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Title: Classification of US hydropower dams by their modes of operation

Journal Article · · River Research and Applications
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.3004· OSTI ID:1240527
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
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A key challenge to understanding ecohydrologic responses to dam regulation is the absence of a universally transferable classification framework for how dams operate. In the present paper, we develop a classification system to organize the modes of operation (MOPs) for U.S. hydropower dams and powerplants. To determine the full diversity of MOPs, we mined federal documents, open-access data repositories, and internet sources. W then used CART classification trees to predict MOPs based on physical characteristics, regulation, and project generation. Finally, we evaluated how much variation MOPs explained in sub-daily discharge patterns for stream gages downstream of hydropower dams. After reviewing information for 721 dams and 597 power plants, we developed a 2-tier hierarchical classification based on 1) the storage and control of flows to powerplants, and 2) the presence of a diversion around the natural stream bed. This resulted in nine tier-1 MOPs representing a continuum of operations from strictly peaking, to reregulating, to run-of-river, and two tier-2 MOPs, representing diversion and integral dam-powerhouse configurations. Although MOPs differed in physical characteristics and energy production, classification trees had low accuracies (<62%), which suggested accurate evaluations of MOPs may require individual attention. MOPs and dam storage explained 20% of the variation in downstream subdaily flow characteristics and showed consistent alterations in subdaily flow patterns from reference streams. Lastly, this standardized classification scheme is important for future research including estimating reservoir operations for large-scale hydrologic models and evaluating project economics, environmental impacts, and mitigation.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1240527
Journal Information:
River Research and Applications, Journal Name: River Research and Applications; ISSN 1535-1459
Publisher:
WileyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 38 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (5)

Organizing Environmental Flow Frameworks to Meet Hydropower Mitigation Needs journal June 2016
Managing rivers under changing environmental and societal boundary conditions, Part 1: National trends and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoirs journal March 2019
Annual shifts of flow regime alteration: new insights from the Chaishitan Reservoir in China journal January 2018
Classifying Dams for Environmental Flow Implementation in China journal December 2019
Exit here: strategies for dealing with aging dams and reservoirs journal October 2019

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13 HYDRO ENERGY
dam
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stream ecology
hydrologic modeling