Effects of Climate and Dam Operations on Reservoir Thermal Structure
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 130, Issue 2
Abstract
Recently, the United States Bureau of Reclamation agreed to increase spring releases from Upper Colorado River Basin reservoirs to create a more natural flow regime in the lower Gunnison River and Upper Colorado River. Fishery managers have expressed concern that new operations could change reservoir conditions and jeopardize popular and economically important reservoir sport fisheries. This study attempts to predict how one aspect of reservoir conditions, thermal structure, might respond to new dam operations at Blue Mesa Reservoir aimed at addressing downstream ecological concerns. A one-dimensional thermal model (CE-THERM) is applied to simulating thermal effects of “traditional” and proposed “new” dam operation scenarios. To evaluate the relative importance of climate and dam operations a sensitivity analysis of hydrologic (i.e., inflows and starting reservoir elevation) and meteorologic (i.e., air temperature, cloud cover, and dew point temperature) inputs was conducted along with an “extreme” dam operation scenario. Results indicate that reservoir managers at Blue Mesa Reservoir have considerable latitude for new operations without negative thermal consequences. The natural variability of climate and hydrology appear to exert stronger control over reservoir thermal structure than reservoir operations at Blue Mesa.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Ahren, C. D. (1994). Meteorology today, West Publishing, St. Paul. Minn.
Allan, J. D. (1995). Stream ecology: Structure and function of running waters, Kluwer Academic, Dordrecht, The Netherlands.
Bartholow, J. (1989). “Stream temperature investigations: Field and analytic methods.” Instream Flow Information Paper No. 13, Biol. Rep. 89(17), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Grand Junction, Colo.
Bartholow, J., Hanna, B., Saito, L., Lieberman, D., and Horn, M.(2001). “Simulated limnological effects of the Shasta Lake temperature control device.” Environ. Manage. (N.Y.), 27(4), 609–626.
Baxter, R. M.(1977). “Environmental effects of dams and impoundments.” Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst., 8, 255–283.
Brett, M. T., Sarsfield, C., DeStaso, J., Duffy, S., and Heyvaert, A. C. (1998). Physical forcing of the phytoplankton bloom dynamics in Shasta Lake, California: A Progress Rep. on the study of limnological effects following installation of a temperature control device, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Redding, Calif.
Cole, G. A. (1988). Textbook of limnology, Waveland Press, Prospect Heights, Ill.
Collier, M., Webb, R. H., and Schmidt, J. C. (1996). Dams and rivers: A primer on the downstream effects of dams, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver.
Cudlip, L. S., French, R. D., and Hickman, D. (1987). “Blue Mesa Reservoir, CO: A historical review of its limnology, 1965–1985.” Rep. No. REC-ERC-87-3, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Denver.
Hanna, R. B., Saito, L., Bartholow, J. M., and Sandelin, J.(1999). “Results of simulated temperature control device operations on in-reservoir and discharge water temperatures using CE-QUAL-W2.” Lake Reserv. Manage., 15(2), 87–102.
Johnson, B. M., Martinez, P. J., and Stockwell, J. D.(2002). “Tracking trophic interactions in coldwater reservoirs using naturally occurring stable isotopes.” Trans. Am. Fish. Soc., 131, 1–13.
Johnson, B. M., Stockwell, J. D., and Bonfantine, K. (1997). “Ecological effects of reservoir operations on Blue Mesa Reservoir.” Annual Progress Rep., U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Salt Lake City.
Johnson, B. M., Wise, M. J., Counard, C. J., and Szerlong, R. G. (1995). “Ecological effects of reservoir operations on Blue Mesa Reservoir.” Annual Progress Rep., U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Grand Junction, Colo.
Johnson, B. M., Wise, M. J., Herwig, B., Szerlong, R. G., Faber, D., and Byall, B. (1996). “Ecological effects of reservoir operations on Blue Mesa Reservoir.” Annual Progress Rep., U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Grand Junction, Colo.
Martinez, P. J., and Wiltzius, W. J.(1995). “Some factors affecting a hatchery-sustained kokanee population in a fluctuating Colorado reservoir.” N. Am. J. Fish. Manage., 15, 220–228.
McAda, C. W. (2003). “Flow recommendations to benefit endangered fishes in the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers.” Final Rep., Recovery Program Project 54, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Grand Junction, Colo.
National Research Council (NRC). (1991). Colorado River ecology and dam management, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C.
Osmundson, D. B., and Burnham, K. P.(1998). “Status and trends of the endangered Colorado squawfish in the upper Colorado River.” Trans. Am. Fish. Soc.,127, 957–970.
Poff, N. L., Allan, J. D., Bain, M. B., Karr, J. R., Prestegaard, K. L., Richter, B. D., Sparks, R. E., and Stromberg, J. C.(1997). “The natural flow regime: A paradigm for river conservation and restoration.” BioScience, 47, 769–784.
Saito, L., Johnson, B. M., Bartholow, J., and Hanna, R. B.(2001). “Assessing ecosystem effects of reservoir operations using food web-energy transfer and water quality models.” Ecosystems, 4, 105–125.
Stanford, J. A. (1994). “Instream flows to assist the recovery of endan-gered fishes in the upper Colorado River basin.” Biol. Rep. 24, National Biological Survey, U.S. Department of Interior, Washington, D.C.
Stanford, J. A., Ward, J. V., Liss, W. J., Frissell, C. A., Williams, R. N., Lichatowich, J. A., and Coutant, C. C.(1996). “A general protocol for restoration of regulated rivers.” Regul. Rivers: Res. Manage,12, 391–413.
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). (1972). “Heat and mass transfer between a water surface and the atmosphere.” TVA Lab Rep. No. 14, Report No. 0-6803, Norris, Tenn.
Thornton, K. W., Kimmel, B. L., and Payne, F. E. (1990). Reservoir limnology: Ecological perspectives, Wiley, New York.
Tyus, H. M. (1991). “Ecology and management of Colorado squawfish.” Battle against extinction: Native fish management in the American West, W. L. Minckley and J. E. Deacon, eds., Univ. of Arizona Press, Tucson, Ariz., 379–402.
U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). (1995). “CE-QUAL-R1: A numerical one-dimensional model of reservoir water quality; User’s manual.” Instruction Rep. No. E-82-1, Revised Ed., Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, Miss.
U. S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). (1975). “Blue Mesa Dam and powerplant.” Technical record of design and construction—Colorado River Storage Project, Gunnison Division—Curecanti Unit, Colorado, Denver.
Van Steeter, M. M., and Pitlick, J.(1998). “Geomorphology and endangered fish habitats of the upper Colorado River 1. Historic changes in streamflow, sediment load, and channel morphology.” Water Resour. Res., 34, 287–302.
Ward, J. V., and Stanford, J. A., eds. (1979). The ecology of regulated streams, Plenum, New York.
Wetzel, R. G. (2001). Limnology, 3rd Ed., Academic, San Diego.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 130 • Issue 2 • March 2004
Pages: 112 - 122
Copyright
Copyright © 2004 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Mar 8, 2002
Accepted: Apr 2, 2003
Published online: Feb 19, 2004
Published in print: Mar 2004
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.