New study: Storing and managing water for the environment is more efficient than mimicking natural flows
Dams and reservoirs are often needed to provide environmental water and maintain suitable water temperatures for downstream ecosystems. Here, we evaluate if water allocated to the environment, with storage to manage it, might allow environmental water to more reliably meet ecosystem objectives than a proportion of natural flow. We use a priority-based water balance operations model and a reservoir temperature model to evaluate 1) pass-through of a portion of reservoir inflow versus 2) allocating a portion of storage capacity and inflow for downstream flow and stream temperature objectives. We compare trade-offs to other senior and junior priority water demands. In many months, pass-through flows exceed the volumes needed to meet environmental demands. Storage provides the ability to manage release timing to use water efficiently for environmental benefit, with a co-benefit of increasing reservoir storage to protect cold-water at depth in the reservoir.
(The researchers are affiliated with the Public Policy Institute of California, Stanford University, University of North Carolina, University of Essex and Blue Point Conservation Science.)Related water management articles:
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- San Francisco Chronicle: California’s second-largest reservoir is not as big as everyone thought
- PPIC Blog: Data Is Key to Protecting California’s Groundwater
- UC Davis, UCLA, UC Merced, California Municipal Utilities Association: The magnitude of California’s challenges
- San Luis Obispo Tribune: SLO County will release reservoir water into the Salinas River. Here’s why.