Reservoir and River System Operations

Operating plans and practices consist of policies, guidelines, and procedures for determining the quantities of water to maintain in rivers as instream flows, store and release from reservoirs, and divert for beneficial use under various conditions. For many water supply reservoirs, operations are based simply on making withdrawals or releases as necessary to meet water demands subject to water rights and contractual agreements. Reservoir projects include dams, outlet structures, pumping plants, pipelines, canals, river channel improvements, hydroelectric power plants, electric transmission facilities, recreation resources, roads, buildings, and various other components. Operating rules include dividing the total storage capacity of a reservoir into pools defined by designated water surface elevations. Flood control pool operations are based on minimizing the risk and consequences of making releases that contribute to downstream flooding, subject to the constraint of assuring that the maximum design water surface is never exceeded.