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Conventional Hydro
Aging Reservoirs, Climate, Operations, and Potential Cumulative Impacts to Water Quality, Clarity and Fisheries and Recreation
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Mike Horn
Can Reclamation develop a set of tools and techniques that will allow researchers to gain a better understanding of benthic turbidity layers, their composition, what causes them, and why in some areas have they only recently been observed? If this is potentially becoming a bigger problem, and if we can describe the cause, can we identify other reservoirs that are likely susceptible to this same phenomenon over time, and through mechanistic and modelling approaches provide solutions for Clark Canyon and other reservoirs?
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Water Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2020
Conventional Hydro
Alternate Control Strategy for Dreissinids Using Carbon Dioxide
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Kevin Kelly
Can carbon dioxide be used as an environmentally neutral molluscicide for mitigation of zebra and quagga mussel macrofouling? Carbon dioxide is a natural chemical that does not require a separate or specialized production (e.g. fermentation), is already produced in large quantities, is recycled from initial combustion waste streams for good environmental stewardship, has an indefinite shelf life, nonflammable, is easy to handle and store, does not require electrical or mechanical power to deliver, and can be distributed easily and evenly in water, including hard-to-reach confined water. Through the carbonic acid/bicarbonate buffer, the change in pH of the water is limited. Addition of carbon dioxide also reduces the bioavailability of calcium in the water, thereby inhibiting shell growth. Only species that has taken up residence in the confined water (i.e. Dreissinids) would be exposed long enough to reach mortality levels. Once the water is freely exposed to the air at the outlet, purged, or the CO2 is stripped and reused, equilibrium is quickly re-established and PCO2 goes back to ambient pressure, so that it will not affect the downstream water ecology.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2020
Conventional Hydro
Alternate Control Strategy for Dreissinids Using Electrical Methods
Lead Companies
Bureau of Reclamation
Lead Researcher (s)
- Kevin Kelly
Since the discovery of zebra mussels in the Laurentian Great Lakes in 1986 on natural gas well head and well markers, zebra and quagga mussels (Dreissena spp.) have spread across large areas of the continental United States. In industrial systems, control of Dreissena spp. biofouling has primarily concentrated on oxidizing and nonoxidizing chemicals. However, chemical treatments are usually not viable options in Reclamation facilities. There is a need for economical and environmentally safe control strategies for these major biofouling mussels in Reclamation raw water delivery systems. Alternative methods utilizing electricity has been shown to impact mussel behavior, including mortality and a reduction in the rate of byssogenesis (byssus attachment). Methods include electrified fields which inhibited passage of live veligers (larval life stage) and electrical currents which prevented attachments to metallic surfaces. This project proposes to carry out well established electrical testing procedures to investigate the effectiveness of electrical control methods under field conditions similar to those found in Reclamation facilities. The goals of this project are to determine and compare the electrical dosage and electrical power consumption of AC and DC applied at different waveforms (sinusoidal AC, squared DC, cycle rates, etc.) to induce quagga mussel mortality and inhibition of byssogenesis in the raw water parameters typically found in Reclamation facilities on the Lower Colorado River (LCR). Electrical dosage or power density can be determined by the measured ambient conductivity and the applied voltage gradient.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Environmental and Sustainability
Research Sub-Category
Fish and Aquatic Resources
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
2021
Small or Non Conventional Hydro
Alternative Value Streams for Hydropower
Lead Companies
PNNL
Lead Researcher (s)
- TJ Heibel
This project focuses on identifying alternative value streams for small hydropower in the U.S.
Technology Application
Small or Non Conventional Hydro
Research Category
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
Annex IX
Lead Companies
PNNL
Lead Researcher (s)
- Abhishek Somani
This project aims to explore the unique role of hydropower in producing significant amounts of firm renewable energy and storage to support VRE’s, and providing flexible energy services to support electricity systems – collectively termed ‘hydro balancing’. Specifically, Phase 2 will develop an understanding of two key strategic themes: (1) How hydropower may be valued in future electricity market scenarios, and (2) How hydropower may be valued in providing climate change adaptation services (e.g. flood control).Phase 2 will capture the contribution of hydropower by documenting the capabilities, challenges, opportunities, and market structures for compensating hydropower services in TCP member countries as well as additional countries recruited to the effort.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Renewable Integration
Status
ongoing
Completion Date
TBD
Conventional Hydro
Applied Statistical Analysis Techniques for Hydro Generation and Runoff
Lead Companies
CEATI International
Lead Researcher (s)
- #0426
The focus of this report is to review the current practices for data analysis techniques, with specific emphasis on contemporary approaches relevant to hydropower systems.
Technology Application
Conventional Hydro
Research Category
Interconnect Integration and Markets
Research Sub-Category
Hydraulic Optimization
Status
complete
Completion Date
2020
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
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Contact Luciana Ciocci at: luciana@hydro.org
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