Optimizing Selective Withdrawal from Reservoirs to Manage Downstream Temperatures with Climate Warming
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 141, Issue 4
Abstract
Selective withdrawal systems can take advantage of thermal stratification in reservoirs to manage downstream temperatures. Selective withdrawal might also help adapt operations to environmental changes, such as increased stream temperatures expected with climate change. This exploratory study develops a linear programming model to release water from different thermal pools in reservoirs to minimize deviations from target downstream temperatures. The model is applied with representative thermal dynamics to Lake Spaulding, a multipurpose reservoir on the South Fork Yuba River in California with climate warming represented by uniform increases in air temperature. Optimization results for thermal pool management with selective withdrawal are compared to a single, low-level outlet release model. Optimal selective withdrawal hedges the winter release of cold water to decrease summer stream temperatures. With climate warming, selective withdrawal can help lessen stream warming in the summer but at a cost of warmer stream temperatures in winter. As numerous assumptions are made, particularly regarding representation of thermodynamics, modeling improvements are needed to further develop selective withdrawal optimization models; several improvements are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
References
Armour, C. L. (1991). “Guidance for evaluating and recommending temperature regimes to protect fish.” U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Fort Collins, CO.
Bäck, T. (1996). Evolutionary algorithms in theory and practice: Evolution strategies, evolutionary programming, genetic algorithms, Oxford University Press, New York.
Battin, J., et al. (2007). “Projected impacts of climate change on salmon habitat restoration.” Proc., Natl. Acad. Sci., 104(16), 6720–6725.
Brett, J. R. (1971). “Energetic responses of salmon to temperature. A study of some thermal relations in the physiology and freshwater ecology of sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerkd).” Am. Zool., 11(1), 99–113.
Carron, J. C. (2000). “Simulation and optimization of unsteady flow and water temperature in reservoir regulated rivers.” Ph.D. dissertation, Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO.
Carron, J. C., and Rajaram, H. (2001). “Impact of variable reservoir releases on management of downstream water temperatures.” Water Resour. Res., 37(6), 1733–1743.
Cassie, D. (2006). “The thermal regime of rivers: A review.” Freshwater Biol., 51(8), 1389–1406.
Cassie, D., Satish, M. G., and El-Jabi, N. (2005). “Predicting river water temperatures using the equilibrium temperature concept with application on Miramichi River catchments (New Brunswick, Canada).” Hydrol. Processes, 19(11), 2137–2159.
Cayan, D. R., Maurer, E. P., Dettinger, M. D., Tyree, M., and Hayhoe, K. (2008). “Climate change scenarios for the California region.” Clim. Change, 87(S1), 21–42.
Chapra, S. C. (1997). Surface water-quality modeling, WCB/McGraw-Hill, New York.
Crozier, L., and Zabel, R. W. (2006). “Climate impacts at multiple scales: Evidence for differential population responses in juvenile Chinook salmon.” J. Animal Ecol., 75(5), 1100–1109.
Eaton, J. G., and Scheller, R. M. (1996). “Effects of climate warming on fish thermal habitat in streams of the United States.” Limnol. Oceanogr., 41(5), 1109–1115.
Edinger, J. E., Duttweiler, D. W., and Geyer, J. C. (1968). “The response of water temperatures to meteorological conditions.” Water Resour. Res., 4(5), 1137–1143.
Elçi, Ş. (2008). “Effects of thermal stratification and mixing on reservoir water quality.” Limnol. Oceanogr., 9(2), 135–142.
Field, R. C. (2007). “Multi-objective optimization of Folsom Reservoir operation.” M.S. thesis, Univ. of California, Davis, CA.
Fischer, H. B., List, E. J., Koh, R. C. Y., Imberger, J., and Brooks, N. H. (1979). Mixing in inland and coastal waters, Academic Press, New York.
Fontane, D. G., Labadie, J. W., and Loftis, B. (1981). “Optimal control of reservoir discharge quality through selective withdrawal.” Water Resour. Res., 17(6), 1594–1604.
Franco, G., Cayan, D. R., Moser, S., Hanemann, M., and Jones, M.-A. (2011). “Second California assessment: Integrated climate change impacts assessment of natural and managed systems. Guest editorial.” Clim. Change, 109(S1), 1–19.
Gaillard, J. (1984). “Multilevel withdrawal and water quality.” J. Environ. Eng., 123–130.
General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS) Development Corporation. (2010). GAMS—The solver manuals, Washington, DC, 〈http://www.gams.com/dd/docs/solvers/allsolvers.pdf〉 (Dec. 18, 2012).
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.” J. Lake Reservoir Manage., 15(2), 87–102.
Heino, J., Virkkala, R., and Toivonen, H. (2009). “Climate change and freshwater biodiversity: Detected patterns, future trends and adaptations in northern regions.” Biol. Rev., 84(1), 39–54.
Horne, A. J., and Goldman, C. R. (1994). Limnology, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Hynes, H. B. N. (1970). The ecology of running waters, Univ. of Toronto Press, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
Imberger, J. (1980). “Selective withdrawal: A review.” Proc., 2nd Int. Symp. on Stratified Flows, Trondheim, Norway, 381–400.
Jobling, M. (1981). “Temperature tolerance and the final preferendum—Rapid methods for the assessment of optimum growth temperatures.” J. Fish Biol., 19(4), 439–455.
Johnson, B. K., Saito, L., Anderson, M. A., Weiss, P., Andre, M., and Fontane, D. G. (2004). “Effects of climate and dam operations on reservoir thermal structure.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., 112–122.
Komatsu, E., Fukushima, T., and Harasawa, H. (2007). “A modeling approach to forecast the effect of long-term climate change on lake water quality.” Ecol. Modell., 209(2–4), 351–366.
Mantua, N., Tohver, I., and Hamlet, A. (2010). “Climate change impacts on streamflow extremes and summertime stream temperature and their possible consequences for freshwater salmon habitat in Washington state.” Clim. Change, 102(1–2), 187–223.
Marotz, B. L., Althen, C., Lonon, B., and Gustafson, D. (1996). “Model development to establish integrated operational rule curves for Hungry Horse and Libby Reservoirs—Montana.”, Montana Dept. of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Kalispell, MT.
McCullough, D. A. (1999). “A review and synthesis of effects of alterations to the water temperature regime on freshwater life stages of salmonids, with special reference to Chinook salmon.” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Seattle, WA.
Mehta, V. K., et al. (2011). “Potential impacts on hydrology and hydropower production under climate warming of the Sierra Nevada.” J. Water Clim. Change, 2(1), 29–43.
Mohseni, O., Stefan, H. G., and Eaton, J. G. (2003). “Global warming and potential changes in fish habitat in U.S. streams.” Clim. Change, 59(3), 389–409.
Nevada Irrigation District and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (NID/PG&E). (2010). “Technical memorandum 2-2: Water temperature monitoring.” 〈http://www.eurekasw.com/NID〉 (Jul. 16, 2010).
Null, S. E., Ligare, S. T., and Viers, J. H. (2013a). “A method to consider whether dams mitigate climate change effects on stream temperatures.” J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc., 49(6), 1456–1472.
Null, S. E., and Lund, J. R. (2012). “Fish habitat optimization to prioritize river restoration decisions.” River Res. Appl., 28(9), 1378–1393.
Null, S. E., Viers, J. H., Deas, M. L., Tanaka, S. K., and Mount, J. F. (2013b). “Stream temperature sensitivity to climate warming in California’s Sierra Nevada: Impacts to coldwater habitat.” Clim. Change, 116(1), 149–170.
Olden, J. D., and Naiman, R. J. (2010). “Incorporating thermal regimes into environmental flows assessments: Modifying dam operations to restore freshwater ecosystem integrity.” Freshwater Biol., 55(1), 86–107.
Olivares, M. A. (2008). “Optimal hydropower reservoir operation with environmental requirements.” Ph.D. dissertation, Univ. of California, Davis, CA.
Poff, N. L., et al. (1997). “The natural flow regime.” BioScience, 47(11), 769–784.
Poole, G. C., and Berman, C. H. (2001). “An ecological perspective on in-stream temperature: Natural heat dynamics and mechanisms of human-caused thermal degradation.” Environ. Manage., 27(6), 787–802.
Rheinheimer, D. E., Yarnell, S. M., and Viers, J. H. (2013). “Hydropower costs of environmental flows and climate warming in California’s Upper Yuba River watershed.” River Res. Appl., 29(10), 1291–1305.
Roefs, T. G., and Bodin, L. D. (1970). “Multireservoir operation studies.” Water Resour. Res., 6(2), 410–420.
Rosenthal, R. E. (2010). GAMS—A user’s guide, Tutorial, General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS) Development Corporation, Washington, DC, 〈http://www.gams.com/dd/docs/bigdocs/GAMSUsersGuide.pdf〉 (Dec. 18, 2012).
Sinokrot, B. A., and Stefan, H. G. (1993). “Stream temperature dynamics: Measurements and modeling.” Water Resour. Res., 29(7), 2299–2312.
Sullivan, K., Martin, D. J., Cardwell, R. D., Toll, J. E., and Duke, S. (2000). “An analysis of the effects of temperature on salmonids of the Pacific Northwest with implications for selecting temperature criteria.” Sustainable Ecosystem Institute, Portland, OR.
Thomas, R. E., Gharrett, J. A., Carls, M. G., Rice, S. D., Moles, A., and Korn, S. (1986). “Effects of fluctuating temperature on mortality, stress, and energy reserves of juvenile coho salmon.” Trans. Am. Fisheries Soc., 115(1), 52–59.
Thompson, L. C., Escobar, M. I., Mosser, C. M., Purkey, D. R., Yates, D., and Moyle, P. B. (2012). “Water management adaptations to prevent loss of spring-run Chinook salmon in California under climate change.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., 465–478.
Webb, B. W., Hannah, D. M., Moore, R. D., Brown, L. E., and Nobilis, F. (2008). “Recent advances in stream and river temperature research.” Hydrol. Processes, 22(7), 902–918.
Yates, D., et al. (2008). “Climate warming, water storage, and Chinook salmon in California’s Sacramento Valley.” Clim. Change, 91(3–4), 335–350.
Yates, D., Sieber, J., Purkey, D., and Huber-Lee, A. (2005). “WEAP21—A demand-, priority-, and preference-driven water planning model: Part 1, model characteristics.” Water Int., 30(4), 487–500.
Young, C. A., et al. (2009). “Modeling the hydrology of climate change in California’s Sierra Nevada for subwatershed scale adaptation.” J. Am. Water Resour. Assoc., 45(6), 1409–1423.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 141 • Issue 4 • April 2015
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 29, 2013
Accepted: Feb 26, 2014
Published online: Jul 18, 2014
Discussion open until: Dec 18, 2014
Published in print: Apr 1, 2015
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.