Predicting Total Dissolved Gas Travel Time in Hydropower Reservoirs
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 143, Issue 12
Abstract
Large spills at hydropower facilities can produce environmentally unfavorable supersaturated total dissolved gas (TDG) conditions. Enhanced coordination between adjacent hydropower facilities is required when a large, brief spill creates a pulse of TDG that is transported into a downstream reservoir. A premium is placed on quick and simple methods and relationships that can support short-term decision making under dynamic conditions. This paper presents an empirically based methodology to quantify and assess the relationship between mean hourly river flow and TDG travel time between an upstream hydropower spillway and a downstream dam. The analysis is conducted for reservoirs in the mid-Columbia River system and is limited to summer months when spill events that create high TDG are most common. A two-step filter and crosscorrelation procedure is used to isolate high-strength TDG events and characterize the time delay between when the TDG event is initiated upstream and when it is detected downstream. Spill flow, powerhouse flow, and TDG measurements are used to develop a bulk parameter estimation of mean TDG time delay as a function of mean river flow. The approach reveals an inverse power law relationship between mean river flow and mean TDG travel time. The relationship provides hydropower operators with a new, simplified decision support tool. The generalized methodology could be applied to other reservoir systems for which TDG minimization is a critical management objective.
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Acknowledgments
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Wind and Water Power Technologies Program under Contract Number DE-AC05-00OR22725. The authors thank David Watson of Oak Ridge National Lab for a thorough and insightful review of the manuscript.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 143 • Issue 12 • December 2017
Copyright
©2017 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 28, 2017
Accepted: Jun 5, 2017
Published online: Oct 12, 2017
Published in print: Dec 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Mar 12, 2018
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