Columbia River Basin Reservoir Operations

Transcription

1 Columbia River Basin Reservoir Operations Future of Our Salmon Conference Portland, OR October 18, 2016 Pete Dickerson, P.E. USACE Northwestern Division US Army Corps of Engineers

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3 Columbia River Basin! Columbia River: Bri0sh Columbia to Astoria, 1200 miles! 2 countries, 7 states! 258,000 square miles! 87 large dams! 15% of the basin is in Canada! Historically, the peak run-off occurs in the spring (snowmelt or rain)! Most hydropower capacity (~37 GW) in North America Columbia River Basin! U.S. federal projects are authorized to meet mul0ple purposes: flood risk, hydropower, fish and wildlife, naviga0on, irriga0on, recrea0on, and municipal and industrial water supply 3

4 Peak runoff: 192 MAF Canada U.S. Columbia Basin reservoir storage is limited 4

5 Columbia Basin Development CASCADE LOCKS THE DALLES-CELILO CANAL 1915 Single Purpose Navigation Projects 5

6 Columbia River 1931 Plan: Navigation, Irrigation, and Hydropower Flood Control was not considered a local issue (levees) 6

7 Construction in the 1930 s! Grand Coulee Dam (USBR in 1933)! Bonneville Dam (USACE in 1933)! Rock Island (Puget Sound P&L Co. in 1933)! Kerr (Montana Power Co. in 1938) 7

8 WW2 Increased Power Demands! Bonneville units 7-10! Grand Coulee units 7-9! Rock Island units 5-10! New dam authorizations: Hungry Horse, McNary, Lower Snake Navigation, Albeni Falls, and Chief Joe 8

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10 1948 Columbia River Flood President directs Corps to include flood control in report due four months later flood destroyed Vanport, Oregon, a city of 20,000-30,000 people About people were killed Vanport, Oregon in 1948 Damaged homes, farms, and levees from Bri0sh Columbia (e.g. Trail) all the way to Astoria, Oregon 10 Trail, B.C. in 1948

11 1950 FCA (H.D. 531):! Added to and modified previous system reservoir design! Authorized projects to provide MAF of useable flood control storage! Addressed new levees and improvements to existing levees System Authorizations Libby Dam 1950 Flood Control Act CRT Signed January FCA (H.D. 403):! Re-examined projects after studies found multiple reservoirs authorized by 1950 FCA were impracticable or undesirable! originally authorized 14.9 MAF of useable flood control storage! Only 2 of the 6 authorized projects were constructed, resulting only in an 11 additional 7 MAF Dworshak Reservoir 1962 Flood Control Act

12 Columbia River Treaty: Ratified September 1964! The Treaty required Canada to construct and operate three large dams (Mica, Arrow, and Duncan) with 15.5 million acre-feet (Maf) of storage in the upper Columbia River basin in Canada for improving the flow of the Columbia River Maf (of the 15.5 Maf) of the Canadian Treaty storage is first operated for flood control in Canada and the U.S Maf is operated for op0mum power genera0on within flood control constraints! The Treaty allowed the U.S. to construct and operate Libby Dam with 5 Maf of storage on the Kootenai River in Montana for flood control and other purposes. 12

13 Columbia River Treaty Overview! The Treaty requires the U.S. and Canada are to share equally the downstream power benefits produced in the U.S. from the opera0on of Canadian Treaty storage.! Reservoir storage is operated to reduce flood flows, and shid energy from low value 0me periods to high value 0me periods.! The CRT is implemented by the U.S. and Canadian En00es. By Execu0ve Order the U.S. En0ty is the BPA Administrator and NWD Commander.! By securing coopera0ve measures for hydropower and flood control through the Treaty, other benefits are made possible. Supplemental opera0ng agreements have been mutually agreed upon in support of ESA and ecosystem requirements in both countries (including non-treaty storage in Canada). 13

14 Columbia River Treaty Dams Mica Libby Arrow Lake Duncan Keenleyside Dam Treaty Non-Treaty Installed Dam Completed Storage Storage Capacity Height DUNCAN Maf None None 130 ft. ARROW Maf.25 Maf 185 MW 170 ft. MICA Maf 5.0 Maf 2805 MW 650 ft. LIBBY Maf None 604 MW 370 ft. 14

15 Treaty Flood Risk Management Current Canadian En0ty is obligated for the first 60 years to operate 8.95 Maf reservoir storage according to the Flood Control Opera.ng Plan prepared by the Corps for the U.S. En0ty. (pre-paid by the U.S.) Canadian En0ty must also operate all addi0onal storage on an on-call basis as requested (U.S. must pay). The Corps coordinates reservoir refill of all Treaty storage In September 2024 the assured opera0on of flood control storage ends and is replaced with an undefined called upon opera0on (U.S. must pay). Post-2024 U.S. En0ty requests for called upon storage limited to poten0al floods that cannot be adequately controlled by all related U.S. storage COLUMBIA RIVER BASIN STORAGE CAPACITY 15

16 Treaty Hydropower Current 15.5 Maf of Canadian Treaty storage for op0mum power genera0on downstream in Canada and the United States (within flood control constraints). U.S. must deliver electric power to Canada equal to onehalf the U.S. power benefits from the opera0on of Canadian Treaty storage. Non-federal hydro-project owners (five mid-columbia projects) deliver 27.5% of the return of downstream power benefits to BPA for delivery to B.C. Post-2024 Exis0ng Treaty hydropower procedures, opera0ons, and return of Canada s share of the downstream power benefits con0nue absent the current flood control constraints. 16

17 Columbia River Treaty in 2024! The Columbia River treaty has no specified end date! In 2024 flood risk operations change! 10 years prior written notice is required for either country to terminate the treaty! 2014/2024 Review included three primary driving purposes " flood risk management " hydropower " ecosystem based function! Regional Recommendation to U.S. State Department from U.S. Entity delivered Sept

18 Regional Recommendation SRT Sovereign Review Team (SRT): States: OR, WA, ID, MT 15 NW Tribes: 5 representa0ves (USRT, CRITFC, UCUT, Cowlitz, CSKT) Federal Agencies: NMFS, USFWS, BOR, USACE, BPA, BLM, EPA, USFS, USGS, BIA, NPS Northwest Stakeholders: Regional Listening Sessions Listening sessions directly between the SRT and regional stakeholders and technical experts Briefings to stakeholders through invita0on Government to Government: Tribal States Stakeholders Government U.S. Entity Dept. of State 18

19 Columbia River System Operations Flood Risk Management Navigation The Corps works with other federal agencies (BPA, BOR, NWRFC, NOAA Fisheries, USFWS, EPA), Canadian partners, states, Tribes, PUDs, local agencies, non-federal dam operators, irrigators, navigators and the public. M&I/Irrigation Recreation Hydropower Fish & Wildlife 19

20 Coordination with Tribes Executed Fish Accords Treaty fishing Implementing the Biological Opinions Water quality standards and operations Shoreline protection Fish passage construction 20

21 Flood Risk Management! The Corps is responsible for system and local flood risk management! The total space available for flood risk management is ~40 MAF! Columbia River Treaty doubled storage available for flood risk management 21

22 Two Types of High Water Events! Spring Freshet -- Snow Melt; Function of snowpack, temperature, and precipitation! Rain Events Sustained rain (atmospheric river) Willamette Basin and Lower Columbia River below storage dams 22 22

23 Flood Risk Management Seasonal System Operations Dec System operated per Flood Risk Operating Plan Sep Water Year Mar December through April end of month flood draft targets based on monthly water supply volume forecasts Storage projects meet both local and system requirements Jun End of month flood draft targets Refill start date dependent on runoff triggers Projects generally fill by June - August 23

24 Hydropower Columbia is the Most Powerful River in North America Hydropower is measured by river flow times change in elevation (called head ) St. Lawrence and Mississippi have more flow, but much less head Grand Coulee has twice the head of Niagara Falls Grand Coulee Niagara Falls & Powerhouse 24

25 Navigation! 485 miles of navigable waterways, serving 36 ports! Approximately 12,000 commercial vessels and 100,000 recreational and charter vessels cross the Columbia River Bar each year! Exports and imports annually exceed $18 20 billion Pacific Long Beach North Head Ilwaco Baker Bay N Peacock Spit MCR Navigation North Jetty Channel Jetty A Clatsop Spit South Jetty Sand Island Sand Island Pile Dikes Chinook Washington Ocean Lower Columbia River Nav Channel Hammond Columbia River Estuary Astoria Oregon

26 Water Supply! Irrigation total of approximately 5.3 million acres in the Columbia Basin Over 1 million acres potentially impacted by Treaty operations! M&I - Municipal and industrial water supply! Instream Uses Flows for fish and other aquatic species Support for safe navigation Support for recreational uses 26 26

27 Recreation & Cultural Resources! Operational decisions impact recreation and cultural resources! Recreation Provides recreational and tourism opportunities throughout the region! Cultural Resources Native American historic sites are an important consideration in all reservoir operations Monitored and protected 27 27

28 Operations for Fish Flow Augmentation Temperature Spring and Summer Spill Surface Passage Juvenile Fish Transport 28 BUILDING STRONG 28

29 Special Operation and Emergency Coordination 29

30 Summary! Columbia River System Operations focus on all authorized purposes and are highly coordinated.! The U.S. Entity is prepared to evaluate post 2024 operations including impacts and benefits of all authorized purposes and the risks associated with climate change.! U.S. Federal Agencies will be ready to operate the Columbia River Reservoir in 2024 for all authorized purposes and complying with the ESA, CWA, and NEPA. 30

31 Questions? Pete Dickerson, P.E. USACE, Northwestern Division Columbia Basin Water Management 31