Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management

The potential for increasing the energy output of existing hydroelectric plants was investigated on a national scale. Analysis was performed on 1,288 sites (the complete inventory) for increases through enlarging powerhouses, modifying or replacing turbines and generators, and improving water handling works. The potential energy increase was found to be about 11% requiring an increase of 22% in installed capacity. Virtually all the increase was found to be from enlargement of existing powerhouses (adding additional units).

Most water‐energy assessments have considered only a few water supply types and conservation technologies. Yet utilities are not only developing traditional surface sources, but are also using ground and waste water and buying water rights from irrigators. A linear program is developed that incorporates: (1) Supply curves for several water sources that reflect institutional constraints; and (2) water demand curves based on‐ the cost of alternative power plant cooling methods. The purpose of the model is to aid the Electric Power Research Institute in strategic planning on water availability issues. For the Texas‐Gulf region in the year 2000, it is found that the high cost of dry or mixed wet/dry cooling is unjustified unless: (1) New technologies lower the incremental cost of wet/dry cooling by more than 80%; or (2) unforeseen institutional restrictions prevent utilities from securing economic surface and ground water supplies. This conclusion contradicts previous studies which projected serious water‐energy conflicts for the region.

The Standard Hydrologic Exchange Format (SHEF) has been developed jointly by the National Weather Service (NWS) and by the Corps of Engineers North Pacific Division for use in the interagency Columbia River Operational Hydromet Management System (CROHMS). SHEF features include: (1) Readability by both man and machine; (2) two characters to describe most hydrometeorological parameters; (3) internal data base identification of observational data, processed products, and forecasts; (4) time identification in either local or Greenwich meridian time systems; (5) identification of data from nonstandard locations; (6) optional special data descriptors to individual data values; (7) three different format structures to allow coding on‐station‐per‐line, several lines with common data elements indicated by a header line, and lines of evenly time spaced data strings; (8) flexibility in use of spaces and comments within code text to enhance readability; and (9) ease of use in either English or SI units. The SHEF code holds great potential for easing automated exchanges of operational hydrometeorological data among a wide variety of agencies and reducing the multiplicity of data‐receiving software typical of many broad‐scale operations.

Salt gradient solar ponds can play an important role in management of river salinity in semiarid locations such as the Colorado River Basin. A mathematical model and solution procedure are presented for investment timing of expansion of a salt gradient pond system. An application of the model is presented for several sites in the upper Colorado River basin where planned fossil fuel electric generating plants are located near existing source of saline or brackish water. The concept involves use of both concentrated brine waste streams from the power plants and the existing low quality water sources for the pond system water and salt demands. The salt gradient pond can: (1) Replace a power plant's customary zero discharge evaporation; (2) produce additional energy; and (3) remove much more salt from the river system than the conventional evaporation pond. An economic model solution procedure and application are presented for expansion of salt gradient solar pond systems. Such systems have important potential for salinity management applications, when used in conjunction with thermal/electric plants near sources of saline water.

Widespread misapplication of detention ponding is probably attributable to the simplicity and attractiveness of its basic concept, combined with lack of awareness or appreciation of complex interrelationships which influence its performance in urban drainage systems. Too often, its anticipated benefits have resulted in costly liabilities. A variety of conceptual considerations affecting the costs, effectiveness and utility of detention ponding are addressed separately but it is emphasized that they all are interrelated and interact with the total local water resources system.

This paper describes a diagram which can be used to assess easily some of the trade offs involved in water quality management decisions. The diagram incorporates wastewater treatment costs, effluent quality, receiving stream water quality and different critical streamflows. The diagram is used in the paper to address the economic effect of specifying a critical low flow, other than the seven‐day ten‐year low flow. Results show that for the case study chosen, significant cost savings could result without substantially reducing the water quality of the receiving stream.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers funds many water resource education programs which are available to newly employed engineers, to career Corps engineers, and to senior executive managers. Youth‐on‐Board, summer hire, and College Co‐op programs enable high school and college students to train on‐the‐job. The new Corps water resource engineer trains as an intern in many offices prior to occupying a permanent position. The Corps Training Management Division offers several special courses for water resources to all Corps Engineers in environment, hydrology, flow and water supply, water conveyance and transportation, resource management, and others. Correspondence courses from the Army and Navy are also available. Funded undergraduate and graduate courses of instruction in the nation's engineering universities are sponsored by the Corps, as well as a year‐long course for water resource planners. The Corps's training policy is one of continuing education and skills sustainment in water resources engineering disciplines. The organization's engineers utilize the training to remain proficient in the latest engineering concepts while serving with the world's largest engineering organization.

This paper focuses upon present and future possibilities for water conservation, recycling, and reuse in New England and Middle Atlantic states. Telephone interviews and questionnaires sent to trade associations, public utility commissions, federal, state and other agencies were used to supplement information gathered in the literature. Water intake and consumptive demands in 1980 were calculated for industrial, electric utility, agricultural, and residential sectors. Corresponding information for the year 2000 were estimated using data from utilities, public utility commissions, and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Affairs. Water supplies were estimated using the concept of safe yield. Assuming reductions in water use by industries, agriculture and by private residences in the year 2000, it was found that many users, particularly the electric utility sector, would still experience serious water supply shortfalls in several industrialized states.

Storm‐related pollution in general, and combined sewer overflows in particular, have been found to contribute significant amounts of pollutants to receiving water bodies. Control of pollution from these nonpoint sources of pollution is very costly. Accordingly, integrated real‐time control of combined sewer overflow is being considered as a possible alternative to the more traditional forms of pollution control. The basic features of suggested control combined sewer overflow control strategies are reviewed, including simple local control, reactive control, and anticipatory control. Because water quantity forecasts are essential to any integrated real‐time control strategy, the application of a simple microcomputer‐based two‐stage urban runoff forecast model is examined. Runoff forecasts from this deterministic‐stochastic model are provided for lead times ranging from 1–12 time steps (5–60 min). The two‐stage approach is found to be particularly useful for lead times of up to 30 min.

A significant demand for more formal recognition of instream water use has developed at national, regional, and state levels. This poses the need for a methodology to appraise the relative gains and losses which would arise from the imposition of a given instream use policy. Little prior effort has been directed toward this goal because of the difficulties involved in quantifying instream benefits. This paper does not attempt to place a dollar value on instream benefits, but does present a procedure for determining the average annual fulfillment of instream use. Case analyses are presented for ten streams which represent a wide range of hydrologic regimes encountered in the plains environment. Predictive functions developed in this study are useful in evaluating the relative instream use potential of different streams. These relations reflect the general shape of flow duration curves experienced in the plains region during the recreational year and the hydraulic characteristics of plains streams. They would not be applicable in regions exhibiting significantly different hydrologic and hydraulic characteristics.