Simulation modeling of hydropower impacts on dissolved oxygen in the upper Ohio river basin

Technical Report · Thu Sep 01 04:00:00 EDT 1988

OSTI ID:6898272

Railsback, S F; Jager, H I

A model has been developed to assess the impacts of hydropower development at navigation dams on dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations in the upper Ohio River basin. Field data were used to fit statistical models of aeration at each dam. The Streeter-Phelps equations were used to model DO concentrations between dams. Input data sources were compiled, and the design conditions used for assessment of hydropower impacts were developed. The model was implemented both as Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheets and as a FORTRAN program. This report contains users' guides for both of these implementations. The sensitivities and uncertainty of the model were analyzed. Modeled DO concentrations are sensitive to water temperature and flow rates, and sensitivities to dam aeration are relatively high in reaches where dam aeration rates are high. Uncertainty in the model was low in reaches dominated by dam aeration and higher in reaches with low dam aeration rates. The 95% confidence intervals for the model range from about /+-/ 0.5 mg/L to about /+-/ 1.5 mg/L.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6898272
• Report Number(s): ORNL/TM-10953; ON: DE89004301
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

13 HYDRO ENERGY
130600* -- Hydro Energy-- Environmental Aspects
AERATION
BIOCHEMICAL OXYGEN DEMAND
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
DAMS
DOCUMENT TYPES
ELECTRIC POWER
ENERGY SOURCES
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
FORECASTING
HYDROELECTRIC POWER
MANUALS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
OHIO RIVER
POWER
POWER GENERATION
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
RIVERS
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS
SIMULATION
STREAMS
SURFACE WATERS
SYSTEMS ANALYSIS