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- Conventional Hydro
Quantifying Fish Biomass X Distance from Environmental DNA Samples in a Hydrodynamically Complex Environment
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Andrew Schultz
Can monitoring of Environmental DNA (eDNA) in hydraulically dynamic systems be used as a tool for monitoring target species to facilitate optimization of water delivery operations? Our specific research question will investigate how much fish biomass X distance is present when a quantity of DNA is obtained in a water sample. It is not possible to calculate the biomass alone because an infinite number of combinations of fish biomass and distance could produce the same amount of DNA in a water sample. Thus it is necessary to calculate the biomass X distance.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2021
- Conventional Hydro
Quantifying the Development and Dynamics of Reservoir Delta and Related Backwater Vegetation in the Context of Physical Drivers
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Nathan Holste
The goal of this project is to better to determine whether deltas and backwaters represent significant areas of riparian and wetland habitat on a landscape scale, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Further, we hypothesize that early successional woody riparian species, which are declining along many regulated river reaches below dams, will be comparatively abundant where reservoirs experience large fluctuations in pool elevations. Understanding the drivers of delta-backwater vegetation can facilitate a predictive understanding of these habitats in response to, for example, changes in water management or in hydrology upstream from reservoirs.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Shoreline and Riparian Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2022
- Conventional Hydro
Refining Quagga Habitat Suitability Models
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Yale Passamaneck
As introductions of invasive freshwater mussels continue to be detected across the Western United States there is significant interest in understanding what waters are most at risk of infestation. In the absence of extensive laboratory studies on the physiological tolerances of invasive dreissenid mussels, correlative studies comparing mussel distribution and environmental parameters remains the best tool available for understanding the risk of mussel establishment in new waters. Previous efforts to define such habitat suitability parameters for dreissenid mussels have drawn primarily on data from waters in the Eastern US and Europe. Hydrological regimes in these regions are often less dynamic than in Reclamation waters in the arid Western US. We hypothesize that such factors may play an as yet unrecognized role in determining a waterbody's potential risk of invasive mussel establishment and infestation, and may serve to limit the spread of infestations in Reclamation waters. The proposed work will draw on a decade of early detection research conducted at the Reclamation Detection Laboratory for Exotic Species (RDLES), as well as publicly available data on water quality and hydrology to understand what factors may control the establishment of mussels in the Western US. Of particular interest will be waterbodies where RDLES has identified evidence of dreissenid mussel introductions, but populations have not proceeded to establishment and infestation. These data suggest initial habitat suitability but that some environmental features limited population expansion and survival. This is significant because for waters where no detection has occurred, it is not necessarily possible to distinguish if this is due to unsuitable environmental conditions or simply a lack of any introduction. This project will assess how current habitat suitability models may be refined to more accurately inform risk assessment in Reclamation waters.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2021
- Conventional Hydro
Research, Monitoring, and Evaluation of Emerging Issues and Measures to Recover the Snake River Fall Chinook Salmon ESU
Lead Companies
U.S. Geological Survey
Lead Researcher (s)
- Kenneth Tiffan
- Russell Perry
In this report, USGS scientists and partners illustrate how a life-cycle model of intermediate complexity can be used to understand population dynamics and factors affecting different life stages of Snake River basin fall Chinook salmon.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
complete
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
Review of trap-and-haul for managing Pacific salmonids in impounded river systems
Lead Companies
U.S. Geological Survey
Lead Researcher (s)
- Tobias Kock
USGS scientists and partners reviewed 17 trap-and-haul programs regarding Pacific salmon to (1) summarize information about facility design, operation and biological effects; (2) identify critical knowledge gaps; and (3) evaluate trap-and-haul as a current and future management tool.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
complete
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
Risk mapping for mussel infestation in the Pacific Northwest
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Anthony Prisciandaro
Determining how to best allocate dreissenid mussel early detection monitoring effort across the Columbia River Basin (CRB) to address both inter-jurisdictional and regional priorities has been identified as an immediate need by multiple regional partnerships, including DOI's "Safeguarding the West from Invasive Species" Initiative. An initial step toward optimal allocation of early detection resources across the CRB is to develop a regional strategy for assessing how water quality affects dreissenid mussel establishment risk. We will address issues identified in regional forums surrounding the use of water quality data to assess dreissenid mussel establishment risk. Project deliverables include: (1) Development of criteria for assessing the relevance of water quality data (e.g., based on how, when and where data were collected) for dreissenid mussel risk assessments across the CRB; (2) Development of a ranking scheme for water quality metrics relevant to dreissenid mussel establishment in the CRB; (3) Discussion of the benefits and drawbacks of various strategies currently used to assign dreissenid mussel risk rankings based on water quality across the CRB; and (4) Display the application of water quality relevance criteria and risk assessment rankings to water bodies in the Upper Snake River subbasin (FY19) and the remainder of the Columbia River Basin (FY20) in a georeferenced format that will be accessible by stakeholders.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
River restoration freeboard design requirements
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Bryan Heiner
River restoration projects are complex structures involving a multitude of hydraulic approaches to develop a river ecosystem that is intended improve habitat for targeted species (animal and plant). These designs are often put together with extensive modeling and design efforts. It has been noticed during water up and operation of constructed river restoration projects that water surfaces through the system are often higher than the designs and models predict. The research question this proposal addresses is how different are the water surface elevations between design and actual? It is assumed that these water surface elevations are typically higher than designs and numerical models predict for the low flows and the difference decreases at higher floodplain flows. Little post construction data has been collected and analyzed making selecting an acceptable freeboard for channel and stream design difficult.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Shoreline and Riparian Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
River restoration interactive geospatial database to inform future river rehabilitation design
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Melissa Shinbein
Each year, a fifth of Reclamation's budget is spent on river restoration projects. River restoration projects can include fisheries and aquatic habitat improvement, river enhancement and improved channel function, river and stream bank protection, fish passage and barrier removal, rearing habitat improvement, gravel augmentation, wetland and riparian habitat creation, water quality enhancement, and fish stocking, among other activities.This research project aims to create a river restoration database to collect information about projects that have already been implemented and to inform future rehabilitation designs for fish and aquatic species recovery under the Endangered Species Act. Past river restoration projects in a variety of programs across all of Reclamation's regions will be evaluated to compare and contrast successes and lessons learned. Project- and program-wide knowledge will be obtained to help inform agency-wide knowledge on river restoration projects.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Water Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2022
- Conventional Hydro
Robust Eco-Hydraulic 3D Modeling Tools for Rivers with Complex In-Stream Structures
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Yong Lai
In-stream features such as fish passages and large woods are widely used by Reclamation for improving river management through enhanced fish passage and habitat restoration. Design methods and guidelines are rare for predicting their effectiveness. It is also difficult to predict the physical response of channels to their placement. The risk and liability of these in-stream features are rarely evaluated quantitatively prior to project implementation. Computer models have the potential to address the above issues. However, a key bottleneck of applying existing 3D models such as U2ARNS is the need for 3D mesh generation. Mesh generation for complex geometries, such as in-stream structures, can easily fail. Even when meshing can be completed, the resulted low quality of the mesh often renders 3D solver unstable. This proposed research aims to develop a novel alternative method which may be implemented into the latest high-accuracy 3D model U2RANS. The end-product is a robust eco-hydraulic 3D modeling tool for rivers with complex in-stream features.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Water Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
Scoping Study: Demonstrating Value of River Data Aggregation and Visualization Capabilities
Lead Companies
PNNL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Kyle Larson
The initial focus of this project is to help WTPO develop a plan for a longer-term effort that will seek to demonstrate the value of improving stakeholder access to more comprehensive data for their river basins. These efforts relate the WTPO goal of increasing awareness of and helping to achieve multi-benefit outcomes from taking basin-scale approaches to energy-water planning.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Water Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
Don’t see your waterpower research?
Have questions about WaRP?
Contact Marla Barnes at: marla@hydro.org