| RiverWare on the Snake River Plain |
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Timothy J Brewer, PE, D.WRE—Idaho Power Company |
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ABSTRACT |
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Idaho Power uses hydropower as the backbone of our generation system. We provide clean, reliable, and low-cost electric power to 560,000 customers across southern Idaho and eastern Oregon. Idaho Power works cooperatively with federal, state, and private entities to control and utilize the water resources of the Snake River Basin. This presentation describes the use of RiverWare to aggregate unregulated and regulated streamflow into a system with conflicting operational objectives. Inflow and diversion forecasts from hydrologic models in FEWS are passed into sub-basin RiverWare models. Results from multiple RiverWare models are combined while moving downstream. Physical and political requirements are included in the rule sets to predict the flows available for hydropower generation. In the American Falls to Milner reach, five major constraints are included in the rules to determine outflow. The modeling system is being used for short-term and long-term flow forecasting. Further development is underway adding an artificial neural network component for aquifer response and discharge. Plans for future expansion of the models include optimization of flow through our generation facilities and use of the models in multi-decadal resource planning studies. |
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Click HERE for a PDF version of the presentation slides. |
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