Hydraulic Alterations Resulting from Hydropower Development in the Bonneville Reach of the Columbia River

Hatten, James R.; Batt, Thomas R.

doi:10.3955/046.084.0301

Cited by 7 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…The accuracy rate of our 2D hydrodynamic flow simulations ranged from 73–91%, under baseflow conditions, which is consistent with other 2D studies on large and small streams [26], [30], [43]. We were unable to calibrate or validate non-baseflow simulations given the unvarying springheads over the study period.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

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An Ecohydraulic Model to Identify and Monitor Moapa Dace Habitat

et al. 2013

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Moapa dace (Moapa coriacea) is a critically endangered thermophilic minnow native to the Muddy River ecosystem in southeastern Nevada, USA. Restricted to temperatures between 26.0 and 32.0°C, these fish are constrained to the upper two km of the Muddy River and several small tributaries fed by warm springs. Habitat alterations, nonnative species invasion, and water withdrawals during the 20th century resulted in a drastic decline in the dace population and in 1979 the Moapa Valley National Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) was created to protect them. The goal of our study was to determine the potential effects of reduced surface flows that might result from groundwater pumping or water diversions on Moapa dace habitat inside the Refuge. We accomplished our goal in several steps. First, we conducted snorkel surveys to determine the locations of Moapa dace on three warm-spring tributaries of the Muddy River. Second, we conducted hydraulic simulations over a range of flows with a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model. Third, we developed a set of Moapa dace habitat models with logistic regression and a geographic information system. Fourth, we estimated Moapa dace habitat over a range of flows (plus or minus 30% of base flow). Our spatially explicit habitat models achieved classification accuracies between 85% and 91%, depending on the snorkel survey and creek. Water depth was the most significant covariate in our models, followed by substrate, Froude number, velocity, and water temperature. Hydraulic simulations showed 2–11% gains in dace habitat when flows were increased by 30%, and 8–32% losses when flows were reduced by 30%. To ensure the health and survival of Moapa dace and the Muddy River ecosystem, groundwater and surface-water withdrawals and diversions need to be carefully monitored, while fully implementing a proactive conservation strategy.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…Developed for streams and rivers, River2D has been extensively verified [24]–[26]. One of River2D’s strengths is its variable-size mesh that can be optimized to obtain fine-scale details in areas of interest.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Ecohydraulic Model to Identify and Monitor Moapa Dace Habitat

et al. 2013

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“…As damming affects the morphological and hydrological conditions of the river, changes in sediment transport [74], water depth, water temperature [50] and stream velocity [32,[75][76][77] are observed. Moreover, in some cases, huge amounts of sediment that are highly contaminated with heavy metals, organic matter and pesticides can be deposited in the reservoir [78,79].…”

Section: Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kunz et al [34] found for instance that daily discharge data could be used to evaluate the effect of future changes in riverine sediment and nutrient concentrations on water quality. Hatten and Batt [75] used depth and velocity simulations to predict the distribution of fish under different management scenarios and selected the most successful restoration actions. To explore the potential effects of flow variation related to hydropower on amphibians, Yarnell et al [26] used two-dimensional hydrodynamic modelling to simulate how hydraulic conditions vary between distinctive flow scenarios.…”

Section: Strengths-weaknesses-opportunities-threats Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling Tools to Analyze and Assess the Ecological Impact of Hydropower Dams

Nguyen

Everaert

Boets

et al. 2018

Water

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Abstract:We critically analyzed a set of ecological models that are used to assess the impact of hydropower dams on water quality and habitat suitability for biological communities. After a literature search, we developed an integrated conceptual model that illustrates the linkages between the main input variables, model approaches, the output variables and biotic-abiotic interactions in the ecosystems related to hydropower dams. We found that variations in water flow and water depth coupled with increased nutrient availability are major variables that contribute to structural and functional ecosystem changes. We also found that ecological models are an important tool to assess the impact of hydropower dams. For instance, model simulation of different scenarios (e.g., with and without the dam, different operation methods) can analyze and predict the related ecosystem shifts. However, one of the remaining shortcomings of these models is the limited capacity to separate dam-related impacts from other anthropogenic influences (e.g., agriculture, urbanization). Moreover, collecting sufficient high-quality data to increase the statistical power remains a challenge. The severely altered conditions (e.g., generation of very deep lakes) also lead to difficulties for standardized data collection. We see future opportunities in the integration of models to improve the understanding of the different processes affected by hydropower dam development and operation, as well as the use of remote sensing methods for data collection.

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“…River2D is a transient finite element model that can be set to obtain a steady state based upon the two‐dimensional, depth‐averaged St. Venant equations. Developed for use in streams and rivers, River2D has been verified through a number of comparisons with theoretical, experimental, and field results (Ghanem et al ., ; Waddle et al ., ; Hatten and Batt, ). We modelled five flows (1388, 3342, 4050, 4361 and 5664 m 3 s) but only a report results for the 3342‐m 3 s flow for simplicity and because there was little variation in habitat results between flows.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Juvenile Salmon Rearing Habitat and Associated Predation Risk in a Lower Snake River Reservoir

Tiffan

Hatten

Trachtenbarg

2015

River Research & Apps

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Subyearling fall Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Columbia River basin exhibit a transient rearing strategy and depend on connected shoreline habitats during freshwater rearing. Impoundment has greatly reduced the amount of shallow‐water rearing habitat that is exacerbated by the steep topography of reservoirs. Periodic dredging creates opportunities to strategically place spoils to increase the amount of shallow‐water habitat for subyearlings while at the same time reducing the amount of unsuitable area that is often preferred by predators. We assessed the amount and spatial arrangement of subyearling rearing habitat in Lower Granite Reservoir on the Snake River to guide future habitat improvement efforts. A spatially explicit habitat assessment was conducted using physical habitat data, two‐dimensional hydrodynamic modelling and a statistical habitat model in a geographic information system framework. We used field collections of subyearlings and a common predator [smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu)] to draw inferences about predation risk within specific habitat types. Most of the high‐probability rearing habitat was located in the upper half of the reservoir where gently sloping landforms created low lateral bed slopes and shallow‐water habitats. Only 29% of shorelines were predicted to be suitable (probability >0.5) for subyearlings, and the occurrence of these shorelines decreased in a downstream direction. The remaining, less suitable areas were composed of low‐probability habitats in unmodified (25%) and riprapped shorelines (46%). As expected, most subyearlings were found in high‐probability habitat, while most smallmouth bass were found in low‐probability locations. However, some subyearlings were found in low‐probability habitats, such as riprap, where predation risk could be high. Given their transient rearing strategy and dependence on shoreline habitats, subyearlings could benefit from habitat creation efforts in the lower reservoir where high‐probability habitat is generally lacking. Published 2015. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

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Hydraulic Alterations Resulting from Hydropower Development in the Bonneville Reach of the Columbia River

Cited by 7 publications

References 40 publications

An Ecohydraulic Model to Identify and Monitor Moapa Dace Habitat

An Ecohydraulic Model to Identify and Monitor Moapa Dace Habitat

Modelling Tools to Analyze and Assess the Ecological Impact of Hydropower Dams

Assessing Juvenile Salmon Rearing Habitat and Associated Predation Risk in a Lower Snake River Reservoir

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