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SECURE Water Act Section 9505 Assessment
Lead Companies
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Lead Researcher (s)
- Shih-Chieh Kao (kaos@ornl.gov)
The U.S. Department of Energy was directed by Section 9505 of the SECURE Water Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-11) to submit a report to Congress on each effect of, and risk resulting from, global climate change with respect to: (1) water supplies used for hydroelectric power generation; and (2) power supplies marketed by each Federal Power Marketing Administration. To evaluate the potential effects on the 132 federal hydropower plants in the United States, ORNL designed a spatially consistent assessment approach to enable interregional comparisons. This approach uses a series of hyper-resolution meteorologic, hydrologic, and hydropower models to produce the most up-to-date understanding of long-term hydro-meteorological trends on future hydroelectric generation from federal facilities.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Climate Change
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
- Conventional Hydro
Seepage Detection and Characterization in a Truckee Canal Site using L-band Synthetic-Aperture Radar (SAR) Technology
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Jong Beom Kang
Reclamation alone holds tens of thousands of miles of in-service water conveyance canals within its infrastructure inventory. Many of these canal systems have aged beyond their original intended life-span, are showing signs of aging and disrepair, extensive seepage and embankment failure events are becoming increasingly common, and consequences of canal failures within urban corridors are constantly increasing due to urban encroachment on these water conveyance structures. In addition to the problem of increased risk related to canal embankment failures, concentrated and distributed seepage poses a major challenge to water conservation due to significant water conveyance system losses. An ongoing need to identify and comprehensively characterize and quantify canal seepage, both for safety related and water conservation efforts, is the main motivation for this proposed research. Existing capabilities of Reclamation team members include field and lab data collection and analysis expertise, modeling expertise, required background/supportive data and information knowledge and access, and site-specific knowledge and access permissions. Non-Reclamation team members will bring SAR data analysis expertise, and hydrologic modeling expertise, and access to critical and supportive data and prior/ongoing research results. This is cutting-edge seepage-related research that makes use of interdisciplinary collaborative research coordination with top scientists within each participating field.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Water Conveyance
Research Sub-Category
Canal
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
Self Powered Acoustic Transmitter
Lead Companies
PNNL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Daniel Deng
The goal of this project is to prepare the self-powered transmitter for commercialization by demonstrating its viability and market impact in collaboration with private partners.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
complete
Completion Date
2021
- Conventional Hydro
Self-Cleaning Strainers and Filtration to Mitigate Mussel Impacts
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Bryan Heiner
Can self-cleaning strainers and filters be used to effectively manage mussel impacts with reduced maintenance at Reclamation facilities? With the infestation in the Lower Colorado Region, operations and maintenance have been impacted by a significant increase in mussel shell debris. Mussel shell debris is entrained in various piped systems (predominantly cooling water) within the facility either during normal operations or following dewatering for maintenance. To date, most facilities manage this increased debris load using conventional strainers and manual cleanout. However, strainer capacity can be easily exceeded by heavy shell debris loads. Reclamation would benefit greatly from having a self-cleaning method to remove large and small shell debris more effectively thereby reducing maintenance costs.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
Sequencing of the quagga mussel genome as a tool for biocontrol
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Yale Passamaneck
Invasive quagga mussels, which form dense aggregations that can clog water intakes and other submerged infrastructure, pose a significant threat to water and power delivery by the USBR in the Western United States. Once established in a water body, invasive mussels dramatically increase operations and maintenance costs for facilities, as well as having other economic impacts. One of the most significant challenges associated with quagga mussels is that, at present, no practicable approaches exist to eliminate, or even control, mussel populations in open water once they have become established. A major impediment to developing new control technologies is that relatively little is yet know about quagga mussel biology, particularly in regards to their genome. Sequencing the quagga mussel genome will allow identification of vulnerabilities that can be targeted for control measures through integrated pest management. The proposed research will sequence and assemble the genome of the quagga mussel. Availability of the quagga mussel genome sequence will provide a valuable toolkit for understanding the biology of this invasive organism and developing control techniques. Having the quagga genome will provide insight into fundamental aspects of quagga biology, such as the basis of sex determination, regulation of reproduction, and chemical attractants and deterrents. Targeted control techniques, such as genome editing with CRISPR/Cas9 would only effect quagga mussels, and could not spread to other organisms in the environment.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2020
- Conventional Hydro
- Conventional Hydro
Side channel evolution and design: achieving sustainable habitat for aquatic species recovery
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Nathan Holste
How do side channels form and evolve in both sand and gravel bed river systems? Side channels in natural river corridors are created and maintained as a result of a number of processes related to the morphology and geology of the river corridor and floodplain, the hydrology of the watershed, the sediment supply and size, and the amount of large wood within the system. A global understanding of how side channels form and evolve over time currently does not exist. To achieve this understanding of side channel form and process, we propose to conduct an empirical study of side channels across the variety of river systems represented in our study areas. This study would evaluate a range of variables that characterize side channels in terms of their form, location and angle of inlet from the main stem of the river, their frequency of inundation (perennial to intermittent), the type of habitat they provide (target species life stage served) as well as their evolution over time. The outcome of this study would be a classification of side channels and a conceptual model describing the side channel life cycle.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2022
- Conventional Hydro
Side channel evolution, geomorphic diversity, and sediment transport on the Bighorn River following larger dam releases between 2008 and 2018
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Melissa Foster
The proposed research will test the following hypotheses and conclusions from previous work: (1) the wetted perimeter of the Bighorn River continues to remain relatively stable since dam emplacement, as found in a previous study; (2) geomorphic diversity within the channel is likely stable since the previous study and any recent erosion within the channel does not fall outside of historic fluctuations (3) physical excavation is required to reconnect many endangered and disconnected side channels along the Bighorn River, as model predictions indicate that the side channels will not be reconnected with high flows alone; (4) once restored, high flow releases can help prevent aggradation at side channel entrances.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Shoreline and Riparian Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2020
Don’t see your waterpower research?
Have questions about WaRP?
Contact Marla Barnes at: marla@hydro.org