| 2015 RiverWare User Group Meeting |
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| NCAR/UCAR Center Green Campus Auditorium |
Tuesday, February 3, 8am - 5pm
Wednesday, February 4, 8am – 12:30pm
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| Weiser/Snake River Operations Analysis, Weiser-Galloway Project |
| Jeremy Giovando & Mark Mendenhall - USACE, Walla Walla District ; David Hoekema - IDWR; David Blew & Pam Pace - Idaho Power |
The purpose of this study was to evaluate potential Weiser and Snake River basins benefits by analyzing a series of reservoir operating scenarios with a range of new storage options on the Weiser River. Potential benefits of the Weiser-Galloway Project include flood risk reduction, hydropower, water supply, pump-back storage, irrigation, regional economic development, recreation, and the ability to meet flow augmentation requirements for anadromous fish recovery. Included in this analysis is optimization of the at-site hydropower, combined with evaluating flow augmentation storage exchange with other Snake River reservoirs. Various operating criteria were developed based upon the flow augmentation exchange, minimum flows, irrigation demands, and hydropower energy values; the results of which were used to assess the effects to IPC and Bureau of Reclamation projects.
The inputs to these models were developed from a variety of sources, including historic observations, energy price forecasts, and hydrologic models. The basic approach in this analysis was to determine the maximum at-site hydropower benefit that could be achieved from the Weiser-Galloway Project while meeting several other constraints. The primary constraint was ensuring flow augmentation water for the lower Snake River was provided from storage to meet the provisions of Idaho Code § 42-1736B (State of Idaho, 1978) and the Snake River flow component of the 2004 Snake River Water Rights Agreement (State of Idaho, 2012).
The results of this analysis indicate there are several positive aspects to the Weiser-Galloway Project. These include increased flexibility and reliability of delivering flow augmentation for the lower Snake River; additional renewable energy sources for the northwest; reduced flood risk for the city of Weiser; and enhanced water recreation for the Weiser River basin. |
| Click HERE for a PDF version of the presentation slides. |
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