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- Asset Management
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- Conventional Hydro
An Analysis of Partial-Depth, Floating, Impermeable Guidance Structures for Downstream Fish Passage at Hydroelectric Facilities
Lead Companies
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Lead Researcher (s)
- Kevin Mulligan
A floating impermeable guidance structure (FIGS) for downstream fish passage is constructed as a series of partial-depth panels anchored across a river channel, reservoir, or power channel. If guidance is successful, the fish will avoid entrance to a dangerous intake structure (i.e. turbine intakes) while passing from the upstream to downstream end of a dam through a safer passage route (i.e. the bypass). To evaluate the flow field immediately upstream of a FIGS, a parameterized CFD model of an idealized power channel was constructed in ANSYS Fluent v. 14.5. The design parameters investigated were the angle and depth of the FIGS and the average approach velocity in the power channel. Key findings indicate that a FIGS set at a small angle and deep enough such that the Effective Guidance Depth of the FIGS is greater than the expected vertical distribution of fish approaching the structure will perform the best.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
complete
Completion Date
2014
- Conventional Hydro
An Examination of the Hydropower Licensing and Federal Authorization Process
Lead Companies
DOE, WPTO
Lead Researcher (s)
- Brenda Pracheil
Permitting and regulation are necessary to ensure hydropower projects comply with statutory requirements and meet multiple stakeholder priorities that consider the range of other important water uses. However, the process to acquire a license for an individual development project is uncertain at best, impacting the length and cost of project development. This project was completed in October 2021 with issuance of a report that provides analysis of the hydropower regulatory process including licensing costs, timelines, and developer risks associated with hydropower licensing. A link to this report can be found here: https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy22osti/79242.pdf with report timeline and cost data found here: https://hydrosource.ornl.gov/dataset/hydropower-licensing-timeline-and-cost-dataset Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
Analysis of environmental DNA from sediments for detection of invasive dreissenid mussels
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Yale Passamaneck
The proposed work will test the utility of DNA analysis on sediments for detection of low abundance populations of invasive dreissenid mussels. Many reservoirs considered to be at low risk for establishment of invasive dreissenid mussels are sampled infrequently due to allocation of limited resources. Such infrequent sampling decreases the probability of detecting an introduction of mussels should it occur. Because DNA is expected to have a longer persistence in sediments that in open water, sampling and analysis of sediments should provide an additional means for detection of invasive dreissenid introductions in infrequently samples waters.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2022
- Conventional Hydro
Assessing potential future changes in atmospheric rivers over the western coast of the U.S
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Michael Wright
Do dynamically downscaled, higher-resolution regional climate model simulations from the North American Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (NA-CORDEX) offer clear, stakeholder-relevant benefit to the understanding of current causes and future projections of precipitation amount, type, and distribution for the Western United States? The proposed research would reduce uncertainty in regional climate projections, particularly with regard to downscaling (7.02). In short, the proposed research offers insight into issue after issue which has been identified as a "gap" impeding effective utilization of temperature and precipitation projections by water resource managers.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Water Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
Assessing the impact of physically realized hydro-climate extremes on water supply
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Marketa McGuire
This scoping proposal seeks to develop a detailed collaborative experiment to advance our understanding of the impacts of extreme hydro-climate events on water management of Reclamation's reservoirs. A particular focus will be the roles of climate variability versus long-term trends in producing extreme events. We plan to leverage the joint expertise/interests at the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU), the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), and possibly elsewhere, to investigate atmospheric/climate drivers of hydrologic and land surface processes during drought periods and/or wet (i.e. pluvial) periods to understand the likelihood of acute or prolonged extremes.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Water Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2021
- Conventional Hydro
Autonomous acoustic receiver system for 3D tracking and monitoring real-time fish survival
Lead Companies
PNNL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Jayson Martinez
This project is developing two technologies related to JSATS autonomous acoustic receivers: 1) a system which can be used to estimate fish survival in near real-time for optimizing hydropower operations, hereafter referred to as the Real-time Autonomous Acoustic Detection System (RAADS); 2) an advanced machine learning based 3D acoustic-tagged fish tracking system, hereafter referred to as the Machine Learning Autonomous Tracking System (MLATS).RAADS will allow detection information from acoustic-tagged fish to be broadcast from underwater autonomous acoustic receivers to a surface-based receiver that would then transmit the data to an offsite location. This will generate timely information that can be input into models that would allow metrics of fish survival and behavior to be calculated and displayed on a dashboard.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
Baseline sediment budget for the Klamath River
Lead Companies
U.S. Geological Survey
Lead Researcher (s)
- Chauncey Anderson (ORWSC)
- Scott Wright (CAWSC)
USGS is working with PacifiCorp, Klamath River Renewal Corporation (KRRC), Tribes, States of OR and CA, and others to understand the effects of the Klamath Hydroelectric Project (KHP) on sediment transport and water quality in the Klamath River. In anticipation of a the potential removal of the lowermost 4 dams of the KHP, the USGS is working with the Tribes to help conduct monitoring required of KRRC under the Section 401 permits for the dam removal, currently scheduled for 2023, and at a larger scale to generate a baseline sediment budget for the river. Similar work is anticipated during and after the drawdown and dam removal process. Sub-studies, such as evaluating the bed mobility and effects of reservoir flushing on sediment resuspension, with application to mitigation of fish disease, are also ongoing. The study uses a mix of sediment flux, geomorphic assessments, and sediment tracer effects to estimate the overall effects of sediment releases from the reservoirs on downstream processes and place it in context with historical sediment transport in the basin.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Sediment Transport
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
Best Practices for Mussel Control and Mitigation at Hydropower and Water Delivery Facilities
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Sherri Pucherelli
The goal of this research is to compile currently used technology and techniques for the control of invasive mussels at hydropower and water delivery facilities. The approach involves case studies across multiple agencies to identify effective technologies and strategies that have been used in order to share this information with Federal and State agencies as well as impacted stakeholders. This effort will provide facility managers with information and options to be used for planning purposes in the case that invasive mussels are detected at their facility. Mussel control and mitigation techniques are site specific and dependent upon facility design and operation, and a survey of a variety of impacted facilities across the United States may uncover techniques that can be implemented at a diverse range of Reclamation facilities.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2020
- Marine Energy
Choose Your Own Collision Risk Adventure
Lead Companies
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Lead Researcher (s)
- Lysel Garavelli
- Lenaïg Hemery
This project aims to develop an interactive outreach tool for the marine energy community and the general public, highlighting the different stages of collision risk at various spatial scales and featuring fish.
Technology Application
Marine Energy
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Environmental Impact
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Marine Energy
Co-Locating Wave Energy with an Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture System
Lead Companies
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Lead Researcher (s)
- Lysel Garavelli
- Mikaela Freeman
- Molly Grear
This project will characterize the environment and wave resource around a proposed wave energy and aquaculture development site off Puerto Rico; evaluate the suitability of co-location; provide an initial assessment of the potential for wave energy to power an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture system; and develop a demonstration project plan and associated road map for implementation.
Technology Application
Marine Energy
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Environmental Impact
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
Don’t see your waterpower research?
Have questions about WaRP?
Contact Marla Barnes at: marla@hydro.org