Basin,which contains a number
of goals for restoring andprotecting fish populations,and with encouraging a vig-orous energy conservationprogram. The Fish andWildlife Program has led to changes in how theCoordinated Columbia RiverSystem is operated. Thecouncil also prepares a 20-year Regional Electric Powerand Conservation Plan,which is designed to ensurethe Pacific Northwest willhave an adequate, efficient,economical, and reliableelectricity supply. Thecouncil periodically updates both plans.
Some wild fish runs are so depleted that they have been declared threatenedor endangered under Federal law.
25
Trust Responsibility: The FederalGovernment is obligated as a consequence of treaties to provide those services required to protect andenhance Indian lands, resources, andself-government, and to include socialand economic programs necessary toraise the standard of living and socialwell-being of the Indian people.
interior east of the CascadeMountain Range, and therainfall runoff of the coastaldrainages west of theCascades. In both areas,most of the precipitationoccurs during the wintermonths.
East of the Cascades,most of the precipitation fallsas snow in the mountains.Snow accumulates and wateris held in the snowpackuntil temperatures rise inthe spring. Streamflowsbegin to rise in mid-April,reaching a peak flowduring May or early June.Fluctuations in streamflow
are caused by variations insunlight and air temperature.Occasionally, spring andsummer rainfall adds to the runoff.
West of the Cascades,winter storms tend to bringrain rather than snow.River levels can rise withinhours during major storms.Peak flows near the mouthof the Willamette sub-basin,which drains over 28,500square kilometers (11,000square miles), can occurwithin a few days of largerainstorms, with upstreampoints flooding withinhours of a major storm.
A. Hydrology of the Basin
The climate in the Columbia River Basinranges from a moist, mildmaritime condition near themouth of the river to a neardesert climate in some ofthe inland valleys. TheCascade Mountain Rangeseparates the coast fromthe interior of the basin andhas a strong influence onthe climate of both areas.
There are two importantrunoff patterns in the basin:the snowmelt runoff in the
IV.SystemOperation –The BigPicture
Libby Dam, completed in 1975, is the key to controlling high spring runoff on the Kootenai River in Montana.
26
Flood control is a vital function
of the reservoirsystem.
Most of the runoff occurs inthe winter, from Novemberthrough March, but moderatestreamflows continuethrough the spring and earlysummer fed by precipitation,snowmelt from high areas,and groundwater outflows.
B. The Drivers of System Operations
Historically, the three primary authorized purposesof the reservoir system inthe Columbia River Basinhave been flood control,power generation, and navigation. The ColumbiaRiver Treaty recognizesonly power and flood control. Power generationoperations are generallycompatible with flood control requirements. The primary goal of floodcontrol is to reduce highstreamflows during thespring to protect areas belowdams, such as the intensivelydeveloped reach of theColumbia River belowBonneville Dam.
Over the past severalyears, the need to maintainhigh flows to aid the migra-tion of juvenile salmon andsteelhead from springthrough fall has taken on an heightened significancein determining operations.The system operating strategy adopted by theFederal agencies in 1995
is geared toward protectingendangered and threatenedspecies of fish and manag-ing operations in-season torespond to water conditionswhile recognizing the needfor flood control and powergeneration operations.Reservoir operations todayalso attempt to balance theneeds of migrating salmonand steelhead with theneeds of resident fish that livein the reservoirs and riverinesections year-round.
The major migration ofsalmon and steelhead, bothupstream and down, occursduring the spring, summer,and early fall. To improvejuvenile fish survival, changeswere made in the operationof both run-of-river projectsand at upstream storagereservoirs during the migration season. NMFS hasestablished flow objectiveson the Snake and Columbiarivers aimed specifically atoptimizing survival forSnake River sockeye, SnakeRiver spring/summer chi-nook, Snake River fall chi-nook, and several othernon-listed anadromous fish.When natural flows recede,reservoir operators releasewater from storage toattempt to meet these riverpassage objectives.
The demand for waterfrom the reservoirs forpower generation occursthroughout the year.However, it reaches a peakin the winter when Pacific
Northwest homes and businesses need heating.Demand for power in thePacific Northwest is lowestin summer (with a concur-rent higher California/InlandSouthwest load as a resultof cooling needs). Thus,from the standpoint of power generation to serveNorthwest loads, the objec-tive of reservoir operationis to store snowmelt runoffin the spring and early summer for release fromstorage in the fall and winterwhen streamflows are lowerand demand is higher.
Today, system opera-tions are driven primarilyby a blend of flood control,fish migration, and powerproduction needs.
C. Overview of System Operations
All major dams andreservoirs in the ColumbiaRiver system are operatedin coordination with oneanother to maximize thebenefits provided by thestorage reservoirs. Theinformation below pertainsto the Federal reservoirslocated east of the CascadeMountains that drive coor-dinated operations.
Reservoirs in a
Nutshell. In the late springand summer, the snowpackmelts and the reservoirs fill.Water is released as
27
Demand: The amount of power beingused at any given time. Demand in theNorthwest is seasonal, with the highestuse in the winter for heating and thelowest in the summer when temperaturesare warmer.
Resident Fish: Fish that are permanentinhabitants of a water body. Residentfish include trout, bass, and perch.
Peak Flow: The maximum rate of flowduring a specified time period at a particular location on a stream or river.
to protect migrating fishand to meet electric powerdemand, and that elevationsdo not drop to levels thatare harmful for resident fishand wildlife.
System operators devel-op rule curves at the startof each operating year andupdate them as the yearprogresses and more information on snowpackand streamflow becomesavailable. Each reservoirhas several sets of curves.Some curves set a maximumelevation, while others set aminimum. The curves areused to operate individualreservoirs as well as the totalcoordinated reservoir system.
Three Seasons of
Operation. The operatingyear for flood control andpower production of theColumbia River system canbe divided into three seasons:
September through
December. In the fixeddrawdown season, reservoirsare operated according topredetermined rule curvesbecause volume runoff forecasts based on thesnowpack are not availableuntil January. The goal inthis period is to be sure thatreservoirs reach specific
elevations by the end ofDecember. Additionally during this period, flows aremanaged at Bonneville Damto enhance chum salmonspawning and rearing belowthe project. This operationextends into the next season,concluding around March.
January into April.
In the variable drawdownseason, operation of thereservoirs is guided by thevolume runoff forecasts.Reservoirs are drafted duringthis period to provide floodcontrol space and to producepower. Water must beavailable in the reservoirsearly in April to meet theoperating requirements ofjuvenile fish migration.
April through August.
In the refill season, reservoirsare operated to meet flowobjectives at the Corps’dams at Lower Granite onthe Snake River and McNaryon the Columbia River. Theflow objectives were estab-lished to enhance the sur-vival of endangered speciesof chum, sockeye, chinooksalmon, and steelhead asthey migrate to the sea.Operations for flood controlcontinue as needed andpower is generated, with
necessary throughout thespring and summer to augment flows for fishmigration, with an eye onkeeping reservoirs fullenough to enhance recre-ation and maintain residentfish habitat. Some drawdownof reservoir storage alsooccurs in the summer forirrigation, water supply, and power generation.
When temperatures andstreamflows begin to dropin the fall, reservoir draftingfor power generationincreases. Recreational useof the lakes and reservoirsis decreasing at this time ofyear, as are irrigation with-drawals. Drawdown in thefall also creates storage spacefor winter flood control.
The system is draftedthroughout the winter forpower generation and toprovide flood control spacefor spring snowmelt. In theearly spring, the reservoirsare at their lowest elevation.Streamflows from snowmelttypically begin to increasesignificantly about mid-Apriland reach a peak in May or June. A portion of theresulting high flows is storedto reduce flood dangerdownriver and to augmentflows later in the fish migration season.
Rule Curves. Reservoirsare operated according toguidelines called rule curveand for nonpower con-straints. Rule curves specifyreservoir water levels thatare desirable for each monthand provide guidance inmeeting project purposes.They assure that adequatespace is available for floodcontrol, that there is water
Rule curves specifyreservoir levels by month to meetproject purposes.
Most of the water in the Columbia River system is stored naturally as snowuntil spring temperatures melt it and begin the seasonal runoff.
Snowpack: The accumulation of snow inthe mountains that builds up during thelate fall and winter.
Drafting: The process of releasing waterfrom storage in a reservoir. Operatorsbegin drafting reservoirs—through turbines or over the spillway of a dam—to lower the level for a number of reasons, including flood control ordownstream flows for fish or power generation.
Rule Curves: Water levels, representedgraphically as curves, that guide reservoir operations.
28
Reservoirs areoperated seasonally
based in part on historical
runoff patterns.
Three Seasons of Reservoir Operation
29
Variable Drawdown: Spring runoff forecasts are available beginning in January. They are the basis for rulecurves that guide operations through the runoff and refill season.
Refill Season: Operators focus on capturing enough runoff to refill reservoirs by the end of July. When runoff islow, reservoirs may not refill and future operations are partially shaped by how low reservoir levels are on July 31.
Fixed Drawdown: during the late summer and fall when the volume of the next spring runoff is unknown, reservoir operations are guided by fixed rule curves that follow historical patterns.
September through December
January into April
April through August
curves for the multipurposeoperation of the dams onthe river. Once the basicoperating guidelines are set,actual operation of the system is based on meetingseveral related but some-times conflicting objectives:
• Providing adequate floodstorage space for controlof the spring runoff.
• Accommodating in-seasonmanagement of fish passage, spawning, and stranding while providingflows to aid juvenile migration downstream and managing water quality.
• Maintaining a high prob-ability that reservoirs willrefill to meet recreation needs and provide water for next year’s power and fish operations.
• Preserving and enhancing habitat for resident fish.
• Optimizing power generation within the requirements necessary to meet other objectives.
some restrictions on theamount of water that canbe put through turbines asopposed to over spillways.
The spring flow targetsgo into effect April 3 on theSnake and April 10 on theColumbia. They are followedby summer objectives onJune 21 and July 1, respec-tively. Operators try tobegin July with the reser-voirs full so summer flowscan be augmented throughAugust without severeimpacts on recreation orresident fish habitat. Thereare draft limits at eachreservoir to protect and balance these other uses.
Before each new operating year begins inAugust, streamflow studiesare made to derive the rule
30
Streamflow studies are madebefore each new operating year.
Indicators, like this one at Libby Dam, are used to gauge the water level at each reservoir. Efforts are made to refill the reservoirsevery year. Runoff is usually adequate to refill reservoirs about three out of every four years.
Forecasts of high runoff mean reservoirs must be drafted during thewinter so there is adequate space tocontrol flood waters in the spring.
31
Historical patternsare well estab-
lished, but there isalways uncertaintyabout future runoff.
extent the need for floodcontrol space will allow.Power is produced for nonfirm energy markets as water is released tomake space in reservoirsfor flood control.
Because naturalstreamflows are typicallyvery low in the late summerand fall and because of theuncertainty regarding futurerunoff, reservoir operationin August throughDecember typically followsoperating curves quiteclosely. Sometimes morerain causes temporarilyhigher flows in the fall.This water can be used toproduce nonfirm energy,increase spawning habitatfor chum and chinooksalmon, or left in storagefor future use. If abundantwater is available fromJanuary through March, thewater will be stored forflow augmentation to the
Nonfirm Energy: Energy planners sepa-rate energy from the hydro system intofirm and nonfirm. Firm energy is pro-duced on a guaranteed basis with criti-cal water conditions. Nonfirm energy isthe energy that can be generated withwater that is available in excess of whatis needed for firm energy generation.
When runoff is high, BPA markets extra power to customers within and outsidethe region.
of a boat ramp or to accom-modate wildlife concerns.Sometimes requirements areincluded in the authorizinglegislation for Federal projects or in the FERCoperating license for non-Federal projects. Systemwiderequirements affect morethan one project.
Sometimes a project’slimits and requirements aredefined after it is authorized.For example, at DworshakDam, a “prime steelheadharvest season” was estab-lished for a 45-day periodbeginning October 1. Therequirement (set after theproject was authorized but
Operation of theColumbia River system musttake into account operatingrequirements that exist foreach project. Almost alloperating requirements aredefined in terms of river flowor water surface elevation(lake or downstream).Operating requirements for project flows includeminimum instantaneous discharge, minimum dailydischarge, and maximumhourly and daily rates of change. Operatingrequirements for reservoirelevations include minimumand maximum reservoir levels, downstream watersurface elevations, andmaximum hourly and dailyrates of change.
Operating requirementscan be either site specificor systemwide. Most aresite specific, meaning theyapply to only one project orone location on the river.When a water project isdesigned, operating requirements that relate tothe physical features andfunctions of a dam and itssurrounding environment areoften defined. For example,a requirement may specifythe lowest allowable reservoirelevation for a project for use
V.Multiple Usesof the System
32
There are many operating requirements for each Federal project. The require-ments at Grand Coulee specify reservoir elevations and discharge limits whichoperators must follow.
Operating Requirements at Grand Coulee
R e s e r v o i r E l e v a t i o n L i m i t s1 cubic meter per second= 35.31 cubic feet per second
R e c r e a t i o n ( J u n e - S e p t e m b e r )
F l o o d C o n t r o l ( L o w - W a t e r Y e a r )
F l o o d C o n t r o l ( A v e r a g e Y e a r )
M i n i m u m L e v e l f o r I r r i g a t i o n P u m p i n g ( M a y 31)
M i n i m u m O p e r a t i n g L e v e l f o r I n c h e l i u m F e r r y
F l o o d C o n t r o l ( H i g h - W a t e r Y e a r )M i n i m u m — 1210
12 2 0
12 3 0
12 4 0
12 5 0
12 6 0
12 7 0
12 8 0
F u l l — 12 9 0
E l e v a t i o n i n F e e t
M a x i m u m R a t e o fD r a f t 1 . 5 ' P e r D a y f o rS h o r e l i n e S t a b i l i t y
D i s c h a r g e L i m i t s
0
1 0 0 , 0 0 0
2 0 0 , 0 0 0
3 0 0 , 0 0 0
4 0 0 , 0 0 0
5 0 0 , 0 0 0D i s c h a r g ei n C u b i c F e e tP e r S e c o n d
M a x i m u m T a i l w a t e rE l e v a t i o nC h a n g e3 ' - 4 ' P e r H o u r
P o w e r h o u s e M a x i m u m
P o w e r h o u s e M a x i m u mP l u s S p i l l w a y O u t l e t T u b e s
A v e r a g e A n n u a l F l o w
M i n i m u m t o M a i n t a i n F l o w B e l o w P r i e s t R a p i d s D a m
1 foot = 0.3048 meters1 cubic foot per second = 0.028 cubic meters per second
1 5 0 0
7 5 0
01 8 7 8 1 8 7 9 1 8 8 0 1 8 8 1 1 8 8 2 1 8 8 3
Most snowmeltrunoff in the basin occurs
from May through July.
before it was built) increasedpublic support for the projectbecause it provided for aperiod of nearly naturalstreamflows below the damfor steelhead fishing. Newrequirements also are developed through studiesand discussions with thepublic and other agencies.In the following pages, thecategories of operatingrequirements that must befactored into ColumbiaRiver system planning andoperation each year are described in detail.
A. Flood ControlThe Pacific Northwest
has two principal flood seasons. November throughMarch is the rain-producedflood period. These floodsoccur most frequently onstreams west of theCascade Mountains.
May through July is thesnowmelt flood period.East of the Cascades,snowmelt floods dominatethe runoff pattern for theColumbia Basin. The mostserious snowmelt floods
develop when extendedperiods of warmer weathercombine with a large accumulation of wintersnow. The worst floodsresult when heavy rains fallduring a heavy snowmelt.
Flood damage potentialis greatest in the lowerColumbia from the Portland-Vancouver area to themouth of the river. Thisarea suffers winter rainfallfloods from the WillametteRiver as well as snowmeltfloods from the Columbia,and it is the most highly
33
The Columbia River historical runoff record,as measured at The Dalles, Oregon, isdepicted on the hydrograph that beginsat the bottom of this page and continuesthroughout this chapter. The flow is shownin thousands of cubic feet per second.
Snowmelt often causes streams and rivers to overflow their banks.
1 5 0 0
7 5 0
01 8 8 3 1 8 8 4 1 8 8 5 1 8 8 6 1 8 8 7 1 8 8 8
control floods in the regionwere organized locally inplaces subject to frequentdamage. Levees and flood-walls were built to protectflood-prone areas along thelower Columbia River andelsewhere.
After the tragic flood of1948 that destroyed Vanport,Oregon, the Corps developeda multiple-use reservoirstorage plan for theColumbia River Basin withflood control as a majorobjective. This plan hasevolved over the years withthe projects authorized by the Columbia RiverTreaty bringing the systemup to the desired level ofprotection.
Presently, up to 49billion cubic meters (39.7million acre-feet) of storagespace can be made availablefor flood control from theCoordinated ColumbiaRiver System, including 25.3 billion cubic meters(20.5 million acre-feet) atthe three Canadian Treatyprojects. This reservoirstorage is supplemented bya system of local levees,floodwalls, and bank protection. In addition,many areas have adoptedmeasures such as floodplain regulations, land useregulation, and improvedland treatment practices tominimize flood damagepotential.
developed and populatedreach of the river.
Flood damage in thepast has also occurredalong the Flathead Rivernear Kalispell, Montana; theKootenai River betweenBonners Ferry, Idaho, andKootenay Lake; the PendOreille River below AlbeniFalls; the Columbia Rivernear Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Washington; andthe lower Clearwater Rivernear Lewiston, Idaho.Although many streams in thebasin remain uncontrolled,reservoirs on the majorrivers reduce flood damagein most of these areas.
Organizing for Flood
Control. Early efforts to
The Columbia River community of Vanport, Oregon, was destroyed by a flood in 1948. It was never rebuilt. The frequencyof damaging floods on the lower river can now be reduced by reservoir operations upstream.
Snowmelt andrainfall can combine to produce devastating floods.
34
Levees, Flood Walls, & Bank Protection:A levee is a raised embankment built tokeep out flood waters. Flood walls, suchas the concrete seawall along theWillamette River in downtown Portland,are barriers constructed to hold out highwater. The soil on river banks is protect-ed from erosion in a variety of ways.River grasses and trees are cultivated insome areas, and fine mesh screens arelaid on banks in other areas to keep soilin place. Rock revetments are also usedto protect against fast moving streamsor vigorous wave action.
Kootenai and Kootenay: The name of aNorthwest Indian tribe which has beenused to name rivers, waterfalls, andlakes in the region. The spelling variesbetween Kootenay (Canada) andKootenai (U.S.).
1 5 0 0
7 5 0
01 8 8 8 1 8 8 9 1 8 9 0 1 8 9 1 1 8 9 2 1 8 9 3
35
Timing is critical to keep rivers
from overflowingtheir banks.
magnitude of the greatersource of potential—snowmelt—can be predictedseveral months in advancewith fairly high accuracy.
As a result, flood control storage space inColumbia River reservoirsis made available only duringthose months when floodrisk exists, and the amountof space needed depends onhow much runoff is expect-ed. This situation makes itpossible to use reservoirspace for storing water forfish flows, hydropower, irrigation, recreation, andother purposes duringperiods when there is littleor no flood risk, and to usethe space jointly for floodcontrol and the other purposes during the flood
season. This concept ofjoint-use storage is practicedfor the reservoirs of theCoordinated ColumbiaRiver System.
Operating Objectives.
Flood control operation hastwo objectives: operatingthe total reservoir system tominimize damaging flows onthe lower Columbia River,and operating individualreservoirs to minimize damage to local areas.
The first objective—system flood control—reduces peak flows on thelower Columbia. Streamflowmeasured at The Dalles,Oregon, is the control pointfor this operation. The flowobjective varies dependingon the runoff forecast. Inyears of low to moderate
Flood Control
Operation. Floods occurwhen rivers overflow theirbanks. The objective of any flood control operationis to capture enough runoffin reservoirs to keepstreamflows from reachingdamaging levels. Timing iscritical. Filling of storagereservoirs must be timed soflows are reduced the mostwhen runoff is highest.
In many parts of thecountry, floods can occur inany season, so flood controlspace must be availableyear-round. In the ColumbiaRiver Basin, however, floodflows are limited to twoperiods: rain-induced floodsin the winter, and snowmeltfloods in the spring and earlysummer. Furthermore, the
Flood control operations reduce the probability of property damage by capturing excess runoff in reservoirs and releasing it over time.
Flood Control Storage Space: The spacethat is provided in a storage reservoir toallow for the capture of runoff that couldotherwise cause flood damage.
1 5 0 0
7 5 0
01 8 9 3 1 8 9 4 1 8 9 5 1 8 9 6 1 8 9 7 1 8 9 8
that is available at no addi-tional cost beyond the origi-nal lump sum payment. To control very large floods, theUnited States may chooseto pay for additional storagein Canadian reservoirs.
The second objective —controlling local floods—requires consideration inboth winter and spring.Each reservoir’s fall andwinter drawdown scheduleis designed to provide spacefor controlling local rainfallfloods as well as snowmeltfloods. Generally, duringspring floods, storage ofrunoff for system controlprovides protection forlocal areas as well.
Flood Control Rule
Curves. Also called UpperRule Curves, these limitsspecify the amount of storagethat must be evacuated
during the fall and winter tomeet the objectives outlinedabove. These curves indicatethe minimum reservoir elevation that must bemaintained. The elevationdefined by the curve dependson the magnitude of the floodthreat at that particular time.
Flood control rulecurves have a fixed compo-nent, which usually definesoperation during Septemberthrough December, whenless predictable rainfallfloods occur. Evacuation ofreservoirs begins in thisperiod to ensure that spacewill be available whenneeded to control floods.Since snowpacks are justbeginning to build duringthis period, runoff forecastsare not available, so thecurve is based on a statisticalanalysis of historical events.
runoff, the reservoir systemcan be operated to limit peakflows to a maximum of12,743 m3/s (450,000 cfs) atThe Dalles, the level abovewhich damage begins tooccur in areas not protectedby levees.
There are over 20 leveesystems along the lowerColumbia with varying pro-tection capabilities. Someare designed to sustain flowsof 22,653 m3/s (800,000 cfs) ormore. Others can fail at flowsas low as 16,990 m3/s (600,000cfs), which is considered the“major damage” thresholdfor the lower Columbia.
Control to this level can beaccomplished in high runoffyears using a combinationof space in U.S. reservoirsand the 10.4 billion cubicmeters (8.4 million acre-feet)of Canadian Treaty storage
Levee systems provide another method of flood protection. There are over 20 levee systems in the lower Columbia River,and, in high water years, they add another layer of security for residents in flood prone areas.
The reservoir systemis operated inmost years to limitpeak flows to450,000 cubicfeet per second at The Dalles,Oregon
36
1 5 0 0
7 5 0
01 8 9 8 1 8 9 9 1 9 0 0 1 9 0 1 1 9 0 2 1 9 0 3
37
Flood control rule curves are
updated as runoffforecasts become
available.
range of runoff forecasts.The flood control curvesare updated monthly asrevised forecasts becomeavailable.
Flood Control During
Refill. From April throughJuly, reservoirs are allowedto refill gradually, at a ratethat maintains downstreamflows at acceptable levels.To guide this operation, theCorps uses a computermodel to simulate reservoiroperation on a daily basis inresponse to forecastedrunoff. In moderate to high runoff years, carefulmonitoring is required toensure that damaging flowsdo not occur.
In other years, cool
The variable componentof flood control rule curvesdefines operation fromJanuary through April. InJanuary, forecasts of seasonalvolume runoff becomeavailable. This allows thevariable portion of eachproject’s flood control rulecurve to be defined. It isbased on the runoff volumeexpected to occur and thusindicates the amount ofreservoir storage spaceneeded to control floods forthe rest of the operating year.
The flood control rulecurve is developed using theproject’s storage reservationdiagram, which specifies theamount of storage requiredto protect against a wide
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP
D r y Ye a r
Av
er a
ge
Ye
ar
We
t Y
ea
r
Full Pool
Minimum Pool
Each storage reservoir has its own storage reservation diagram, which shows the pool levels that need to be maintainedgiven various runoff predictions.
Typical Storage Reservation Diagram Storage Reservation Diagram: Each storage reservoir has its own storagereservation diagram, which shows thepool levels that need to be maintainedgiven various runoff predictions.
weather and other conditionsresult in reduced runoff, sothe potential for flood con-ditions is never realized. Inthose years, considerationssuch as refill requirements,water releases for fish, and power generationopportunities heavily influence refill operation.
Actual Operation.
Flood control rule curvesdefine the minimum amountof storage space that mustbe provided at each projectto meet system and localflood control needs. Priorto requirements containedin the biological opinions,actual reservoir levels tended to be somewherebetween the flood control
Operating Year: Detailed operations areplanned over a 12-month period. Theoperating year begins on August 1 andends on July 31.
1 5 0 0
7 5 0
01 9 0 3 1 9 0 4 1 9 0 5 1 9 0 6 1 9 0 7 1 9 0 8
adult fish.Before constructionbegan, theydesignedmeasures toreduce thiseffect at many of theprojects. Fishladders werebuilt at middle and lowerColumbia and lower Snakeriver dams. Operatorsenhance passage by provid-ing rushing water near thefish ladder entrances toattract migrating adults.
Dams can also impedethe migration of juvenilefish downstream. Juvenilescan be killed when theypass through turbines, andthey can be subject to predation in reservoirs.Beginning in the early1980s, the Northwest PowerPlanning Council’s Fish andWildlife Program called forbuilding bypass facilities toaid juvenile migration, constructing more fish
hatcheries, improving habitat, and screeningirrigation diversions. Othermeasures, such as a “waterbudget” to help “flush” juvenile fish down the riverand a spill agreement tomove fish over dams, werealso implemented.
Despite over a decadeof effort, some stocks offish reached such alarminglylow levels during the decadeof the 1990s that they weredeclared endangered orthreatened under Federallaw. In response to the ESAlistings, the Corps andReclamation have imple-mented major changes inthe way their projects are
rule curves and the some-what lower limits establishedfor power generation. Sincethe biological opinions, the levels tend to followflood control curves. Therule curves for power generation are described in section C.
B. Fish and WildlifeThe Columbia River
Basin is world renownedfor its salmon and steelhead,two types of anadromousfish. A number of factorsrelated to human activityhave contributed to thedecline of anadromous fishruns in the basin. Irrigation,timber harvesting, commer-cial fishing, mining, pollution,construction of structuresin the river, flood control,and other factors havetaken a toll on the onceabundant fish populations.
Engineers and plannersrecognized that dams blockthe upstream passage of
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All Federal dams on the lower Columbia and lowerSnake rivers have fish ladders similar to this one to aidfish migrating up the river.
Rushing waterattracts fish to fishladder entrances.
Ratepayer-funded hatcheries put millions of salmon smoltsinto the river each year. This practice augments the naturalfish stocks that have declined rapidly in recent years.
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Bypass facilitiesaid downstream
migration of juvenile fish.
operated. Anadromous fish recovery now has ahigher priority than everbefore in system planningand operations.
ESA Listings. In theearly 1990s, NMFS deter-mined that, without ESAprotection, Snake Riversockeye salmon, and spring,summer, and fall chinookwere likely to becomeextinct. The sockeye, poisoned during the 1960sand 1970s by an Idaho stateagency as “trash fish,” weredeclared endangered in 1991.The chinook were listed asthreatened in 1992 and werereclassified as endangeredin 1995. According to NMFS,the populations of Snake
River spring and summerchinook have fallen to 5 percent of their historicalabundance. Only 350 SnakeRiver fall chinook returnedto spawn in 1995, and onelone sockeye returned toIdaho’s Redfish Lake in 1994.
NMFS concluded thatthe impacts of the FCRPSjeopardize the continuedexistence of the SnakeRiver salmon. The Federaloperating agencies workedwith NMFS to develop operations that would avoidjeopardy. These operationswere set out in NMFS’ 1995biological opinion. In 1996,after completing the SOR,the Corps, Reclamation, andBPA adopted an operating
strategy for the hydro systemthat was based on the 1995biological opinion and aimedto operate the river to optimize fish survival andrecover endangered salmon.
On May 14, 1998, NMFSissued a supplemental biological opinion whichresponded to new listings for Snake River steelhead(threatened), UpperColumbia River steelhead(endangered), and LowerColumbia River steelhead(threatened). The operatingstrategy was similar to the1996 strategy but continuesto evolve to optimizespecies’ survival and recovery. A new biologicalopinion was issued in
Screens are placed at the entrance to irrigation canals to keep fish from being diverted into channels that carry water
away from the river.
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Granite Dam on the SnakeRiver and for Priest Rapidsand McNary dams on theColumbia. If natural runoffis inadequate to meet theobjectives at these measuringpoints, water is releasedfrom storage reservoirs toaugment flows. In order toprotect other parts of theecosystem, as well as resi-dent fish and wildlife, thereare limits on how muchreservoirs will be drafted.
The biological opiniongives a range in which flowobjectives are set, dependingupon the runoff forecast.The objectives are expressedin thousands of cubic feetper second (kcfs), andthere are objectives for
both the spring and summerseasons. On April 3, fishmigration operations beginon the lower Snake; sevendays later the Priest Rapidsobjective of 135 kcfsbecomes effective throughJune 30. On April 10, fishoperations begin on the restof the Columbia. Thespring flow objective is inforce until June 20 on theSnake, at which time a summer target goes intoeffect. On the Columbia,the spring objective is ineffect until June 30, and thesummer objective takeseffect on July 1.
Another aspect of theoperating strategy concernsspill. Flows keep the fish
December 2000. The operating requirements are similar to the 1995 NMFSopinion with changes toimprove anadromous fishpassage through the hydrosystem. The new opinionalso covers habitat, hatchery,and harvest activities.
The objective of thesystem operations in thespring is to restore the effectsof a spring freshet to movemigrating salmon smoltsrapidly past the dams and outto the ocean. Flow objectivesare the way operators assurethat the volume of water inthe river is adequate tospeed the fish along. Thebiological opinion sets aflow objective for Lower
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The Water Budget, begun in 1982, and subsequently replaced with flow augmentation, provided additional flow in thespring to move juvenile salmon downriver to the ocean. Some of the water was stored at upstream projects on the Snakeand Columbia rivers until it was requested.
W A S H I N G T O N
O R E G O N
Ice HarborMcNary
Ice Harbor
John DayThe Dalles
Bonneville
1 cubic meter per second = 35.31 cubic feet per second
LowerMonumental
Little GooseLower Granite
Hells Canyon
Oobow
Priest RapidsWanapum
Rocky Reach
Wells Chief Joseph
Dworshak
Brownlee
Grand Coulee
PA
CIF
IC O
CE
AN
Flow augmentationprovides higherflows to aid migrating fish.
Anadromous Fish Flow Objectives
Freshet: The heavy runoff that occurs inthe river when streams are at their peakflows with spring snowmelt. Before thedams were built, these freshets movedspring juvenile salmon quickly downriver.
Smolt: A juvenile salmon or steelheadmigrating to the ocean and undergoingphysiological changes to adapt its body from a freshwater to a saltwaterenvironment.
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When water isspilled, fish aredrawn over the
spillways andaway from
turbines.
moving, and spill helps steerthem away from generatingunits. The original biologicalopinion recommended thata target of 80 percent smoltpassage via non-turbineroutes unless the dissolvedgas level in the waterbecame too high. Now, thegoal is to move as manyfish as possible via non-tur-bine routes. This meansthe majority of fish must gothrough collection andbypass systems or be
passed over the spillway.Seven Corps projects havebeen equipped with bypassfacilities: Bonneville, JohnDay, McNary, Little Goose,Lower Granite, LowerMonumental, and Ice Harbor.These divert juvenile fishaway from turbine intakesand into special conduits orsluiceways where they caneither be bypassed aroundthe dam or collected at foursites for transport down-stream—Lower Granite,
Little Goose, LowerMonumental, and McNary.
In order to provide theflows and spill called for inthe biological opinion, theoperating agencies attemptto store water through thewinter for the fish migrationseason. The reservoirsbegin the season fuller thanthey would have under theold operating guidelinesthat gave power productiona higher priority in systemoperations. Additionally,storage is tempered by theneed to provide flows forchum salmon during latefall and winter.
Transportation. TheCorps operates an extensiveprogram for transportingsmolts past the dams. Anexperimental barging program was begun in theearly 1970s because of theproblems with cumulativeimpacts of gas supersatura-tion, turbine mortality, andpredators on the juvenilefish moving through thereservoirs and past the projects. Specially constructed barges or tanktrucks are used to move the fish from collectordams to release sites belowBonneville Dam. Fourlower Snake and Columbiariver dams (Lower Granite,Little Goose, LowerMonumental, and McNary)have juvenile collection andtransport facilities; however,in-season operations underthe biological opinion
The fall chinook spawning grounds at Vernita Bar upstream from the Tri-Cities,
Washington, are protected by a special agreement known as the Vernita Bar
Agreement.
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Dissolved Gas Level: As falling waterhits the river surface, it drags in air as itplunges. With increasing water pressure,this air dissolves into the water andincreases the levels of pre-existing dissolved gases.
Spill: Water released from a dam overthe spillway instead of being directedinto the turbines.
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determine which will beused and how many fishwill be transported.
Research over the yearshas resulted in manyimprovements to barging.A constant supply of freshwater pumped into the bargedirectly from the river provides fish with homingcues they will need later asreturning adults. The numberand type of fish that can besafely carried is factoredinto the operation. Thebarges are equipped withaeration chambers thatremove supersaturatedgases from the water.
Operations to Recover
Sturgeon and Bull Trout.
The Kootenai River whitesturgeon, which lives inCanada’s Kootenay Lake buttravels upriver into the U.S.
The region is committed to protecting dwindling salmon stocks.
With the attention on wild salmon stocks, river managers and others in theregion are exploring new methods for improving juvenile salmon migration.
This cross-section of a typical run-of-river dam shows thewater intake (penstock), the turbine generator which isspun by the falling water, and the water outlet (tailrace).
The spillway is the overflow structure on the dam wherewater passes over and down a concrete chute. Theamount of water passing over the spillway is controlledthrough gates.
Dam Cross-sections Showing Various Pathways for Fish
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Left uncontrolled,northern
pikeminnow willdine heavily onjuvenile salmon.
provide flows of 255 m3/s(9,000 cfs) from the Libbyproject at Bonners Ferryduring their summer spawning period.
Vernita Bar
Agreement. In the past,operators of Federal projectshad informally cooperatedto ensure lower flows overVernita Bar during the fallspawning period and higherflows in the winter whileeggs are incubating. The1988 Vernita Bar Agreementmade formal the efforts byGrant County PUD, BPA, and others to deliver flowsneeded to encourage andprotect salmon spawning atthis location.
Under the agreementsigned in 1988, operatorsprovide certain flow levelsfrom fall to early spring to
to spawn, has also beendeclared endangered. TheUSFWS listed the sturgeonin 1994, citing Libby Dam asthe most significant factor inthe species’ decline. In 1995,the Corps began operatingthe reservoir at Libby Damaccording to the USFWSbiological opinion for whitesturgeon. The objective isto regulate the flows atLibby during the spring andsummer to release water atan appropriate temperatureand provide an adequatevolume of flow downriverto the sturgeon’s spawninggrounds to meet its biologicalneeds.
Bull trout are a threat-ened species in the ColmbiaRiver Basin. One measurebeing implemented to assist their recovery is to
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protect and preserve salmonspawning and hatching atVernita Bar below PriestRapids Dam. This is thelargest fall chinook salmonspawning area on the main-stem of the Columbia River.
An agreement is underdevelopment to reducestranding of juvenilesalmon along the HanfordReach of the ColumbiaRiver. If water levels dropoff rapidly after a rainstorm,snowmelt, or a change inproject operations upstream,salmon can become trapped in pools no longerconnected to the river.Without any means toreturn to the river, thetrapped fish die as pooltemperatures rise and the dissolved oxygen is exhausted.
Fish ladders are a series of gradual steps that enable fishto swim around or over a dam. Ladders are in place atall Federal projects on the lower Columbia and lowerSnake rivers.
Bypass systems are pathways made up of pipes and conduitsthat carry juvenile fish that enter the penstocks away from tur-bines and around a dam. In some cases, bypasses guide fishto collection points where they are loaded into barges ortrucks and transported downstream below other dams.
Fall Chinook Salmon: This salmon stockreturns from the ocean in late summerand early fall to head upriver to itsspawning grounds, distinguishing itfrom other stocks which migrate in different seasons.
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dissolved gases (principallynitrogen), can damage and,if exposure time is high, evenkill fish. Flow deflectors(flip lips) have beeninstalled on the spillways atmost of the Corps’ dams toreduce the plunge of waterinto the basin below.
Project operators alsowork with fisheries agenciesto reduce nitrogen supersat-uration with “spill transfers.”Supersaturation and spillare reduced and power generation is increased atone project where gas
Controlling Predation
and Fish-Killing Gases.
BPA began a project tocontrol northern pikeminnow,a prime predator of juvenilefish, in 1990. Commercialand sport anglers are paid a bounty for each adultnorthern pikeminnow,caught and turned in at anorthern pikeminnowcheck station.
Action agencies arealso working to solve theproblem of nitrogen super-saturation. When water isspilled that would otherwise
There are specialoperating requirements atsome projects toprotect native fishand waterfowlhabitat.
Parties to the Coordination Agreementhave developed and use a variety of computer modeling techniques toplan for upcoming power productionand to guide system operation.
Life Cycle of Columbia River Anadromous Fish Salmon are anadromous fish, which means they are born in freshwater, migrate down-
stream to the ocean where they spend most of their lives in saltwater, and then returnto freshwater to reproduce (spawn). Both salmon and steelhead are strongly affectedby the natural ups and downs of river flows that occur with the changes of seasons.
Salmon hatch in freshwater gravel beds of the Columbia River and its tributaries.About 50 days after eggs are laid, embryonic fish called alevins emerge. Alevins liveon nutrients stored in their yolk sac until they grow large enough (about 2 centimeters(cm)(1 inch)) to emerge as young fish, or fry, that eat insects and organic matter. They quickly grow to 8 to 10 cm (3 to 4 inches) before seeking sheltered spots in freshwater streams to spend the winter.
As winter ends, their bodies begin changing to adapt to seawater, and the youngsalmon and steelhead, now called smolts, are ready to begin their migration down thetributaries to the Columbia River and out to sea. Most of the young fish migrate out of the river during spring and early summer when natural water flows are highest.Once they arrive in the ocean, a trip that can take a month or two, the fish feed—andare fed upon—voraciously as they grow into adults. Many are caught or eaten bynative predators during the two to five years the salmon spend in the ocean.
Fish that have grown to maturity and survive the many dangers and predators atsea then begin their long return journey. They undergo another set of physiologicalchanges to allow them to return to freshwater and swim up the river. Most adultsreturn to the same streams and tributaries where they were spawned, guided by complex homing instincts.
Once they arrive, the adult fish pair up and spawn, releasing and fertilizing theireggs. Female fish cover their nests (called redds) with gravel from the streambed.Adult salmon die after spawning, but some steelhead survive and return to the oceanto restart the cycle.
Many species of waterfowl, such asCanada geese, rely on the banks of the Columbia River and its tributaries for food and nesting.
go through turbines, largeamounts of air become trap-ped in the water. This water,which is supersaturated with
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Northern Pikeminnow: A giant memberof the minnow family, the northernpikeminnow (formerly known as squaw-fish) is native to the Columbia River andits tributaries. Studies show a northernpikeminnow can eat up to 15 youngsalmon a day.
Hydropower generation is the backbone
of the region’selectricity supply.
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when it is surplus to theirneeds. The balance of theregion's electricity comesfrom thermal resources,primarily nuclear, coal-fired,and gas-fired plants.
Hydropower operationsare based on a determinationof how much firm energythe system can generate. Inmost years, there is enoughwater in the system to pro-duce additional energy, callednonfirm or secondary energy.
Striking the Balance
between Fish and Power.
Streamflows in the region donot follow the same patternas electric energy use.Customers in the Northwestuse more electricity in thewinter than in the summer.The Columbia River, however,is driven by snowmelt, withhigh runoff in the late springand early summer. Naturalflows are low in the fall and
sites, special operatingrequirements are put intoeffect at certain projects tokeep them from buildingnests in areas that may later be inundated. Forexample, a reservoir level is raised every three days to keep geese from nestingtoo low on the bank of theJohn Day and McNaryreservoirs. Other wildlifeprotection measures areincluded in the council’sFish and Wildlife Program.
C. Power Generation
Falling water is the ‘fuel’ forpower-generating turbinesat the dams. Hydropowersupplies approximately 60 to70 percent of the electricityin the Northwest. It is alsoexported by BPA and theregion's generating utilities
entrainment is a problem to migrating fish. Powergeneration is decreased andspill increased at anotherproject where fish havealready migrated. The totaloutflows at both projectsremain constant. Researchon the effects of gas super-saturation on fish life iscontinuing so additionalmeasures to reduce thisproblem can be found.
Nurturing the Natives.
Rivers and reservoirs are alsohome to native freshwaterfish that do not migrate tothe sea. These are residentfish, such as trout, sturgeon,and kokanee. System operators monitor waterlevels in the reservoirs toprotect the shallow spawninghabitat of resident fish.
In the early spring,when geese and pelicansare selecting their nesting
Energy Northwest’s Columbia Generating Station, at Hanford, Washington, is one of the Northwest’s large thermal generating plants. With the hydro system extensively developed, the region has turned to thermal generation to serve the growing load. Thermal resources now supply about 30 to 40 percent of the region’s electricity.
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Conflicts between powergeneration and fish are generally resolved in favorof the fish. Only flood control takes absoluteprecedence over fish.
The current operatingstrategy requires increasedwater storage in the fall andwinter and increased flowsand spill during the springand summer to benefitmigrating juvenile salmon.This creates more of a mis-match between streamflowsand generation than occurredwith operating strategies in
the past. The result is morewater for fish but a declinein annual hydropower generation and, therefore,reduced revenue frompower sales. With lowerwinter flows and higherspring and summer flows,BPA is likely to need to purchase power more oftenduring high load periods inthe winter and to have surpluspower to sell in the springand summer. BPA replacesthis power through powerpurchases or the acquisitionof new resources.
winter, when demand forpower is high.
Storage reservoirs can beoperated to at least partiallycorrect the discrepancybetween seasonal runoffand power demand. Storagereservoirs hold energy—inthe form of water—until system operators determineit can be released for various system needs.
Under the current operating strategy, operationof the reservoirs is adjustedto match the needs of theESA-listed fish species.
Nuclear and coal-fired powerplants and combustion turbines add to the Northwest’sgeneratingresources.
Speaking the Power Planners’ LanguagePlanners categorize power according to a number of factors, such as whether
generation can be guaranteed under various circumstances and whether the energy issurplus to the needs of Northwest customers. Some common terms are defined below.
Capacity and Energy: Capacity refers to the maximum amount of power a generator can produce or a power line can carry at any instant. A generator with acapacity of 100 megawatts can produce that amount of power when needed. However,it may rarely be run at full capacity. The same is true of an automobile engine with350 horsepower; it can produce that maximum horsepower but is not often requiredto do so. Excess capacity makes it possible to meet upswings or peaks in utility system load. Energy is the actual measure of generation or consumption over time.One kilowatt-hour is 1,000 watts of energy provided for one hour. Both a 100-wattlight bulb burning for 10 hours and a 1,000-watt hair dryer running for one hourresult in the consumption of one kilowatt-hour.
Seasonal Firm and Nonfirm Energy: These are terms planners use to distinguishgeneration that is guaranteed—given the region’s worst historical water conditions—from generation that depends upon better than worst-case streamflows. Firm energyis available even if the lowest recorded streamflows recur; nonfirm energy can beproduced when streamflows are better than worst case, which is usually what happens.Nonfirm is also called secondary energy, and, in the developing marketplace, its delivery is almost as certain as firm energy.
Firm surplus and firm deficit: These terms refer to supply and demand conditions.BPA has a firm surplus when the amount of energy the system can produce on a firmbasis exceeds anticipated demand from BPA’s customers. There is a firm deficitwhen the anticipated demand exceeds the firm energy that the system can produce.
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Power operationsare planned
according to theworst water conditions.
Hydroelectric generatingplants can be quickly andeasily ramped up and downto produce more or lesselectricity at any giventime. As a result, theseplants historically followedthe ups and downs indemand very efficiently andwere the key to meetingpeak power loads beforefish requirements limitedthem. Large thermal plantsare not so flexible and arenot easily switched on and off. They are calledbaseload plants since theyfunction best when meetinga constant, stable load, 24 hours a day, week in and week out. Newer gas-fired turbines have been called upon to pick up peaking loads.
Northwest Thermal
Plants. In the U.S. PacificNorthwest, there is oneoperating commercialnuclear plant: the ColumbiaGenerating Station (formerlyWNP-2) at Hanford,Washington, owned andoperated by EnergyNorthwest (formerly theWashington Public PowerSupply System). The region’scoal plants include Enron/Portland General Electric’splant at Boardman, Oregon;the Centralia, Washingtonplant operated by ScottishPower/PacifiCorp; and thefour-unit Colstrip facility inMontana. There are alsoseveral natural gas and oil-fired combustion turbines inthe region that are used peri-odically during high demand.
Critical Period
Planning. On theCoordinated Columbia RiverSystem, a multi-layeredplanning system for powergeneration has evolved,based on the possibility that the lowest historicalstreamflow conditionscould recur in the future.System planners call thisworst-case sequence of wateryears the “critical period.”
Critical period planningis essentially a reliabilitystandard that defines howmuch hydro system energyshould be considered firm,or guaranteed. It serves asa basis for determining howmuch non-hydro power willbe needed to meet expectedenergy loads in the region.This power could come from
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S E P 1 9 2 8 J U LY 1 9 3 0 F E B 1 9 3 2
F u l l P o o l
M i n i m u mP o o l J U LY 1 9 2 9 J U LY 1 9 3 1
42-Month Critical Period
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A U G O C T D E C F E B A P R J U N
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12-Month Critical Period
Combustion Turbines: This type of gener-ation uses some form of combustible fuelto power turbines, similar to aircraftengines, which in turn spin generators.Combustion turbines (or CTs, as theyare commonly called) can burn eithergas or oil, depending upon availabilityand cost of the supply. CTs are oftenused in the Northwest to meet peak winter heating loads because they canbe switched on quickly and easily.
Reliability Standard: Just as there arereliability standards for electrical appli-ances, there are standards for entireelectrical supply systems. The standardsare set in a way that ensures electricitywill be delivered reliably, or withoutinterruption.
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After the 1995 biological opinion the Federal system revertedto a one-year critical period (the four-year critical period cameabout with the construction of the Canadian Treaty projects).Here, “empty” is a relative term not meaning dry, but ratherdropping below 40% of full (flood control rule curve at the end of April). The actual draft period would be 8 months,September through April, under 1937 water conditions.
This graph illustrates the reservoir levels for a typicalproject if the lowest recorded runoff condition in theregion were repeated. Under critical-period operation, areservoir is operated to optimize power production whilebeing drafted from full to empty over 42 months.
planning and the resultingcoordination allowed formore power generation thanif operations were estab-lished on a 12-month cycle.
The biological opinionshave introduced a variety ofnonpower requirements thathave to be accommodatedinto the critical period plan-ning process. The amountof storage available forpower production has beenreduced, and, as a result,the amount of firm powerthe system can produce hasdecreased because reservoirscannot be drafted as deep.The current mix of powerand nonpower requirementshas led to the use of a one-year critical period (August 1,1936 through July 31, 1937),instead of a four-year critical period.
Operating Rule Curves
for Power Operation. Aset of operating guidelines,or rules, called “operatingrule curves” is developedannually to guide reservoiroperations for power production. These rulecurves result from numerousstudies of historical waterconditions. The rule curvesdetermine whether watercan be used for producingfirm or nonfirm energy.
The planning and operating year for powerproduction is August 1through July 31. The PNCACoordinating Group, madeup of BPA, the Corps,Reclamation, and publicand private utilities in theU.S. Northwest and westernCanada, administers planningand operations under theCoordination Agreement.Each year, the NorthwestPower Pool Study Groupconstructs numerous rulecurves for reservoir opera-tions for the upcomingoperating year to be usedby the Coordinating Group.
In the fixed drawdownperiod—from Septemberthrough December—beforethe year’s runoff forecast isavailable, hydro systemoperation is guided by threefixed rule curves. Theseare the flood control rulecurve, the critical rulecurve, and the assured refillcurve. After runoff forecastsare available, during thevariable drawdown and fish
thermal plants in the regionor from power purchases.
In the past, the criticalperiod has been determinedeach year by analyzing a 60-year streamflow record andisolating the portion thatwould produce the leastamount of energy, with allreservoirs drafted from fullto empty. Reservoirs wereassumed to be full at thebeginning of the criticalperiod and drawn down totheir lowest operating levelsby the end.
Before the biologicalopinions were issued, thecritical period was usuallybased on the 42-month inter-val from September 1, 1928,through February 29, 1932,which was referred to as the“four-year critical period.”In general, critical period
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The worst waterconditions in thebasin occurred during the years of 1928 to 1932.
This graph separates the critical period rule curve into four operating years.Water levels on July 31 influence which of the rule curves operators will followin drafting reservoirs over the coming year.
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0 %AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL
First Year
Second Year
Third Year
Fourth Year
M i n i m u m P o o l
F u l l P o o l
Critical Rule Curves for a TypicalColumbia River Reservoir
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The planningprocess yields rule curves to
guide reservoiroperations.
operating strategy. Flood Control Rule
Curve (FCRC). The flood control rule curvespecifies the level of reser-voir drawdown required toensure adequate flood control space. Under the
migration periods (Januarythrough August), reservoiroperations may be guided byone more rule curve calledthe variable energy contentcurve. This curve cannot belower than the flood controlrule curve, under the current
biological opinions, storagereservoirs are managed toprovide specified percent-ages of confidence of refillto flood control levels byApril 10 of each year.
Critical Rule Curves.
Critical rule curves specify
Deregulation Means Changes for BPA and All UtilitiesThe electricity industry in the United States is in the midst of a significant
restructuring to promote more competition. In 1996, the four Northwest governorsappointed a 20-member committee to consider changes in the institutional structureof the region’s electric utility industry. The Comprehensive Review of the NorthwestEnergy System aimed to protect the region’s natural resources and distribute thecosts and benefits of a more competitive marketplace equitably while assuring theregion of an adequate, efficient, economical, and reliable power system.
The Comprehensive Review Steering Committee met throughout 1996 and produceda series of recommendations for restructuring the Northwest electricity industry. Earlyin 1997, the governors appointed a four-member Northwest Energy Review TransitionBoard to oversee implementation of the recommendations of the Comprehensive Review.
Transmission. BPA has separated its transmission business from its power salesbusiness to conform to recommendations from the Comprehensive Review and nationalopen-access transmission directives from FERC, as interpreted by U.S. Departmentof Energy officials. BPA is participating in discussions aimed at creating one regionaltransmission operator (RTO) for all the Pacific Northwest’s transmission facilities.
Federal Power Subscription Process. BPA has long-term firm power salescontracts with over 120 utilities, including municipalities, public utility districts, andrural cooperatives. The agency also sells firm power directly to some Federal agenciesand some of the region’s largest industries, including aluminum smelters. Thesecompanies are called direct service industries or DSIs. The Northwest’s publiclyowned utilities have first call on power produced at Federal hydro projects, a principleknown as preference.
As deregulated wholesale energy markets become a reality, BPA’s customers havea greater number of power suppliers from which to choose. To meet the challengesof the competitive market while still providing stability to BPA, its customers, andthe U.S. Treasury, the Comprehensive Review recommended that the region develop asubscription-based system for marketing the electricity produced by the Federal system.
BPA and its customers have worked together to develop the terms and conditionsof the subscription relationship. Subscription will guide the process for disposition of Federal power after BPA’s existing contracts expire in September 2001. Its outcome will determine the types of long-term contracts BPA and its customers will have in the future.
Flood Control Rule Curve: The curve isalso called the upper rule curve. It setsthe amount of storage space that must be maintained in a reservoir to reducedamaging flood conditions downriver.
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critical period then the second-, third-, or fourth-yearcritical rule curve wouldguide operations during theyear, depending on how lowthe reservoirs and streamflowsactually were. Operation withCritical Rule Curve 2, 3, or4 is known as proportionaldraft. It means that eachreservoir is operated thesame distance proportionally(expressed in feet of elevation) between theguiding critical rule curves.
With the one-year criticalperiod currently being used,reservoirs are assumed tostart the operating year lessthan full, due to summerflow augmentation for fish,and to be drawn down nolower than flood control
levels, as specified in thebiological opinions, by thefollowing spring. Reservoirsare not drafted as deeply asthey were when a four-yearcritical period was beingused. Thus, under currentoperations, the critical rulecurve will not be lower thanthe flood control rule curve,which ensures that themaximum amount of storedwater is available for fishflows every season.
Assured Refill Curve
(ARC). The assured refillcurve is used to limit reservoir draft for energyproduction before the year’srunoff forecasts are knownto assure there is a highprobability of refill by July.The ARC concept is still used
reservoir elevations thatmust be maintained on amonthly basis to ensure thatfirm hydro energy require-ments can be met even ifthere is a reoccurrence of theworst historical streamflowconditions. In the past, during the planning process,a critical rule curve wasderived for each of the fouryears in the critical period.These were called CriticalRule Curves 1, 2, 3, and 4.
If reservoirs in the system began an operatingyear full, the rule curve usedto guide actual drawdownthat year was usually CriticalRule Curve 1. If reservoirsbegan the operating year lessthan full, or if streamflowswere lower than those in the
The variable energy contentcurve limits theamount of nonfirm energythat can be produced.
0 %
2 0 %
4 0 %
6 0 %
8 0 %
1 0 0 %
MFD JA S O N A M J J
Flood Control Rule Curve
Flood Control Rule Curve
0 %
2 0 %
4 0 %
6 0 %
8 0 %
1 0 0 %
MFD JA S O N A M J J
Flood Control Rule CurveCritical Rule Curve
Critical Rule Curve with Flood Control Rule Curve
The flood control rule curve defines the drawdownrequired to assure adequate space is available in thereservoir to regulate the predicted runoff for the yearwithout causing flooding downstream.
The critical rule curve defines the reservoir elevations thatmust be maintained to ensure that firm hydro energyrequirements can be met under the most adverse stream-flows on record.
1 5 0 0
7 5 0
01 9 6 8 1 9 6 9 1 9 7 0 1 9 7 1 1 9 7 2 1 9 7 3
51
Reservoirs areoperated seasonally
based in part on historical
runoff patterns.
the flood control rule curve. From January through
the remainder of the operating year, when actualstreamflow data and runoffforecasts are known, a newdraft limit for nonfirm energyproduction at each reservoiris calculated regularly. Ifthe latest snowpack andprecipitation measurementsshow that the ECC can belowered, this new draft limitis known as the variableenergy content curve.
Variable Energy
Content Curve (VECC).
The variable energy contentcurve shows how muchwater must remain in eachreservoir to create a 95 per-cent probability of refill byJuly 31. The first runoffforecast is made in early
January, the beginning of thevariable drawdown period.A new forecast is producedevery month from Januarythrough August and is usedto calculate a new VECC.When it is lower than theenergy content curve, theVECC is used to limit thedraft on reservoirs to produce nonfirm energy.Operators may draft belowthe VECC to meet firmhydroelectric energyrequirements.
The ECC and VECCconcepts continue to be usedin Coordination Agreementplanning. However, undercurrent ESA-driven opera-tions, reservoirs are notgenerally drafted below theflood control rule curve.
in Coordination Agreementplanning, but, as a practicalmatter, it has been super-seded in current operationsby the biological opinions,which require that reservoirsachieve flood control eleva-tions by mid-April. In otherwords, the priority is onhaving as much water aspossible in the reservoirs in the spring to aid fishmigration while still havingadequate flood control space.
Energy Content
Curve (ECC). The energycontent curve, also knownas the operating rule curve,defines the level of draw-down for producing nonfirmenergy. The ECC is thehigher of the critical rulecurve and the assured refillcurve; it must be at or below
0 %
2 0 %
4 0 %
6 0 %
8 0 %
1 0 0 %
MFD JA S O N A M J J
Flood Control Rule CurveCritical Rule CurveAssured Refill Curve
Assured Refill Curve with Flood Control & Critical Rule Curve
0 %
2 0 %
4 0 %
6 0 %
8 0 %
1 0 0 %
MFD JA S O N A M J J
Flood Control Rule CurveCritical Rule CurveAssured Refill CurveVariable Energy Content Curve
Variable Energy Content Curvewith Flood Control Rule Curve, Critical Rule Curve & Assured Refill Curve
Draft Limits: The lowest level to which a reservoir can be drawn down. Thelimit is based on rule curves that are calculated on both historic and currentstreamflow data.
The assured refill curve is based on the CoordinationAgreement refill test.
The variable energy content curve, which guides nonfirmenergy generation, is usually the lowest of the four curvesduring the winter and early spring and is based on predicted runoff for the year.
1 5 0 0
7 5 0
01 9 7 3 1 9 7 4 1 9 7 5 1 9 7 6 1 9 7 7 1 9 7 8
52
The river providestransportation for agricultural products from theinterior basin.
BPA Power Sales Take Many FormsOut-of-Region Sales, Exchanges, and Purchases. Intertie transmission
lines connect BPA’s high-voltage grid with California and, from there, with utilitiesthroughout the western United States. Other lines add eastern Montana, BritishColumbia, and Alberta to the interconnected grid. Power sales and trades betweenregions reduce electricity costs and the need for new power plants at both ends ofthe lines. BPA’s 25,000 circuit-kilometer (16,000 circuit-mile) transmission grid is the backbone of power transfers within and passing through the Northwest.
BPA has bought power from as far away as Texas to meet power peaks in winterstorms. It stores water in Canadian reservoirs as an energy reserve to draw on in apower crunch. BPA swaps spare capacity and surplus hydroelectric power in thespring for winter energy from California. All of these actions increase the Northwest’senergy supply without requiring new resources. BPA sells power outside theNorthwest only when the power is surplus to regional needs.
Surplus Power Sales. BPA may have firm surplus power to sell each springand early summer from water sent downstream to help migrating salmon. BPA hasentered into several long-term extraregional sales or exchange contracts for powerexcess to Northwest needs.
In 1995, Congress gave BPA greater flexibility to market surplus power outside theNorthwest. Previous energy call-back requirements of 60 days’ notice were removed.BPA can now sell this power for up to seven years. The legislation also gave BPAgreater flexibility to do business with power marketers, load aggregators, and brokers.
Short-term Trading. In the new competitive power market, utilities are seeking more short-term energy sales and are making deals at a faster pace. BPA is an active player in this market. In 1995, BPA set up an electricity “trading floor”where it does short-term commodity-type trading. The trading floor brings togethercurrent West Coast electricity market conditions, up-to-the-minute hydro and powersystem status, and short-term weather and streamflow projections to develop a daily marketing strategy. Deals that previously took hours or days are closed in minutes.
DSI Sales. BPA, under its current rate schedule, serves with firm energy justunder 1500 MW of the direct service industries’ 3000 MW total load. This service isfixed through the year 2006, at which time the allocation of firm resources amongBPA’s customers may be reviewed. The remainder of the DSI loads is served throughpurchases the DSI’s themelves make in the marketplace.
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01 9 7 8 1 9 7 9 1 9 8 0 1 9 8 1 1 9 8 2 1 9 8 3
dam. The Columbia-SnakeInland Waterway from thePacific Ocean to Lewiston,Idaho, has been developedin two segments. The firstis the 12.2-meter-deep (40 feet) open river channelfor ocean-going vessels,which extends 171
kilometers (106 miles) fromthe ocean to Portland,Oregon, and Vancouver,Washington. The secondis the 4.3-meter-deep
(14 feet) barge channel that extends 578 kilometers(359 miles) from Vancouverto Lewiston.
D. NavigationConstruction of dams
greatly improved conditionsfor navigation on the lowerColumbia and Snake rivers,and river traffic has beenextended and increasedwith the completion of each
The Columbia and its tributaries
provide a vitalsource of water for farmland in
the U.S. andCanada.
Navigation aboveBonneville Dam is madepossible by the Corps’eight-dam complex of locks and reservoirs fromBonneville through LowerGranite Dam to Lewiston,Idaho. The channel accommodates shallow-drafttugs, barges, log rafts, andrecreational boats, and connects the agriculturalinterior basin with deep-water ports on the lowerColumbia and Snake rivers.
Meeting Navigation
Needs. Barges and othertraffic plying the Columbiaand Snake rivers need minimum water depths tonavigate successfully. Unlikeother uses, navigation hasdepth requirements that donot vary with the seasons.Corps operators must regulate water releases andmaintain reservoir levels toprovide minimum navigationdepths behind the dams all year.
Operating requirementsfor navigation are based onthe waterway’s two segments.In the first segment, theriver channel from the oceanto Vancouver, Washington,navigation requirements aresatisfied by natural riverflows without specialreleases. Periodic dredgingmaintains the channel depthto support navigation evenat normal low flows.
In the second segment,the barge channel toLewiston, the Corps hasestablished maximum andminimum reservoir eleva-tions to maintain theauthorized channel depth.Thus, navigation require-ments are fully met withinthe flexibility provided undernormal system operation.
E. Irrigation
Irrigation has broughtagricultural prosperity tovast arid areas of the
Northwest. About 2.95 millionhectares (7.3 million acres)are irrigated in the ColumbiaRiver Basin. Of this, 2.9million hectares (7.1 millionacres) are in the UnitedStates, and 0.1 millionhectares (0.2 million acres)are in Canada. Besides agri-culture, these figures coverirrigated lands in urban use,forest nurseries and seedorchards, recreation sites,and other non-agriculturaluses. Irrigation uses approx-imately 6 percent of totalannual Columbia Basinflow, or about 9 percent of annual flows past TheDalles. Much of this watereventually finds its wayback into the rivers as irrigation return flows,although the returns are not “credited” against theoriginal withdrawal figures.
Water releases for irrigation are scheduled on alocal basis, not as a central-ized system function.
53
W A S H I N G T O N
O R E G O N
Columbia RiverPA
CIF
IC O
CE
AN
Snake River
Lewiston
Vancouver
Portland
Snake River
Columbia River
ASTORIA TOVANCOUVER
106 RIVER MILES
VANCOUVER TO LEWISTON359 RIVER MILES
I D A H O
1MILE= 1.61 KILOMETERS1FOOT= 0.3 METER
A 40-foot-deep channel accommodates large ships 106 miles inland on theColumbia River to Vancouver, Washington. A combination of dams, locks, anddredging keeps a channel of 14 feet open to Lewiston, Idaho, on the SnakeRiver, an additional 359 miles upriver.
Irrigation projects supply water for avariety of crops, including orchards,nursery stock, and wheat. Manyagricultural products grown in theNorthwest are exported to otherparts of the country and abroadand return significant economicbenefit to the region.
Locks: The key to inland navigation onthe Columbia-Snake River Waterway,locks raise and lower ships betweenpools on the river, i.e., from below adam to the pool above it. On the tripfrom the ocean to Lewiston, Idaho, ves-sels travel from sea level through eightlocks to an elevation of over 700 feet.
Dredging: The Corps regularly removessediment from the river bottom to keepthe channel at the proper depth for navigation. The continual moving andshifting of sediment makes dredging anongoing activity.
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7 5 0
01 9 8 3 1 9 8 4 1 9 8 5 1 9 8 6 1 9 8 7 1 9 8 8
the mainstem Columbia. All of these effects are
accounted for in the annualstudies used to guide theoperation of the ColumbiaRiver system. Operatingrequirements for irrigationaim to have the reservoirscapture and hold as muchrunoff as possible duringthe fall, winter, and earlyspring.
The Growing Season.
In the early part of the irrigation season, demandsfor water are often met bydiverting natural stream-flows. When naturalstreamflows are no longeradequate, the reservoirs are
drafted to supply irrigationwater. Releases continuethroughout the growing season, which usually endsin September. During thewinter, some projectsrelease water for residentfish, minimum streamflows,and livestock watering.Many of the reservoirs thatwere originally constructedprimarily for irrigation arebeing operated to satisfyflood control, power, recre-ation, and other purposes.
Since water conditionsvary greatly from year toyear, demands for irrigationwater also vary, as does theability to refill the storagespace in reservoirs. It isusually desirable to holdunused irrigation water in areservoir from one year tothe next to help meetdemands in subsequentlow-water years.
Holding water from oneyear to the next depends onthe available storage andcompeting uses for thatstorage. In some years, forexample, water cannot beheld over because it has to beevacuated for flood control.
When dry conditionspersist over several years,there may not be enoughwater to meet all irrigationdemands. In such cases,supplies to some users maybe curtailed, depending on their water rights andstorage rights, as determined by state water resourceagencies.
Reclamation, local irrigationdistricts, and water compa-nies operate most of theirrigation reservoirs in theColumbia River system.
These projects are generally operated to benefitlocal water users. The effecton the overall water supplyfrom individual projects isrelatively minor. But thecombined impact on theriver system is important.Storing water in reservoirsto meet irrigation demandsalters river flows for otheruses. The effects are muchlarger proportionally onsome tributaries, such asthe Snake River, than on
When naturalstreamflows areinadequate, wateris released fromreservoirs to supply irrigators.
54
Water from the Columbia River system irrigates about 2.95 million hectares(7.3 million acres) of farmland; major areas are shown shaded on this map.
Columbia Rive r
Snake River
OREGON IDAHO
MONTANA
BRITISHCOLUMBIA
WASHINGTON
1 acre = 0.405 hectare
Major Irrigation Areas in the ColumbiaRiver Basin
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7 5 0
01 9 8 8 1 9 8 9 1 9 9 0 1 9 9 1 1 9 9 2 1 9 9 3
55
The public uses theprojects for fishing,
watersports, picnicking,
camping, andsightseeing.
provided in storage reservoirs in June to protectagainst a late runoff, refillcould be delayed until Julyor early August.
Outflows from damsaffect recreation activitiesin the river reaches belowthem. The amount of flowand the rate at which itchanges play a large part inthe success of activities suchas fishing, rafting, or swim-ming. Reservoir operatorsoften provide certain flowsat the request of organizersof special recreational events.During certain recreationseasons, there are limits onflow amounts and hourlychanges to flows and reservoir elevations.
G. Water Supply & Water QualityUse of reservoir storage
to meet municipal andindustrial water supply needs
is of relatively minor consequence in the ColumbiaRiver system. The ColumbiaRiver does supply water tosome cities and industriesby diversion, but thesediversions are small andhave little measurableimpact on system operation.
The quality of water inthe Columbia River is generally very good, butthere are some exceptions.Pesticide runoff in areas ofheavy agriculture jeopardizeswildlife populations. Changesin reservoir operation toalleviate water quality problems are minor compared to operationalchanges to meet other needs.Nevertheless, there are ertain water quality require-ments in the tributaries andon the mainstem ColumbiaRiver that must be includedin the multipurpose goals of the system.
In the tributaries,
F. Recreation
Recreation facilities areavailable at many locationsin the Columbia River Basin.Recreation was identifiedas a project purpose whenmany of the dams werebuilt, and it has becomeincreasingly important. Itwas often a key sellingpoint to win local supportfor the construction of adam. The public uses thewater projects for fishing,swimming, waterskiing,windsurfing, picnicking,camping, rafting, boating,and sightseeing.
Recreational use of thelakes behind the dams occursthroughout the year butmostly in the summer andearly fall. The goal of oper-ators frequently is to keepthe lakes as full and stable aspossible without jeopardizingother project uses.
Normal power genera-tion and flood control operations are often compatible with recreationalneeds at the lakes duringthe summer. If runoff islow or delayed, if there areunexpected shutdowns ofthermal power plants, or ifforecasts prove wrong, lakelevels may have to be drawndown to provide water forpower generation to meetregional loads or to providefish flow augmentation forpart or all of the summer. Ifflood control space must be
Recreational use of the Columbia River is increasing as the region’s populationgrows and more visitors are drawn to the Northwest every year. Hood River,Oregon, in the Columbia River Gorge, is known around the world as a‘Mecca’ for windsurfers.
Diversions: Refers to taking water out ofthe river channel for municipal, industrial,or agricultural use. Water is diverted bypumping directly from the river or by filling canals.
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01 9 9 3 1 9 9 4 1 9 9 5 1 9 9 6 1 9 9 7 1 9 9 8
aquatic life, water tempera-ture is an important consid-eration in project operation.In winter, stored water canbe warmer than naturalflows. In summer, the sunheats up surface waters inthe reservoirs while the natural streams are oftenmuch cooler. The outlets atthe storage dams generallyare located in such a waythat they draw water fromthe lower levels. As a result,water released from thereservoirs is at a differenttemperature than in theopen river. This water temperature difference can harm or benefit fishdownstream of the dams.
To provide temperaturecontrol that benefits fish, theCorps has installed multilevelwithdrawal gates at Libbyand Dworshak Dams, as hasReclamation at HungryHorse. The gates can beoperated to supply water atany temperature availablewithin the range of temper-atures in the reservoirs.
H. Cultural Resources
Cultural resources arefound throughout theColumbia River system. Asignificant amount of thescientific information aboutcultural resources comesfrom archeological studiesassociated with constructionof the Federal dams in thebasin. This information is,
however, incomplete in twosignificant ways. First, thereis not a comprehensiveunderstanding of the contextof cultural resources asviewed by Native Americans(see box on page 57).Second, not all projectlands have been surveyedfor cultural resources norhave all those identifiedbeen evaluated.
Archeologists haveidentified prehistoric sitesin the basin that date backover 10,000 years. In contrast,European and Americansettlements began to appearabout 300 years ago. NativeAmerican sites include pit-house villages and seasonalcamps, sweat lodges, fishingstations, storage pits, burialgrounds, petroglyphs, androck cairns. The historicsites attributed to Europeansand Americans include furtrade camps, homesteads,mines, and ferry landings.
Fluctuating water levelsand shoreline erosion havethe potential to damage ordestroy significant culturalresources at the reservoirs.The National HistoricPreservation Act requiresFederal agencies to takeinto account these effectsand to develop ways toaddress them. One suchdevice is a ProgrammaticAgreement to guide the creation of a HistoricPreservation ManagementPlan for each reservoir, currently under development.
streamflows from reservoirprojects must be adequateto maintain water qualityrequirements for aquaticlife, as well as for municipalor industrial use and forwater recreation. Minimumoutflow requirements arespecified for each projectbased on downstream con-ditions. Sometimes require-ments vary with the seasons.
On the mainstem,spilling water over the damsto facilitate juvenile fishpassage or to pass flows inexcess of the powerhousecapacity can increase dissolved gas saturation tolethal levels for fish. Mostof the reservoir controlchallenge is to minimize spillthrough upstream flow regulation and installationand operation of dissolvedgas abatement structureson the dam spillways.
Adjusting Water
Temperatures. Because ofits impacts on fish and
Water from the Columbia Riverquenches the thirst of many resi-dents in the region. Unlike manyother rivers, it remains an excellentsource of domestic water supply.
Water quality must be high to sustain aquatic lifeand recreation.
Temperature Control: The Corps andReclamation have installed equipment at some dams that can regulate the temperature of water released from thereservoirs. This allows water temperaturedownstream in the river to be controlled.Temperature control is achieved bydrawing water from different elevationsin a reservoir. Cold water is drawn fromdeep in the reservoir; warm water isdrawn from near the surface.
1 5 0 0
7 5 0
01 9 9 8 1 9 9 9 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 3
56
57
Native Americansview their heritage
and spiritual relationship
to nature as a culture resource.
ship to the earth and naturalresources as a culturalresource. The Federal agencies committed throughthe System Operation Review
These plans identify signifi-cant cultural resources;approaches to resource protection, preservation,and treatment; and researchdesigns for data recovery.They also provide for sitemonitoring, public educationand interpretation of culturalmaterials, and the long-termcuration of recovered arti-facts and information. Themanagement plans addressissues required by other relevant legislation, includingenforcement of theArcheological ResourcesProtection Act, provisions ofthe Native American GravesProtection and RepatriationAct, and the American IndianReligious Freedom Act.
The academic and legaldefinitions of culturalresources tend to focus ontangible evidence, such assites and artifacts. ManyNative Americans find thesedefinitions too narrow. Theyview their entire heritage,and their spiritual relation-
to work with the NativeAmericans to ensure thattheir perspective is a part of future cultural resource activities.
The Sacredness of the Natural WorldNative Americans have traditionally conducted their lives based on the belief
that there is a close physical and spiritual interrelationship between humans andnature. This relationship extends from time immemorial to the present and continuesinfinitely into the future. Native Americans do not assume that humans are superiorto animals or other aspects of nature. They view human existence as an integral partof the natural and spiritual world. All that exists is alive and sacred, and land, rock,water, air, animals, and humans occupy unique roles in the universe. Life is seen as aprocess of maintaining a balance with the rest of the world, and failure to respect theproper place of all things in the natural world could upset this balance and destroy it.
Native Americans deeply respect tribal elders as the ones who traditionally preserve and transmit cultural information and language to the younger generation.The main body of cultural knowledge contained in tribal traditions and practices isunwritten, and the process of teaching it to future generations depends on a personalrelationship between elders and the younger tribal members. This knowledge issacred and cannot be given to just anyone who asks for it. From the traditional tribal perspective, elders are the primary and most authoritative source of culturalinformation.
at Lower Granite Dam onthe Snake River, and atPriest Rapids and McNaryDams on the ColumbiaRiver, based on runoff forecasts. The four Federalprojects on the lower SnakeRiver are drawn down totheir minimum operatingpools during the spring andsummer, and John Dayreservoir is operated at anelevation of 79.9 meters(262 feet), plus or minus0.15 meter (one-half foot)from August 20 throughSeptember 30.
Prior to 1998, waterwas required to be releasedover the spillways at Federalprojects in the system in aneffort to achieve an 80 percent fish passage efficiency. The aim was for
80 percent of the smolts topass the projects over thespillways and throughbypass systems, avoidingthe turbines. Currentrequirements set forth inthe 2000 biological opinionare to maximize smolt passage around turbines viaspill and bypass systems.Spill can be limited, if necessary, to prevent totaldissolved gas from buildingup in the water, a conditionwhich can harm fish.
Fish transportation isan important feature of thecurrent strategy. In high-flow years, more fish arepassed with spill and fewerfish transported. In low-flowyears, when there is lesswater to spill, more fish aretransported.
A. Current Operating Strategy
The current systemoperating strategy for theFederal Columbia RiverPower System reflects thefollowing priorities:
• Supporting the recovery of ESA-listed fish species by storing water during the fall and winter to increase spring and summer flows for fish.
• Protecting other resourcesby managing the detri-mental effects caused by operations for ESA-listed species. This includes establishing minimum summer reservoir levels. The Corps’ flood control operations are unchanged.
• Producing power.
The Federal agencyproject operators now conduct river operationsyear-round in accordancewith the biological opinionsissued under the ESA.Federal reservoirs must beoperated during the winterin a way that will leave themfull enough in the springand summer to provideflows for migrating salmon.Water must be releasedfrom storage in an attempt tomeet streamflow objectives
VI.SystemPlanning &Operations
58
Coordination allows generators to plan routine maintenance at individualplants, such as Bonneville Dam, without disrupting their ability to serve load.
Coordinated planning yieldsrule curves that
guide operationsat each project.
The current strategyimposes draft limits atHungry Horse, Libby, GrandCoulee, and Dworshak to
protect resident fish andrecreation. Libby Dammust be operated toenhance conditions for
Kootenai River white sturgeon and bull trout; that is, water is released toenhance spawning.
59
Fish Passage Efficiency: The percentageof the total number of fish that pass adam without going through the turbineunits.
Current Operating Strategy RequirementsThe operating requirements Federal project operators adopted as a result of biological opinions, can be summarized as follows:
• Manage reservoir operations during the fall and winter to achieve a high confidenceof refill to flood control elevations by early spring of each year to maximize the water available for flow augmentation and spill while providing late fall and winter flow for chum salmon spawning and rearing below Bonneville Dam.
• Provide flow augmentation in the Columbia and Snake rivers and manage these flows during the fish migration season according to decisions from the in-season management (technical, policy) teams.
• Release the stored flow augmentation water during the migration season in a manner that strives toward specified flow objectives measured at Lower Granite and McNary projects and, during the spring, at Priest Rapids. During the fall and winter, release stored water for chum and fall chinook salmon.
• Manage spill at mainstem projects to improve fish passage efficiency (non-turbinefish passage) up to specified levels of total dissolved gas. Many projects are spilling up to the maximum of 120 percent of total dissolved gas.
• Transport all juvenile anadromous fish collected at the lower Snake River collectorprojects during the spring and summer and from McNary Dam in the summer, or as otherwise directed through regional in-season management decisions.
• Operate lower Snake River reservoirs within a limited range of 0.3 meters (one foot) from early April through August each year.
• Operate John Day reservoir at an elevation of 79.9 meters (262 feet), plus or minus 0.45 meter (one and one-half feet) from mid-April through September each year.
• Seek to refill storage reservoirs by the end of June to maximize summer flow augmentation.
• Operate turbines within 1 percent of peak efficiency during the juvenile and adult fish migration seasons, defined as March 15 through October 31 in the Columbia River and March 15 through November 30 in the Snake River.
• Operate Libby Dam to provide flows for Kootenai River white sturgeon and bull trout, and restrict daily flow changes to minimize downstream effects.
• Manage reservoir elevations at storage projects to minimize detrimental effects on resident fish, wildlife, and recreational facilities. Summer draft objectives areto be met at Hungry Horse, Libby, Grand Coulee, Banks Lake, and Dworshak projects while attempting to meet flow objectives for juvenile salmon migration.
The Columbia River
Treaty. The ColumbiaRiver Treaty requires theUnited States (the Corps’Division Engineer and BPA’sAdministrator, acting as theU.S. Entity) and Canada(B.C. Hydro acting as theCanadian Entity) to preparean Assured Operating Planand a Detailed OperatingPlan each year. The AssuredOperating Plan dictates howTreaty storage will be oper-ated six years in advance.The plan is developed tomeet the flood control andpower objectives of theTreaty, the only recognizedpurposes for project opera-tion when the Treaty wassigned, and to define withan associated document the amount of CanadianEntitlement to be returnedfor that year. The DetailedOperating Plan addressesoperations over the next 12 months.
The Assured OperatingPlan and the DetailedOperating Plan are the basisfor the operating rule curvesfor the Treaty projects in
Canada. The two plans arefactored into the annualplan developed by parties tothe Coordination Agreementbecause releases of waterfrom the Canadian storagereservoirs are crucial forcoordinated system planningin the United States.
The Pacific Northwest
Coordination Agreement.
Operation of water storagefor power generation iscoordinated through thePNCA. This Agreementamong the major generatingutilities of the region providesfor planned electric poweroperation during the operat-ing year. The CoordinationAgreement gives nonpowerrequirements priority overpower needs.
Coordinating systemoperations through annualplanning provides manyadvantages. It enables utilities to exchange powerand to help each otherwhen planned shutdowns of transmission lines or turbines occur. Utilities cantake advantage of their differences in streamflows,
While the biologicalopinions and current operating strategy spell out general operating guidelines,the agencies also follow theconcept of “adaptive man-agement” in the operation ofthe Columbia River system.Adaptive management allowsriver managers to learn fromactual experience and adaptthe resulting operating principles or actions to whatis expected to be best forfish. Periodic review mayresult in course correctionsto be put into place basedon new information frommonitoring, research studies,or other sources.
B. The PNCA Planning Process Pacific Northwest
Coordination Agreementannual planning is done tofactor in all uses of the systemsuch as the requirements ofthe biological opinions; thisannual planning processallows for different owners tocoordinate generation so thatthe system can produce asmuch power as possible with-in the operational constraintsfor nonpower purposes.
The CoordinationAgreement annual planningprocess begins eachFebruary. Planning givesthe operating agencies theability to look at a varietyof potential reservoir andrunoff conditions. Computermodels simulate the system’sability to meet reservoiroperating requirements andassess the power supplyimpact of various scenarioson the system.
60
The CoordinationAgreement planning studiesassume the coordinated system has a single owner.
Generating resources can be used most efficiently when utilities coordinate andcooperate with one another. Close coordination is essential between operatorsof dams adjacent to one another on a river reach.
Exchange Power: Utilities frequentlyswap power with one another to usetheir resources more efficiently. Ratherthan sell excess power, Utility A mayloan it to Utility B. Utility A will takeequivalent power back, for example,when it must shut a generator down formaintenance.
loads, generation, and maintenance schedules toshare resources. Coordinationalso lets utilities operatehydro and thermal resourcesmore efficiently.
The Synchronized
Concept. An importantpoint to understand aboutthe Coordination Agreementis that the planning studiesare made as if the totalcoordinated system had asingle owner, although actualoperations must reflectindividual utility’s needs. Ifall projects in the systembelonged to a single utility,the owner would synchronizeoperations to maximizepower production.Coordinated planningattempts to duplicate thathypothetical situation. TheCoordination Agreementcontains a number of provisions, some of whichare described below, to makethe synchronized conceptwork on a day-to-day basis,while still meeting thederegulating requirementsof FERC’s orders.
The Northwest PowerPool Study Group in PortlandOregon, performs theCoordination Agreementstudies. The products of theplanning process are rulecurves and estimates of theamount of firm energy thatcan be produced by eachproject for each month ofthe critical period.
Development of theannual operating plan beginsin February and is completedin July of every year. ByFebruary 1 prior to eachoperating year, parties to theCoordination Agreementprovide study data to the
Northwest Power Pool. Eachreservoir owner submitsmultiple-use operatingrequirements that must beaccommodated in theresulting plan. Utility partiesalso submit forecasts oftheir electricity loads, theoutput of their non-hydrogenerating resources, andplanned maintenance outagesfor both hydro and thermalresources. The resourcesinclude any contracts a utility has for firm powerpurchases or exchanges.
Coordination Agreementplanning and operatingstudies must accept andaccommodate nonpowerrequirements. Whenever anonpower requirement canbe implemented by a singlereservoir owner, that ownerincludes it in the datasubmittal to the annualplanning process. If
coordination between twoor more owners is needed,they are to make thearrangements, and when thecoordination of many isneeded, parties to the
Coordination Agreementmust work out a way to meetnonpower requirements.Once the data are submitted,studies are conducted toidentify the critical period.
Firm Energy Load
Carrying Capability.
Assuming critical periodconditions, the next step incoordinated planning isdetermining Firm EnergyLoad Carrying Capability(FELCC) for the system as a whole and for eachCoordination Agreementparty. The firm energy loadcarrying capability of eachplant, each individual utilitysystem, and the coordinatedsystem as a whole is theamount of energy each iscapable of producing duringthe critical period after nonpower requirementshave been accommodated. Itis the amount of energy the
system and individual partiescould produce if streamflowswere as low as they were inthe critical period.
FELCC is also theamount of energy that the
Planning Studies: Computer studies modelthe impacts of alternative operations.Modelers may examine spill levels,potential changes in the weather, moveable maintenance outages, andmany other factors to determine the optimal operation for all concerned.
61
The Actual EnergyRegulation meshes
all requirementsthroughout the
operating year.
Coordinated planning and operation is essential to meet multiple needs,including agriculture through irrigation.
Maintenance Outage: All generatingplants, hydro and thermal, require routine maintenance. Utilities generallyschedule maintenance outages duringperiods when energy demand is low orhydro supplies are high. For example,Energy Northwest may shut down itsColumbia Generating Station nuclearplant for maintenance, or for economics,in the spring when runoff levels are high.
Northwest Power Pool Study Group:This organization, headquartered inPortland, Oregon, collects operatingdata from the utilities and conducts regulation studies under the PacificNorthwest Coordination Agreement.
Parties review thePreliminary Regulation andadjust their data submittalsbefore a Modified Regulationis produced. The ModifiedRegulation is then fine-tunedto make sure the hydro system is used to its fullestpotential. Part of this fine-tuning includes determining interchangeenergy obligations andshifting and shaping FELCC(see boxes).
After adjustments toFELCC have been made,the Final Regulation is published. It provides eachparty to the CoordinationAgreement with critical rule
curves and FELCC for eachmonth in the critical period.
The final analysis madein developing the annualoperating plan is theCoordination Agreementrefill test conducted by theCorps. It simulates how thehydro system would operateunder the runoff conditionsin each of 60 years ofstreamflow records. Thisanalysis determines whetherthe energy content curvesare constructed in a waythat does not threaten thecoordinated system’s abilityto generate its firm energycapability under historicstreamflow conditions.
system may be called on toproduce on a firm, or guar-anteed, basis during actualoperations. The system andindividual parties’ FELCCmay or may not be sufficientto meet power loads in theregion. If it is insufficient,utilities with a firm deficit mustseek other sources of power.
The Preliminary
Regulation. Once the criticalperiod studies have beenconducted, the CoordinationAgreement parties have theirfirst estimates of the amountand distribution, month bymonth, of their FELCC.This initial step is called thePreliminary Regulation.
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In low wateryears, draft is distributed equally among all reservoirs.
Streamflow Records: For over 100years, water resource managers in theNorthwest have maintained records onthe seasonal volume and rate of flow inthe Columbia River. These historicalrecords are of profound importance toplanning system operations each year.
Interchange EnergyThe concept of “interchange” is fundamental to the Coordination Agreement.
Interchange energy assures all parties an equal ability to serve their firm loads.Each party to the Coordination Agreement is expected to use its own resources
to supply its own firm energy load carrying capability (FELCC) over the critical period.At any time, however, a party may not be able to produce enough energy to meet itsFELCC. That party has a right to request the deficiency from other parties withresource capabilities that exceed their FELCC. Parties with excess FELCC are obligated to supply all or part of that excess energy to parties that need it. Energytransferred in this way is called interchange energy.
Operators work around the clock to meet load with the best combination of resources.
Preliminary Regulation: A computerstudy that develops a set of rule curvesthat guide project operation under termsof the Coordination Agreement.
Hydro projects in the same
river reach arecoordinated on
an hourly basis.
C. In-Season Management for Salmon
In-season managementcoordinates system operationduring the fish migrationseason. That’s when decisionshave to be made about howwater in the system will bemoved on a weekly basis.It is the job of the TechnicalManagement Team, first discussed in Section III.C.,to advise the Federal projectoperators on operations thatoptimize passage conditionsfor anadromous and resident fish.
The TMT, established bythe 1995 biological opinion,originally had three periodsof operation: pre-seasonplanning, in-season manage-ment, and post-seasonreviews. With the additionalrequirements of the 2000biological opinion, the TMTnow operates year-round. It generally meets on aweekly basis.
Each year prior to thestart of the spring fishmigration and once someinformation about expected
water conditions is known,a Water Mangement Plan isdeveloped by the operatingagencies and coordinatedthrough the TMT. The WaterManagement Plan is a partof the larger ImplementationPlan, which the operatingagencies must prepare as aresult of the current biologicalopinion. The Water Manage-ment Plan describes measuresthat are desired to optimizepassage conditions for juvenile and adult anadro-mous salmonids. It coversall aspects of operations ofthe FCRPS, including turbineoutages, power generationschedules, water temperaturecontrol, spill, total dissolvedgas management, and
special operations forresearch and other uses.
The TMT considers avariety of factors in preparingthe plan, such as the location,timing, and passage indicesof listed and non-listedjuvenile salmon and how tomatch flows and spill to actu-al fish migration within theparameters of the biologicalopinions. The plan focuseson implementation of thecurrent biological opinions,the Northwest PowerPlanning Council’s Fish andWildlife Program, state andtribal plans and programs,and other relevant opera-tional requirements.
The Water ManagementPlan summarizes final watersupply forecasts and discusses the outlook formeeting flow objectives inthe upcoming year based on monthly computer simulations of flows. It alsosets forth flood controlrequirements at each project and addresses total dissolved gas management,fish transportation, and spe-cial operations for research.The plan specificallyaddresses spring operations
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Shifting and Shaping FELCCIn preparing the annual plan, some utilities can make changes to reservoir
operations to match generation more closely with loads or to optimize sales of surplus FELCC, as long as nonpower requirements have been satisfied. This processis referred to as “shifting and shaping FELCC.”
Shifting and shaping moves surplus or deficit FELCC from one period to anotherduring the year to increase the FELCC’s value or to more closely match load varia-tions. Shifting and shaping FELCC may reduce the coordinated system’s overallcapabilities somewhat, but the energy is more valuable because it is produced at atime when natural streamflows are lower. These shifting and shaping changes arelimited to those that do not threaten the basic concept of operating as a single system to meet a single load.
With its huge storage capability andfive non-Federal mid-Columbia damsdownstream, operation at GrandCoulee Dam plays an integral rolein the Coordination Agreement’s interchange energy transactions.
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(April-June), summer operations (July-August),and fall/winter operations(September-March).
During the anadromousfish migration season, thesalmon managers (NMFSand state and tribal fisherymanagers) provide biologicalinformation on salmon to theTMT. The USFWS providesinformation on other fishand wildlife resources. Dataprovided to the TMT at itsin-season meetings alsoinclude: reservoir status,streamflow forecasts, theresults of biological moni-toring, juvenile fish passageindices, adult fish counts,white sturgeon movement,status of fish transportation,and the results of dissolvedgas and water temperaturemonitoring.
Using this data and theNational Weather ServiceRiver Forecast Center’sstreamflow forecast for theColumbia River Basin, the
Operations vary inaccordance withwater conditions.1997-98 was anaverage year.
TMT recommends FCRPSoperations for the followingweek. If forecasts indicatethat flows will not meet theobjectives recommended inthe biological opinions, theTMT may consider whetherto recommend lower summerreservoir elevations to allowfor more drafting to meetflow objectives or whetherto establish alternative flowobjectives. The TMT takesinto account runoff conditionsand fish movements, as wellas the impact achieving flowobjectives will have onreservoir operations, partic-ularly the ability to achieveflow objectives in the future.
Fish numbers andmigration timing are usedas indicators to adjust flowmeasures within the season,particularly in low-flow years.The TMT may recommendcurtailing or extending theuse of available flow-aug-mentation water at the endof the season, depending on
the numbers of fish and thestatus of fish migration. Flowlevels can be adjusted at anytime, based on biologicalfactors as well. The TMTmakes recommendations tothe Corps, Reclamation, andBPA each week, and theagencies then make theirdecisions about the followingweek’s operations.
The Corps’ in-seasondecisions on the timing andamount of releases forsalmon and sturgeon, spill,and fish transportation arebased on the recommenda-tions of the TMT, whichmonitors and evaluates theshaping of available waterbased on real-time flow andbiological information. Incoordination with NMFSand the USFWS, the Corpsmay operate differently forapproved research, floodcontrol, emergency powerneeds, or multiple-purposeoperations for other project uses.
D. Real-Time Operations
Real-time operations are acombination of experience,craft, and science—a blend-ing of the immediate (nexthour, next day) needs of thePacific Northwest community.Those needs include electricpower, fish and wildlife protection, protection of lifeand property from floods,navigation, irrigation,municipal water, recreation,project maintenance andrepair, scientific research,and so on. Sometimes theycompete with one anotherfor priority; most oftenplanners, dispatchers, and
While each operating year is different, lessons from the past can be valuable inguiding operations in the future.
Water stored during a ‘wet’
year can be carried over to
the following year.
which define drafting pointsfor all reservoirs.
Nonpower
Requirements. The fishand wildlife needs areaddressed as described inthe previous section. Other nonpower needs mayinclude enough depth atferry crossings so ferryboats will not run agroundor the slight raising of alake level to free a groundedboat from a sand bar. Whendivers are in the water making repairs to a project,or cleaning debris screensnear a spillway, lake levelsand flows are carefully controlled to maximizesafety considerations.
BPA’s Day-to-Day
Operations. BPA has its ownplanning process to determinethe power generatingrequests it will make to theCorps and Reclamation andto guide operation of thermalresources and decisions onpower purchases. Each
real-time schedulers workingtogether can accommodateall the needs. Again, at different times of the wateryear, different needs willtake top priority—floodcontrol, fish and wildlife,power production.
Actual Energy
Regulation. Reservoiroperators begin the operatingyear with rule curves basedon historical streamflows.They must also satisfynumerous project and system requirements andmeet electricity loads witha combination of hydro and other power plants. To reconcile all of theserequirements, an ActualEnergy Regulation (AER)study is produced at leasttwice a month throughoutthe operating year. TheAER updates the system’soperation and draft rightsand obligations as theychange with new stream-flow forecasts.
The Northwest PowerPool Study Group conductsthe AER regulation studies.One input to the studies isan energy content curve for each storage project,supplied by the project’sowner, that accounts forspecific conditions in thecurrent operating year. TheAER combines each utility’sFELCC with actual and current estimates of stream-flow and defines draft pointsto produce the FELCC andmeet other system and project requirements. In lowwater years, when reservoirsmust be drafted below theirenergy content curves toproduce FELCC, the AER willset proportional draft points,
week a new operating planis prepared that looks amonth ahead. These weeklyoperating plans are animportant tool to enable BPAto make decisions about theavailability of energy forNorthwest utility and indus-trial customers and forexport from the region.They let BPA “determine itsinventory” so that it canfunction efficiently in theenergy marketplace.
In-Lieu Energy. In-lieuenergy is another key featureof day-to-day operations.In-lieu energy, establishedin the PNCA, is the meansby which a downstreamparty to the PNCA canreceive energy in-lieu ofwater stored in an upstreamreservoir.
If there is water storedin the reservoir above theenergy content curve draftlevel, owners of projectsdownstream from thatreservoir may request the
Hungry Horse Dam is an important component of the region’s power genera-tion system, turning water into kilowatts of electricity.
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Proportional Draft Points: PDPs aredrawdown limits for reservoirs whenwater conditions require drafting belowenergy content curves to serve firm load.
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coordinates the hourlyoperation of the chain of tenprojects on the Columbiaand lower Snake rivers, fromLower Granite and GrandCoulee to Bonneville Dam.
The seven projects onthe middle Columbia Riverfrom Grand Coulee throughPriest Rapids are also in acontinuum along the river.These projects, owned byseveral different utilities, areoperated as a group underthe Hourly CoordinationAgreement and dispatchedby Grant County PUD inEphrata, Washington. Most of the hydro projectsalong other river reaches
are under the control of asingle utility or agency toassure coordinated operation.
E. System Operation: In Action
While storage reservoirsfollow a fairly similar pattern of operation eachyear, operation does vary in accordance with water conditions. This sectiondescribes actual operationsfor 1996 and 1998 based onthe Columbia River Water Management Group’sAnnual Reports.
release of the water underthe Coordination Agreement.The upstream reservoirowner is obligated either to release the water or todeliver the energy equivalentin lieu of the release ofwater. Downstream partiesthat have received in-lieuenergy must return it as theupstream storage reservoirreturns to the energy content curve level.
Hourly Power
Operation. Hydroelectricgenerating projects adjacentto one another are coordi-nated on at least an hourlybasis to be efficient. BPA’smain scheduling center
Weather is always the driving forcebehind a hydroelectric system.
Flow at The Dalles was 93 percent of normal in 2000.
River Reaches: A general term used torefer to lengths along the river from onepoint to another, as in the reach fromthe John Day Dam to the McNary Dam.
Fish habitat canbe damaged if
water from earlysnowmelt or heavy
rains cannot becontrolled.
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some set in the precedingNovember.
The most serious floodingbetween February 2 and 9occurred in northwesternOregon—between 25 and 38 cm (10 and 15 inches) of rain fell in Coastal andCascade locations. With theColumbia River runninghigh (8.29 m, or 27.2 feet, at Vancouver, Washington)and the Willamette Rivermainstem flooding, theWillamette crested inPortland at the top of theseawall (elevation 8.70 m, or28.55 feet). Severe floodingoccurred between Salemand Portland and fromPortland to the Columbia’smouth at Astoria, Oregon.
Through optimal operation of Canadian storage dams and the skillfulactions of the Corps andReclamation, an estimated$2.3 billion of Februaryflood damage was avoided.Navigation in the PortlandHarbor was closed for several days during theflood peak, and tugboatswere freed up to preventfloating homes from beingwashed away and to preventpier and bridge abutmentdamage from floating debrisand debris buildup.
The February flooddamaged salmon redds inthe Columbia; some of thatimpact was reduced by usingproject storage to reducewater velocities, preserveredds, and reduce the flushing of immaturesalmon downstream.
Electric Energy. TheCoordinated System storagelevel at the beginning of the1995-96 operating year was
Operation of the system
in a high-runoff water
year, 1995-96
Flood Control. Wateryear 1996 was full of chal-lenges, the first of whichwas a precipitation patternwhich brought six floodevents, two of which wererecord-setting. A well-above-normal snowpack broughtabove-normal river dischargespresenting challenges inwater quality, fish migration,energy production, andenergy marketing. The onlynon-challenge was an abundance of irrigationwater which met all irrigationdemands and refilled irrigation reservoirs depleted after 10 years of low water years.
A moist tropical airmasson a strong jet stream, with origins near Hawaii,arrived in the Northwest atThanksgiving 1995, resultingin heavy rains and high riverdischarges in northwestOregon and westernWashington. Record floodswere observed in someWashington streams, somein excess of their 100-yearfloods.
With eight weeks ofrecovery and cool-to-coldweather and a mountingsnowpack, the same patternarrived in early February.Immediately preceding thisstorm, warm temperaturesarrived and began meltingthe snowpack. Five days ofwarm rain on the snowpack,from Puget Sound throughthe mid-Willamette Valleyand eastward through theSnake River basin in Idahocreated many new peakflow records, breaking even
89.2 percent of full, far higher than the previousyear’s beginning of 74.7 percent of full. Due to highstreamflows during the year,the system generally operatedto operating rule curves orflood control for the entireperiod, producing largeamounts of surplus energy.At the close of 1995-96, thesystem storage energy was99.4 percent of full.
On July 2 and 3, lowvoltage at a thermal plant inWyoming resulted in aPacific Northwest blackout.On August 10, a combinationof factors resulted in ablackout affecting 4 millionutility customers in 14Western states. Those factors included: lack ofgeneration at The Dalles dueto fish spill requirements,heavy loads over theSouthern Intertie due to aheat wave in California,and an electric arc-overbetween sagging high-voltagelines and nearby trees.
Fish. On July 21, 1995,the power supply managersof BPA and B.C. Hydrosigned a short-term letteragreement which storedwater at Libby while drawingout the same amount fromthe Treaty’s DuncanReservoir during mid-Julythrough August, and thenreturning that water toDuncan while drawingLibby down Septemberthrough December 1995.Subsequently, the TreatyOperating Committeesigned a nonpower usesagreement, running fromJanuary 1, 1996, though July31, 1996, which: (1) allowedstorage of flow augmentation
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Operation of the system
in a normal-runoff water
year, 1997-98
Flood Control. Wateryear 1997-98, in terms of itsvolume runoff as measuredat The Dalles Dam, was 100 percent of normal.However, the detail of whenand where rain fell andwhen snow melted to produce streamflow wasanything but normal.
In looking at the meanstreamflow on a monthlybasis and a “normal”streamflow range of 80 percent to 120 percent of thelong-term mean, the followingmonths in water year 1998were higher than normal:October, November, May,July, and August. The fol-lowing months were lowerthan normal: December,February, April, and June.Of the remainder, Marchand September were withinshouting distance of normal;in January, of 14 major stations which track
streamflow, three were belowthe 80 percent mark (andfive below 90 percent)while four were above 120 percent of normal.
The fall of 1998 markedthe end of the 20th century’slongest and strongest ElNiño pattern, the breakupof which split the jet streamto force the major stormtracks into British Columbiaand south into California,leaving the Pacific Northwestin a “weather backwash.”Temperatures in the basinaveraged slightly above normal, which kept thesnowpack below normal.
Numerous small (butno major) floods occurredfrom October through April.In May, a storm circledthrough California and thenup into central and easternOregon, producing extremerainfall in the high desertplains around Prineville,Oregon—causing significantflood damage.
Electric Energy. TheCoordinated System storagelevel at the beginning of the 1997-98 operating yearwas 99.1 percent of full.Due to high streamflowsduring the year, the system generally operated to operating rule curves orflood control for the entireperiod, producing largeamounts of surplus energy.At the close of 1997-98, thesystem storage energy was99.4 percent of full.
On April 1, BPA, as apart of the Treaty’s U.S.Entity, began deliveringCanadian Entitlementpower from U.S. dams toCanada. The Entitlement is Canada’s half of the
water in early spring with arelease in late spring andearly summer; (2) preservedthe minimum streamflowover salmon redds atVernita Bar below PriestRapids; (3) protectedCanadian whitefish eggs in the Columbia duringJanuary through March; and (4) provided minimumflows below Arrow Reservoirfor trout spawning duringApril and May.
With the Februarysnowpack washout, the flows in the Columbia were occasionally less thanrequired by fisheries agencies. Intentional spillfor fish passage was fullyimplemented. The flowsresulted in temperatureslower than the previous yearbut also in increased totaldissolved gas.
Nearly 76 million juvenilesalmon were released fromhatcheries, a 10 percentdecrease in numbers releasedfrom the previous year.
Even in a ‘normal’runoff year, theshape—or timing—of the runoff isimportant. Droughts hurt many water uses, including fish migration.
Within a wateryear, operatingagreements can
mitigate theimpacts of unusual
runoff patterns.
Arrow during August with a subsequent release inSeptember through the following January (the“Libby-Arrow Swap”).Water that otherwise wouldhave been released from aLibby 6.1 m (20 ft) drawdownto meet biological opinionflows in the U.S. wasinstead provided by Arrow.
A nonpower uses agreement similar to the onedescribed earlier for theperiod January 1 throughJuly 31, 1998, was signed by the Treaty OperatingCommittee in September
increased firm power madeavailable by the constructionof Mica, Duncan, and Arrow.Canada’s share for the first30 years of the Treaty hadbeen sold to a consortiumof U.S. utilities; as that sale expires in phases, the entitlement returned to Canada increases incrementally.
Fish. An August 1997agreement among BPA andB.C. Hydro power managersand the Treaty OperatingCommittee provided forwater storage in Libby andconcurrent release from
of 1997. An OperatingCommittee agreement onreduced flows below Arrowfor Canadian whitefish inDecember through mid-January was also signed inSeptember, 1997.
Juvenile salmon outmigration was greaterthan normal, but mostreturning adult runs werebelow 10-year averages,except for coho and SnakeRiver fall chinook runs,which were above their10-year averages.
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BPA purchased power from utilities outside the region in 1988 to keep reservoirs from being drafted too heavily whenrunoff forecasts were poor.
Thanks to cooperationamong all the river’s users,the dams and reservoirs ofthe Columbia River nowserve more purposes thanwas ever anticipated whenthey were built. As demandson the river multiply andthe region’s populationgrows, the system will continue to be hard pressedto meet all needs fully.
The Columbia RiverSystem Operation Reviewgave us a chance to stepback and examine how eachuse of the river affects allother uses and to considerwhat the consequencesmight be of changing theway the system operates. Dowe have the best balance
The Columbia River system provides countless benefits to the region in wet and dry years alike. River managers face thechallenge of continually balancing the benefits among all users.
While electricity generation was an important stimulus for building manyFederal projects, it is only one aspect of multiple-purpose operations today.
VII.Conclusion
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among uses? Can we agreeon future courses of actionthat will provide more benefits? This publicationhas tried to describe howthe Columbia River system
works today. Our responseto changing needs and conditions will determinehow it will be operatedtomorrow.
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The SystemOperation Reviewgave us a chanceto step back and
examine rivermanagement.
Fish ladders provide adult fish a way around dams.
Appendix A.PacificNorthwestHydroProjects
72
Kootenai BasinCanada
AberfeldieBrilliantDuncanKootenay CanalLower BonningtonSeven MileSouth SlocanUpper BonningtonWanetaWhatshan
Federal with Power
Libby Hungry HorseAlbeni Falls
Federal without Power
Gold LakeHorteLower CrowMud LakeNine PipeFish LakeLake ComoJessupTwin LakeLion LakeBlack LakeDry Creek (Tabor)Hillside LakeHubbartJocko (Lower Jocko Lake)KickinghorseLittle BitterrootLower Dry ForkLower Lake No. 2McDonaldMissionPabloPost Creek (McDonald)TabotUpper Dry ForkStony LakeNorth Fork Flume Creek
Non-Federal with Power
Smith CreekMoyie RiverMilltownBig Fork (Flathead)KerrCabinet GorgeJames E. WhiteNoxon RapidsThompson FallsBoundaryBox CanyonPower LakeMonroe StreetPost FallsUpper Falls UpriverLittle FallsLong LakeNine Mile
Non-Federal without Power
Kootenai (Zonolite)Basin CreekTin CupLower Willow CreekNevada CreekBig Creek
Fred BurrMill LakePainted RocksAshleyUpper Twin LakeLittle BluePriest LakeSullivan CreekSullivan Lake
Upper Columbia BasinCanada
Hugh KeenleysideMicaRevelstoke
Federal with Power
Chief JosephGrand Coulee
Federal without Power
Twin LakesBeth LakeBanks Lake (North Dam)Owhi LakeAloma 1 (Conconully)SpectacleNadaUpper Snow LakeColumbia MarshCoyoteLower GooseMoses LakeScooteney Reservoir
Non-Federal with Power
Deep CreekMeyers FallsWellsChelanCompany CreekMain Canal HeadworksPotholes East Canal HeadworksO’Sullivan DamQuincy ChutePotholes East Canal 66.0Russell D SmithRock IslandRocky ReachWanapumTrinitySummer FallsPriest Rapids
Non-Federal without Power
EnloePattersonManson (Antilon)WapatoColchuckDrydenEightmileTumwater CanyonUpper WheelerBennettLong Lake (Pinto)
Middle Columbia BasinFederal with Power
McNaryJohn DayThe Dalles
Federal without Power
Mill CreekIndian LakeMcKayThree Mile FallsWillow Creek (Heppner)Trout CreekOlive LakeCrane PrairieLittle Three CreekSparksSuttle LakeThree CreekWickiupCrescent LakePrinevilleHappy Valley (Canyon)HaystackWascoKing Reservoir (Walton Lake)
Non-Federal with Power
Twin ReserviorsConditOdell CreekPowerdaleSpring CreekBend PowerCline FallsOpal SpringsPeltonPelton ReregulationRound Butte
Non-Federal without Power
Milton-FreewaterPoplar SpringsCrow CreekGreen PointLake LauranceWind RiverCanyon Creek MeadowsBull PrairieArnoldOdell LakeWhite RiverAntelope FlatBear CreekOchocoBadger (Hood River)Pine Hollow
Lower Columbia BasinFederal with Power
BonnevilleFederal without Power
Trillium LakeWahkeena Rearing ReservoirSRS
Non-Federal with Power
Bull Run No. 1Bull Run No. 2Cowlitz FallsLittle SandyMarmotRoslynAriel (Lake Merwin)SwiftYalePackwoodMayfieldMossyrock
Continued on next page
The Pacific Northwest contains a variety of hydro projects. This appendix lists the major projects by general owner(Federal ownership versus private, state, country, etc., collectively described as non-Federal), by river basin, and bywhether electric power is produced at the project. Not every dam in the region is included in this list. The focus ison larger dams.
73
Non-Federal without Power
Bull RunLackamasNorth ForkBarrierBear Creek Dam (Astoria
Reservoir)Indian CreekWickiup (Clatsop)Youngs River
Upper Snake BasinFederal with Power
PalisadesMinidoka
Federal without Power
Cross CutGrassy LakeGrays Lake - Clarks CutRirieBlackfootBlackfoot Equalizer
Non-Federal with Power
Island ParkAmerican Falls*Little Wood ReservoirIdaho Falls (City Plant)Idaho Falls (Lower Plant)Idaho Falls (Upper Plant)Ponds LodgeAshtonSt. AnthonyFeltGem StatePortneuf RiverBillingsley CreekBlissBriggs CreekClear LakeFaulknerHazeltonLower SalmonShoshone FallsTwin FallsUpper Salmon FallsWilson LakeBirch CreekJohn H. KoyleLower MaladMagic DamUpper MaladShoshone
Non-Federal without Power
ArcadiaTwin ButtesHawkinsPortneuf (Chesterfield Reservoir)Magic WaterSalmon FallsBig Lost RiverBliss (Big Wood River)Dog CreekMalad High DropRyegrassFish Creek
Middle Snake BasinFederal with Power
Anderson RanchBlack CanyonBoise Diversion
Federal without Power
Pot Holes CreekMountain View (Boyle Creek)AtlantaArrowrock
Deer FlatGolden GateHubbardLower DeerNampa (Deer Flat Upper)Beulah (Agency Valley)Juntura (Warmsprings)Mahon s ReservoirHarperBully CreekDeadwoodHarry NelsonMann CreekMason Dam (Phillips Lake)Thief Valley
Non-Federal with Power
Owyhee Tunnel No 1Atlanta Power StationLucky Peak*CascadeC.J. StrikeSwan FallsBarberHorseshoe BendBrownleeOxbowHells CanyonGoodrichRock Creek
Non-Federal without Power
Long TomMountain Home (Rattlesnake Creek)AntelopeKirbyBlacks LakeOrchardCottonwood (Drewsey)MalheurPaddock ValleySage HenCallenderHancock (Fish Lake)Little PayettePayette LakeC. Ben CrossClear CreekOxbow BypassUnityWolf Creek
Lower Snake BasinFederal with Power
Little GooseLower GraniteIce HarborLower MonumentalDworshak
Federal without Power
Lower Pine LakeUpper BearManns LakeSoldiers Meadow
Non-Federal with Power
Mill CreekWallowa FallsSunshineHettinger
Non-Federal without Power
Beaver Creek (La Grande)Wallowa LakeSpring ValleyMosquito FlatIndianolaLapwai Lake (Winchester)TroyElk River
Yakima BasinFederal with Power
RozaChandler
Federal without Power
Cle ElumEastonKachessKeechelusRozaBumping LakeClear CreekFrench CanyonTietonSunnyside
Non-Federal with Power
NachesWapato Dam-Drop No 2Wapato Dam-Drop No 3
Willamette BasinFederal with Power
DexterHills CreekLookout PointCougarBig CliffDetroitFosterGreen Peter
Federal without Power
Fall CreekCottage GroveDorenaFern RidgeBlue RiverMill City DiversionMorgan BrothersScoggins Water PowerTimber Lake
Non-Federal with Power
Thompson s MillsCarmen-SmithLeaburgMcKenzieTrail BridgeWaltervilleWater StreetWillamette FallsBrunswick CreekFaradayNorth ForkOak Grove (Frog Lake) Oak Grove (Lake Harriet) Oak Grove (Timothy Lake) River MillLake Oswego
Non-Federal without Power
North Fork (Benton)LebanonFranzenMercerMompanoHaskins (Walter Link)Silver CreekBinford
Rogue BasinFederal with Power
Green SpringsLost Creek
* Originally constructed as a federal project; power isnon-federal.
Acre-foot: The amount ofwater necessary to cover oneacre (43,560 square feet) to adepth of one foot.
Anadromous Fish: Fish suchas salmon and steelhead troutthat hatch in fresh water,migrate to and mature in theocean, and then return to freshwater as adults to spawn.
Authorizing Legislation:Congressional approval forthe construction of anyFederal water project.
Bank Protection: Techniquesfor preventing washout ofbank soils, such as plantingvegetation, covering with rock,or introducing fine meshscreening over the surface.
Combustion Turbine:Electricity-generating devicethat burns fossil fuels—gas,diesel, or oil—to create steam,which then turns a generatorand produces electric power.In some combustion turbines,the steam-creating process isbypassed and the turbine actslike a large-scale jet engine toproduce power.
Critical Water Conditions:The worst streamflows onrecord; for the Columbia Riverbasin, the period 1928-1932.
Crown Corporation: ACanadian government-createdcorporation designed to carryout functions in the publicinterest, such as the B.C.Hydro and Power Authority.Crown corporations can becreated either by Federal orProvincial law.
CSPE Utilities: Those 41 utilities which banded togetherin the 1960s, sold municipalbonds for $254 million, andpurchased the first 30 years’worth of the CanadianEntitlement (one-half of thedownstream benefits) createdby erection of Mica, Duncan,and Keenleyside dams inBritish Columbia.
Appendix B.Glossary
74
Demand: The amount ofpower being used at any giventime. Northwest demand isseasonal, peaking in the winter with heating loads; in the Southwest, the peakdemand is in the summer withcooling loads.
Dissolved Gas Level: Air,and more specifically nitro-gen, which dissolves in waterfalling onto a river surface asthat air is pushed under water.
Diversion: Taking water out ofa river channel for municipal,industrial, or agricultural use.
Draft Limit: Lowest level towhich a reservoir can bedrawn down.
Drafting: Process of releasingwater from storage in a reservoir.
Dredging: Removal of rockand sediment from the bottomof ship channels to maintainsufficient depth for ships to pass.
Exchange Power: Theprocess of one utility lendingpower to another to be paidback at a later date.
Fall Chinook Salmon:Anadromous salmon stockwhich returns from the oceanin late summer and early fallto spawn.
Federal Project Operators:Those Federal agencies thatoperate dams and reservoirs.In the case of the ColumbiaRiver, the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers and the Bureau ofReclamation in the U.S.Department of the Interior.
Federally Recognized Tribes:An Indian group or confedera-tion of groups officiallyacknowledged as a tribe bythe U. S. government for purposes of legislation, consultation, and benefits. Ofover 400 groups nationwideidentifying themselves asIndian tribes, fewer than 300have been Federally recognized.
Firm Energy: Energy pro-duced on a guaranteed basiswith critical water conditions.
Fish Ladder: Series of stair-step pools that enables fish toget past a dam by swimmingand jumping from one poolelevation to another.
Fish Passage Efficiency:Percentage of the total numberof fish that pass a dam with-out going through turbines.
Flip Lip: Structural device on some dams that redirectswater coming through a spillway, which prevents thedeep plunging action creatingnitrogen gas supersaturation.
Flood Control Rule Curve:Also called the Upper RuleCurve, the elevations that setthe amount of storage spacethat must be maintained in areservoir to reduce damagingflood conditions downstream.
Flood Control: Managementof space behind a reservoir orseries of reservoirs to capturerunoff in volumes sufficient toprevent flooding of normallydry land.
Flood Wall: Barrier, usuallyconcrete or metal, constructedto keep out high water—oftenfound near a pier or urbanwaterfront.
Flow: Rate and volume ofwater in a river past a givenpoint.
Freshet: Heavy runoff thatoccurs in the river whenstreams are at their peak withspring snowmelt.
International JointCommission: Six-personCanada- U.S. board created by the 1909 Boundary WaterTreaty to resolve disputes on waters shared by the twonations.
Levee: A raised embankmentbuilt to keep out floodwaters.
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Locks: Mechanical devices,shaped like an elongated box,which add or drain water toraise or lower ships arounddam structures.
Maintenance Outage: Theshutting down of a generatingunit for routine maintenance.
Megawatt: Measure of electrical power equal to onemillion watts. Megawattsdelivered over time are measured in megawatt-hours.
Multipurpose Facilities:The Columbia River and thereservoir system are used for many purposes or uses.Projects that were authorizedto serve a variety of purposesare referred to as “multipur-pose.”
Nonfirm Energy: Energy thatcan be generated with waterthat is available in excess ofthat needed for firm energyproduction.
Northern Pikeminnow: Agiant member of the minnowfamily, native to the ColumbiaRiver, that is a predator ofyoung salmon.
Operating Requirements:Limits within which a reservoir, dam, or system must be operated. Some arerequired by Congress, whileothers evolve with operatingexperience.
Operating Year: The periodAugust 1 through the follow-ing July 31.
Peak Flow: The maximumrate of water flow during aspecific time period at a specific location on a stream or river.
Planning Studies:Hydroelectric operating studies that simulate how theriver will be operated in certain conditions (totalstreamflow, shape of springsnowmelt) in the near term.
Priority Rights: In Federalstatutes, the favoring of onegroup over another, such aspublic entities over privateutilities, in the purchase ofFederal electric power, alsoknown as “preference.”
Proportional Draft Points:Drawdown limits for reser-voirs when water conditionsrequire drafting below energycontent curves to serve firmload.
Reservoir Drawdown:Lowering of the level of a reservoir for the purposes of increasing water velocityand mimicking the originalriver cross section presentbefore the reservoir’s construction.
Resident Fish: Fish that arepermanent inhabitants of abody of water.
River Reach: General termused to refer to a specificstretch along a river from onepoint to another.
Rule Curve: Water level, represented graphically as acurve, that guides reservoiroperations.
Runoff: That portion of precipitation, snowmelt, or irrigation water that runs offthe land into streams or othersurface water.
Smolt: Juvenile salmon orsteelhead migrating to theocean and beginning its transformation from a freshwater fish to a saltwater environment.
Snowpack: Accumulation ofsnow in the mountains thatbuilds up in the late fall andwinter.
Spill: Water released from adam over the spillway insteadof being directed through theturbines.
Streamflow Records:Historical records of annualstreamflows; for the ColumbiaRiver, over 100 years’ ofstreamflow records are available.
Streamflow: The rate andvolume of water flowing invarious sections of a river.
Temperature Control: TheCorps and Reclamation haveinstalled equipment at somedams that can regulate thetemperature of water releasedfrom the reservoirs. Thisallows water temperaturedownstream in the river to be controlled. Temperature control is achieved by drawing water from differentelevations in a reservoir. Coldwater is drawn from deep inthe reservoir; warm water isdrawn from near the surface.The two water segments arethen released from the dam at the same time.
Transmission Grid: Theregional network of high-voltage lines that transmitselectric power from generatingsources to points of consumption.
Trust Responsibility: TheFederal obligation to provideservices to protect andenhance Indian lands,resources, and self-governmentand to include social and economic programs to raisestandard of living and well-being of Indian people.
AER Actual Energy RegulationaMW Average MegawattARC Assured Refill Curve
B.C. Hydro British Columbia Hydro and Power AuthorityBPA Bonneville Power Administration
cfs cubic feet per secondcm Centimeter
Corps U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (also USACE)CRC Critical Rule Curve
CSPE Canadian Storage Power ExchangeDGT Dissolved Gas Team (fish)DSI Direct Service Industry
ECC Energy Content CurveEIS Environmental Impact Statement
EPA Environmental Protection AgencyESA Endangered Species Act
FCRC Flood Control Rule CurveFCRPS Federal Columbia River Power SystemFELCC Firm Energy Load Carrying Capability
FERC Federal Energy Regulatory CommissionFONSI Finding of No Significant Impact
IPC Idaho Power Companykcfs thousand cubic feet per secondkW kilowatt
m3/s cubic meters per secondMaf Million acre-feet
MPC Montana Power CorporationMW megawatt
NEPA National Environmental Policy ActNMFS National Marine Fisheries Service
NWPPC Northwest Power Planning CouncilORC Operating Rule CurvePGE Portland General Electric subsidiary of EnronPDP Proportional Draft Point
PNCA Pacific Northwest Coordination AgreementPP&L Pacific Power and Light subsidiary of Scottish Power
PUD public (or people’s) utility districtReclamation U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (also USBR)
SCL Seattle City LightSCT System Configuration Team (fish)SOR System Operation ReviewTCL Tacoma City LightTMT Technical Management Team (fish)
USACE U.S. Army Corps of EngineersUSFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
VECC Variable Energy Content CurveVRC Variable Rule Curve
WWP Washington Water Power, now Avista
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Appendix C.AcronymsandAbbreviations
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Fish habitat revitalization is important to species recovery.
Bonneville PowerAdministration. July 1990.“Multipurpose Dams of thePacific Northwest.”
Bonneville PowerAdministration. March 1989.“The Columbia River TreatyRevisited.” Backgrounder.
Bonneville PowerAdministration. July 1987.“The World’s Biggest FishStory: The Columbia River’sSalmon.” Backgrounder.
Bonneville PowerAdministration. September1985. “Running the Rivers:How the Federal PowerSystem Operates in Low-Water Years.” Issue Alert.
Bonneville PowerAdministration. 1964. “ ThePacific Northwest CoordinationAgreement.” A paper presentedto the Winter Power Meetingof the Institute of ElectronicsEngineers in New York,January 1965.
Columbia River WaterManagement Group. 1988.“Columbia River WaterManagement Report for WaterYear 1988.”
Columbia River WaterManagement Group. 1987.“Columbia River WaterManagement Report for WaterYear 1987.”
Columbia River WaterManagement Group. 1987.“Columbia River WaterManagement Report for WaterYear 1986.”
Northwest Power PlanningCouncil. The NWPPC publishesa variety of papers and reportson energy and fish and wildlifeissues in the Northwest. TheCouncil’s most recent Fishand Wildlife Program andRegional Energy Plan are also useful references.
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System Operation ReviewInteragency Team. 1990. “theColumbia River: A SystemUnder Stress.”
U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers, North PacificDivision. 1985. “PreliminaryReview of Flood Control -Columbia River Basin.”
U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers, North PacificDivision. 1984 “ColumbiaRiver Basin Master WaterControl Manual.”
All three system OperationReview agencies have extensive libraries and welcome public inquires.
Appendix D.Reference List
DOE/BP-3372 April 2001 3M
