1/31/2014

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Dams:

USACE Galveston District begins repair work at Addicks and Barker dams; stresses public safetyU.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston DistrictStory by Isidro Reyna, dvidshub.net, 1/17/14 Houston, TX – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District began repair work to the Addicks and Barker dams as part of interim risk reduction measures devised to further reduce risks associated with the existing structures while a permanent design solution is selected to replace the water control outlet structures in 2015. A contract was awarded to Easky Construction LLC in the amount of $2,129,880 to repair joints within the water discharge tunnels and reinforce the spillways with steel plates at the west Houston dams with an estimated completion date of July 2014. Repairs will allow the Corps to resume higher safe discharges from the dams consistent with routine releases made two years ago. “The Corps’ primary objective is to maintain public safety by ensuring the dams we own and operate are safe and the risks to the public are minimized,” said Col. Richard P. Pannell, USACE Galveston District commander. “We urge the public to use caution while hiking, biking and recreating in and around the dams’ water control

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu

Some Dam – Hydro News TM

And Other Stuff

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Quote of Note: “A politician is a fellow who will lay down your life for his country.” - Tex Guinan

Some Dam - Hydro News Newsletter Archive for Back Issues and Search http://npdp.stanford.edu/Click on Link (Some Dam - Hydro News) Bottom Right - Under Perspectives

“Good wine is a necessity of life.” - -Thomas JeffersonRon’s wine pick of the week: 2010 Joseph Carr Merlot "Napa Valley" “ No nation was ever drunk when wine was cheap. ” - - Thomas Jefferson

structures while this work is taking place and to adhere to signage indicating temporary trail closures.”

According to Pannell, the Corps is making every effort to limit the impact that construction has on the recreating public, including areas that are heavily used by the public such as the Harris County Precinct 3 Terry Hershey Hike and Bike Trail System. While no trails are going to be blocked on a permanent basis, limited trail closures will be necessary during some phases of the construction. Additionally, the areas alongside the trails may be restricted and increased construction activity and vehicle traffic may be noticed. “Work should proceed rapidly, having little impact on the operations of the reservoirs,” said Pannell. “This work will provide the structures with additional support, ensuring their stability when flood waters are emptied from the reservoirs.” This is the fifth contract awarded throughout the past four years to reduce risks associated with the dams. Previous work included filling voids beneath the water control outlet structures, constructing a granular filter to capture fine embankment and foundation material, and installing lighting and emergency generators at the outlet structures. Constructed in the 1940s, both reservoirs are normally kept dry to preserve their overall capacity to impound storm water and reduce flood levels in Buffalo Bayou. Since their completion, the dams have prevented flood damage estimated to be more than $6.75 billion. When a rain event occurs, the gates are closed to the Addicks and Barker dams to reduce flooding below the reservoirs. When the downstream runoff has receded to non-damaging stages, reservoir operations resume, the gates are opened, and water is released.

(With a hydro project and dam come the liabilities!)NY hydro operator to pay $4M after anglers' deaths Associated Press, online.wsj.com, 1/18/14

Oswego, N.Y. — A hydroelectric company has agreed to pay $4 million and make $1.7 million in safety upgrades following the deaths of two fishermen who were swept away during a water release in central New York. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission says Brookfield Renewable Energy Group agreed to the payments as part of an investigation that concluded there were a number of safety problems at their plant on the Oswego River. The fatal mishap happened in 2010. Investigators say sirens were sounded twice to warn anglers, once about 90 minutes and again about an hour before the actual release. But the alert wasn't repeated just before water was allowed to rush into the river. Caught in the water and killed were 45-year-old Leonard Nichols of Wellsburg and 52-year-old Clifford Luther of Horseheads.

(If there’s no water, what good will raising dam do, but stored wet year water would come in handy now. That’s why you build dams? It never rains where or when you want it to! Good luck getting money out of Congress!)Lake Mendocino dam project questionedBy Glenda Anderson, The Press Democrat, January 19, 2014, pressdemocrat.com

After almost nine years andexpenditures of more than $1.2 million,the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers isthreatening to shelve a study aboutincreasing the height of the dam at LakeMendocino. Corps officials said theycan’t continue without additional fundingand proof that the dam would be costeffective. A preliminary cost benefitanalysis states: “There is a very lowlikelihood that further study would findthe dam raise project to be in the federalinterest.” Federal interest is not met ifcosts outweigh value, the analysis states. Local water officials disagree with the cost-benefit

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analysis and are scrambling to convince the Corps to continue the study. “In a year where it couldn’t be more plain that it needs to happen, they’re walking away,” said Sean White, manager of the Russian River Flood Control and Water Conservation Improvement District. The district manages the Ukiah Valley’s right to 8,000 acre feet of water in Lake Mendocino.Persistent drought conditions have reduced lake levels to historic winter lows, and there’s no significant rainfall in sight. Farmers along the Russian River, which is fed by Lake Mendocino water releases, are in danger of having insufficient water to irrigate their crops or protect them from frost.

The problem would not be as dire if Coyote Dam — which created Lake Mendocino — was raised by 36 feet, as planned since it was constructed in the late 1950s. The additional water from raising the 160-foot tall earthen dam would increase the lake’s storage capacity from about 122,400 acre feet to 199,000 acre feet, according to the Army Corps. An acre-foot of water is about 325,851 gallons. A series of studies on completing the project have been underway for more than a decade. They’ve proved to be time consuming and expensive. The Inland Water and Power Commission, the multi-agency organization responsible for funding the local share of the study’s price tag, already has paid $617,000 toward the costs of the feasibility study. The Commission’s members include the Russian River district, the county of Mendocino, City of Ukiah and the Potter Valley Irrigation District. Redwood Valley’s water district is a member but has not contributed financially to the effort. Army Corps officials say insufficient funding is the primary reason for shelving the study. The Corps has been short of funds for several years and has been unable to make a contribution during that time, said Karen Rippey, the Corps’ project manager for the study. The Inland Water and Power Commission has not made a contribution during that time either, largely because its contribution, per a 2005 agreement, is half of the study’s costs, officials said. Under Corps rules, studies become inactive after three years without funding, officials said.Rippey said completing the study could cost $4 million or more. As little as $10,000 could keep the study active, said Army Corps spokesman John Hardesty. But another $500,000 likely would be needed to continue meaningful development of the project. An influx of funding also would reactivate the study should it be shelved, Hardesty said. But money isn’t the only, or primary, factor under consideration, according to White and Janet Pauli, chairwoman of the Inland Water and Power Commission. They said Corps officials have made it clear that proceeding with the dam study may be a waste of resources because the preliminary cost analysis indicates the costs of raising the dam — an estimated $300 million — outweigh the benefits. The Commission disagrees with the analysis, which states that the value of the water is only $77 million over the life of the project. The analysis was “rigged” to fail, White said. The only benefit the Corps considered was the price for which the additional water could be sold. Local officials say the Corps needs to consider other values, such the multi-million dollar agricultural crops fed by Lake Mendocino water releases into the Russian River. Corps officials said they will consider information submitted by the local agencies. The Inland Water and Power Commission this week sent a letter to the Army Corps seeking additional information about its cost analysis and asking for more time to respond to the possible inactivation. The Commission also plans to seek assistance from Congress.

(You have to wonder if they’ll ever rebuild the failed new dam.)Waring: Engineer offers to design new dam fayobserver.com, January 22, 2014

Hope Mills resident and professional engineer Wilbur Dees, who designed the repair plans for the recently refurbished Lake Park Gazebo at no cost to the town, has made another generous offer.Hope Mills Mayor Pro-tem Bob Gorman said Dees offered to design the plans for a new earthen dam for Hope Mills Lake at no cost to the town. Gorman said Dees made the offer at last week's second meeting of the Hope Mills Lake Advisory Committee. The committee was organized to explore possibilities concerning the Hope Mills Lake dam and restoration of the lake. Gorman said the committee set a deadline of July 1 to submit recommendations to the Board of Commissioners. There was also some discussion during the meeting concerning the generation

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of hydroelectric power from the dam. The committee plans to meet next with a representative from N.C. Dam Safety to ask questions and get direction concerning the dam, Gorman says.That meeting will be open to the public, as are all committee meetings. Mediation to settle the lawsuit between the town and the companies that remain in the litigation over the failed Hope Mills Lake spillway is set for March 5-7. A deadline for final mediation to occur has been set for the end of June. If the lawsuit is not settled through mediation, a trial date is set for July28.Many thanks are in order to Wilbur Dees for yet another generous offer to our community. Also, thank you to all those who are offering up their time, talent and expertise to serve on this important committee working toward the restoration of the lake. After 10 years of government and politics trying to build a dam, it is great to see the town looking to its local citizens as competent and capable resources for this important project.

(Some dam disaster history. If you live nearby, it sounds like a great tour. I thought “Rock Talk” meant that they were going to talk about the rock at the dam site.)March 29: Rock Talk & St. Francis Dam Tour Press Release | Jan 21, 2014, scvnews.com

The Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society will present an interpretivetour of the St. Francis Dam site in Saugus, 7 miles north of Copper HillDrive, on Saturday, March 29, 2014. The failure of the St. FrancisDam on March 12, 1928 – the second-worst disaster in Californiahistory – killed more than 450 people. The break and subsequentflood leveled farms and homesteads, destroyed property and livestockand changed the way dam safety was addressed forevermore. Thetour will begin with a short presentation about the disaster at 11 a.m.inside the Saugus Train Station in Heritage Junction-Hart Park inNewhall. At noon, ticketed passengers will board a motorcoach for atrip up to the dam site in San Francisquito Canyon and a hike to thedam ruins. St. Francis Dam expert Frank Rock, who has been featured on the History Channel, the Discovery Channel and SCVTV, will conduct the lecture and tour. Tickets are $35 per person for all ages and include snacks and bus transportation. Proceeds will benefit programs of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society. Participants should wear long pants and comfortable hiking shoes. Water will be provided. Tickets may be reserved by calling 661-254-1275 with credit card and contact information, or by mailing your ticket order to P.O. Box 221925, Newhall, CA 91322-1925. Mail orders must be received no later than March 22. Because this annual tour is a popular event, it is impossible to guarantee that seats will be available for purchase on the day of the tour. Order tickets now.[PHOTOS & INFO ABOUT THE ST. FRANCIS DAM]Click on this link: http://www.scvhistory.com/scvhistory/stfrancis.htm (This article is so long, it looks like they wrote a book!)Report: NC Has 5,600 Dams, What If One Bursts?Gannett News Service, Jan 22, 2014, digtriad.comRead the whole article here:http://www.digtriad.com/2wantstoknow/article/313716/443/Report-NC-Has-5600-Dams-What-If-One-Bursts

Hydro: (5.8 here 5 there. First thing you’ll know is that we have real kW’s!)Pueblo Dam hydro project moving By Chris Woodka The Pueblo Chieftain, January 19, 2014, chieftain.com

Copy obtained from the National Performance of Dams Program: http://npdp.stanford.edu4

A small hydroelectric generation project at Pueblo Dam is moving into a preliminary design phase.The proposal would create a 5.8 megawatt hydroelectric generator at the recently completed North Outlet Works, which was constructed as part of the Southern Delivery System. It would generate about 21 million kilowatt-hours annually, said Kevin Meador, an engineer with the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District at the board’s meeting Thursday. “We started this process in February 2012, and we have to finish the application by August,” Meador said. “We’ve got the pedal to the metal and we’re pushing to get these tasks done.” The Southeastern district has partnered with Colorado Springs Utilities and the Pueblo Board of Water Works in an agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation to build the hydro plant. Power likely would be sold to Black Hills Energy and then to other users. Details are being negotiated. Right now, the district is working through planning, permitting and technical issues, Meador said.

(Who’s going to win, development or no development?)ViewpointsSunset Falls dam: Balance is possibleBy Steve Klein, heraldnet.com, 1/19/14

Snohomish County's economic futurelooks brighter than it has in years. Boeing's innovative 777X will be builthere, ensuring aerospace jobs for yearsto come. A major shipyard may soonbring a new industry and hundreds moregood-paying jobs to Everett's waterfront.Puget Sound's world-leading tech andhealth-care sectors are thriving. Suchvitality comes with increased demand forthe electricity that fuels it. And as societywisely begins to wean itself from carbon-based fossil fuels, the need for electricityto power our cars and trucks will grow,too. All that presents a challenge for theSnohomish County PUD, which provides electricity to the residents and businesses of Snohomish County and Camano Island. How do we ensure an adequate supply of power, at the lowest possible cost, tapping only clean, renewable sources of energy? There is no easy, all-encompassing answer. It requires a thoughtful strategy that puts conservation first, followed by a variety of low-impact, renewable generation resources located as close as possible to where the power is needed.

As one part of that strategy, the PUD is studying the feasibility of a low-impact hydropower project at Sunset Falls on the South Fork Skykomish River near Index. Under the eye of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, we're studying potential effects on river flows, fish, water quality and aesthetics, just to name a few. No decision to proceed can be made until all studies are complete and a license is approved by the FERC. In a guest commentary last Sunday, three opponents of the project were unwilling to wait for results of this study process before passing judgment. This short-sighted approach would deprive the wider community of a decision that's based on facts rather than fears. Here's one fact: Hydropower is renewable, despite the efforts by some to suggest otherwise. I-937, our state's clean-energy initiative, generally doesn't count it because the law was designed to provide a boost for non-traditional renewable sources. Hydro, however, remains one of the cleanest and most cost-effective sources of renewable energy available in the Northwest. It's worth mentioning that the PUD is well in compliance with I-937's renewable-energy mandates. Wind power accounted for 5.5 percent of our power supply in 2012. We're also tapping solar, biomass and landfill gas, and continue to study tidal and geothermal as future renewable-energy sources. Our projections show that we're already on track to meet I-937's requirements at least through 2025, and perhaps through 2030. In another exciting step toward a clean-energy future, we're about to begin testing a new model for storing electricity,

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PUD consultants survey the South Fork Skykomish River at Sunset Falls in August 2012 as part of the PUD's studies

which would open the door to greater amounts of wind and solar power by addressing their key shortcomings: The wind isn't always blowing and the sun isn't always shining. We've long been an industry leader in conservation, with residential and commercial programs that since 1980 have saved enough electricity to power more than a third of the homes in all of Snohomish County. New hydro megaprojects on the scale of the Columbia River dams aren't in the region's future. Small, low-impact hydro projects, however, can make sense as part of a local, clean-energy portfolio for Northwest utilities. And they can be done in harmony with the environment.

Opponents have cited concerns over potential impacts to salmon, and that's a major focus of our studies. What is known at this point is that significant upgrades to a state Department of Fish and Wildlife trap-and-haul facility would be part of this project. This work would allow for the continued safe transport of migrating salmon to spawning habitat well above Sunset Falls — an impassible barrier for fish. This is the most cost-effective of a number of projects the PUD has considered building in recent years. Hydro projects can be in operation for many decades, much longer than it takes to pay off construction costs. Once the initial project costs are retired (our estimated investment is $133 million), PUD customers will enjoy the benefits of extremely low maintenance and operations costs, along with free fuel. That contributes to rate stability. The authors of last week's commentary also stated, erroneously, that spending the money earmarked for this project on efficiency improvements at our Henry M. Jackson hydro project near Sultan would yield more energy. Jackson was opened in 1984 — it's still fairly new for a hydro project. Studies we've conducted have not found any cost-effective efficiency projects that would even come close to yielding the 13.7 average megawatts the Sunset project would deliver. They also asked why the PUD is pursuing this project when previous proposals in the area were dropped. The answer is that this is a very different, lower-impact project. It is more limited in scale and in scope. We're proud that history shows we do these projects right. Our Youngs Creek hydro project, which opened in 2012, came in under budget and was named Hydro Project of the Year by Renewable Energy World magazine. A year earlier, the Low Impact Hydropower Institute recognized our Jackson hydro project as a Certified Low Impact Hydropower Project. Still, any potential energy project we explore will face at least some opposition. Our response mustn't be to give up on clean, local, renewable energy. Instead, it should be to study each potential project thoroughly and exhaustively so the wider community has all the facts before a decision is made to proceed. At the Snohomish PUD, we believe we can find a balance that serves the community as well as the environment we all cherish. It's what we'll continue to seek in all of our projects. Steve Klein is general manager of the Snohomish County PUD. Read more about the Sunset Fish Passage and Energy Project, and the PUD's existing hydro projects, at www.snopud.com/hydro

(I wouldn’t partner with them. They only do it to steal your technology.)Dam YankeesThe world’s largest hydroelectric project could be a China-US joint ventureBy Heather Timmon, qz.com, 1/19/14

The US government andChina don’t find manyopportunities for partneringup these days, other than ill-defined “cooperationagreements” on topics likescience and technology.That may be about tochange with the world’slargest dam project, beingbuilt now in the Congo.USAID, the US governmentdevelopment agency, isinterested in partnering withChina’s state firms on the

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Inga Dam

Inga III dam project, Benoit Tshibangu Ilunga, a lawyer with Congolese firm Tshibangu Ilunga & Partners, which is involved in the dam project, told the South China Morning Post. The top USAID administrator said last month that the agency was considering financing some of the dam, and a USAID spokesman told the Post that it “continues to work with a wide range of partners to determine whether an Inga dam project would be financially, environmentally, socially, and politically viable.” Chinese state firms Three Gorges Corp. and Sinohydro make up one of three groups of bidders on Inga III. They are bidding against South Korean and Spanish groups.

However, Congress made such a deal more problematic in the appropriations bill it passed last week, when it said that the US would use its stake in international lending groups like the World Bank “to oppose any loan, grant, strategy or policy of such institution to support the construction of any large hydroelectric dam.” Governments have dreamed “for decades” of expanding the Inga dam project, located on the Congo 140 miles southwest of Kinshasa, but it has been stymied by years of conflict and misrule in the Congo, as Reuters reported recently. Last year, South Africa signed a deal to buy 2,500 MW of power, providing funding for the project to go ahead. The entire Inga damn project, known as the Grand Inga plan, will cost $100 billion to build and generate nearly 40,000 megawatts of electricity—almost double the size of China’s Three Gorges Dam project, if it is ever completed.

New turbine adds efficiency to Stockton DamMore power with less water on track for June spin-upJan. 20, 2014, Written by Wes Johnson. news-leader.com

You need a mighty big wrench — andsome thigh-sized nuts — to bolt this babytogether.But a week ago, the last of seven curvedblades each weighing 17,200 pounds wassuccessfully attached to a gigantic metalhub, putting Stockton Dam, Mo. on trackto resume generating hydroelectric powerby early June. The dam was knocked outof commission in February 2009 when oneof the turbine blades on a different unitbroke off, sending intense vibrationsthrough the dam’s powerhouse. Diverseventually pulled the broken blade outfrom beneath the dam, and it was welded back on and put back into service. But the fix was only temporary. Rod Hendricks, operations project manager of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dam at Stockton Lake, said the Corps was able to tap American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to give the hydropower system a major upgrade — its first since the system came online in 1973. The reconditioned unit will be almost 16 percent more efficient, generating seven more megawatts of power while using less lake water than the original turbine. After about a month of testing, the dam will begin generating up to 52 megawatts of power, up from the older unit’s capacity of 45 megawatts.

The new unit can generate more power with less water because the new hub has seven car-sized stainless steel blades instead of six. Under contract with international industrial giant Voith Hydro, the hub was cast in Slovenia and the blades were cast in Romania, helping to keep the overall cost down. The project will cost $30.8 million when it’s finished. Southwest Power Administration provided an additional $6 million for other upgrades at the plant so it can handle the increased power generation. “The pieces were shipped from Europe to York, Pennsylvania, where Voith first attached the blades and hub together to make sure all the parts fit,” Hendricks said. “Then they were brought by rail to Springfield, where the runner (hub) was put on a special trailer to make the trip here.” On Thursday, workers were adding the final touches to the blade and runner assembly, which is welded to the floor to keep the 204-ton chunk of machinery from moving while they work

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on it. One worker was carefully covering bolt heads with epoxy, which will be sanded smooth so water will more efficiently flow past the blades and hub. In a few days, workers will attach the blade assembly to a heavy-lift crane inside the dam’s powerhouse, cut the welds free and then start assembling the other components in one gigantic vertical stack. All the moving pieces weighing close to 1 million pounds will then be lowered into a huge hole in the powerhouse floor, bolted down and testing will begin. Megan Nesbitt, Voith site manager in charge of the project, said water from Stockton Lake will flow down onto the turbine blades, causing it to spin. The blade angles are computer controlled by Corps operators at Truman Dam — a much larger power generating facility — and are positioned to spin the electrical generator above at a steady 75 revolutions per minute. The process is much different than a coal-fired power plant, which burns coal to generate high-pressure steam that spins a massively heavy generator at several thousand revolutions per minute to make electricity. “And it’s all green energy from a hydropower dam — no emissions,” Nesbitt said. According to the Corps, the hydropower dam will generate about $8.3 million worth of electricity annually, and because it’s made by water power it will offset 29,400 tons of coal, 101,475 barrels of oil or 440 million cubic feet of natural gas. The project generated 130 jobs, including 20 sourced locally for the duration of the construction work, Nesbitt said. Voith also bought some equipment and supplies from local sources, and its employees stayed in local hotels. The project won’t add any new permanent jobs at Stockton Dam, which employs five people (the bulk of its operation is handled from the Truman Dam facility). The old turbine — complete with the repaired blade — wasn’t sold for scrap. Instead, it now sits on a gigantic pedestal and towers above the highway that takes visitors across the top of the dam. Hendricks said informational plaques will eventually be added as part of the Voith contract to help explain how water is used to generate electricity and the unusual reason the original turbine had to be removed. “People flip a switch and don’t really think about what all goes into making that electricity,” Hendricks said. “In a dam like this, the public can’t see the turbine when it’s down in the hole inside. We think this display will help teach people about hydropower generation.”

(It works. The queen in England has one, but is it economical versus a regular turbine!)Company Exploring Hydro-Power At Manchester Dam Would Use Ancient Greek TechnologyBy Jesse Leavenworth, courant.com, The Hartford Courant, January 22, 2014

Manchester — A power company is in the early stage of determining whether a technology born in ancient times can produce energy at Union Pond dam. The New England Hydropower Co. wants to explore use of an Archimedes screw to generate electricity from falling water at the town-owned dam off Union Street. The town board of directors recently approved a bid waiver, which allows town staff to work with the Massachusetts-based company as it seeks a preliminary work permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, town General Manager Scott Shanley said. With the permit, the company could begin studies to determine the project's technological and economic feasibility, New England Hydropower spokesman Chris Conover said Wednesday.

The Archimedes screw is at least as old as its namesake, the third-century B.C. Greek engineer. Used in ancient times to pump water from mines and for irrigation, among other things, the basic design is still used to transfer material from one place to another. The augur on a snowblower – the mechanism that feeds the snow into the machine -- is one example. For power generation, the "hydro-screw" is installed at an angle at a dam site. The descending water turns the tilted screw and a gearbox at the top of the screw drives a generator, according to a description at New England Hydropower's website — http://www.nehydropower.com. Flow is controlled by hydraulically driven sluice gates. The device is large enough to allow fish, debris and ice blocks to pass through. The technology is widely used in Europe, Conover said, and company leaders saw rich possibilities for such renewable energy in the many mill sites and dams that once powered New England's industry. If the company finds the Union Pond site feasible for the hydro-screw installation, the next step would be discussions with town leaders about leasing the site, said Mark Pellegrini, town director of neighborhood services and economic development. The next question would be whether the town would be the customer for the energy, Pellegrini said. Such a facility would produce about 575,000 kilowatt-hours annually, Conover said. The average home in

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the U.S. uses 10,000-11,000 kilowatt-hours annually, so such a plant would power about 55 homes. The scale is small, Shanley said, but he noted that the town also has joined other green energy initiatives, including a statewide effort to expand residential solar power. The town could work out a deal with New England Hydropower that would lower the municipal electric bill, but it's too early to say exactly what the benefits would be, Shanley said. Questions that must be answered, Shanley said, are: "Can we use the dam as an opportunity for some green power for Manchester? If yes, could there be a benefit to Manchester taxpayers? If yes, what would that be and how would it work? Those are the things that would be negotiated." A main advantage that New England Hydropower offers is stable longterm costs, Conover said. The company, according to its website, "can reasonably predict generation from each site based on 20 to 100 year records of waterway flows." The company has projects in more advanced stages in Connecticut and Rhode Island and is trying to develop a model facility that can be repeated at many sites, Conover said.

(Very small site! Don’t you think he means they have a preliminary permit to study, not build1)Canton Hires Consultant To Help With Hydropower ProjectBy Ken Byron, courant.com, The Hartford Courant, January 23, 2014

Canton, CT — The town is hiring aconsultant for $10,000 who will help localofficials find a private investor willing to takeon a proposed hydropower project using thedam on the Farmington River in Collinsville.The board of selectmen authorized hiringPaul Nolan, a Virginia-based attorney whohas helped the town with aspects of thehydropower project before, when it met onWednesday. Nolan will work with the town'senergy committee to prepare a request forproposals that will be put out later thiswinter. The hope is that the RFP will attractinvestors who have done other hydropowerprojects to partner with the town on this one.Time is of the essence, town officials said on Wednesday, and the hope is to have an investor on board by the spring so that the entity can get started this summer. The town has a temporary license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that lets it do the work needed to apply for a permanent one. But that license expires in June 2015 and First Selectmen Richard Barlow said environmental studies that the FERC wants would have to be done this summer."This is our last gasp," Barlow said about chances to get the hydropower project going.Energy committee Chairman Matt Stone told the selectmen earlier this winter that the hydropower project is too ambitious for the town to do on its own.

The dam in Collinsville was once owned by the Collins Company. The facility generated power for its factory from 1935 to 1966. Another dam downstream in Avon and Burlington, which the Collins Company used for hydropower from 1914 to 1966, may also be part of the project.Wednesday's vote was 3-1 in favor of hiring Nolan. Lowell Humphrey cast the dissenting vote. He said the town is also reviewing requests for money from the fire department for a study of the ambulance service and the economic development agency for a marketing and branding campaign. "We need to set our priorities here," Humphrey said. But Barlow said the town has been working on the project for several years and not making a small investment now would derail it.

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Water: (You must go to this web site to see the effects of the Drought in CA!)Stunning Before and After Photos of California's Lakes Depleted by

Extreme Drought By Chris Dolce Published: Jan 23, 2014, weather.com

http://www.weather.com/news/stunning-photos-californias-lakes-depleted-extreme-drought-20140123

(California is not the only place drought stricken!)Falling water, rising concernsLow levels at Lake Texoma blamed on drought, out-dated lawby By Zach Maxwell Staff Writer, durantdemocrat.com, 1/17/14

As Lake Texoma’s shoreline (Oklahoma andTexas) continues to recede, those withinterests on the lake are chiming in by urginglawmakers to change the legal status of theman-made reservoir. An extended droughtcoupled with legally mandated hydropowerand municipal water usage have caused thelevel of the lake to drop close to 609 feet -the lowest in decades. Experts say theupstream basin is expected to remain indrought status through February, meaningthe situation is likely to worsen. Any changein the law to allow for a higher pool elevationto accommodate recreation would likely beyears away. But the lake is still open forbusiness and only in stage two of a four-stage drought contingency plan. “It’s not all doom and gloom,” said Shelly Morgan, Executive Director of the Lake Texoma Association. “We want to make sure everybody knows we’re still open for business.” But the falling lake is creating problems for marina owners, who must move boat docks in response to shifting shorelines. Morgan also pointed to newly exposed sandbars and other “hazards we’re not used to dealing with.” Many have taken to social media to voice concerns, as well as urging the LTA to draft a proposal to Oklahoma and Texas congressional leaders to consider changing Public Law 100-71. “The law is somewhat vague,” Morgan said. “We’d like to get more teeth put into the law so the Corps of Engineers has more power to manage the lake level. But changing the law is not something that happens quickly. Boaters and marina managers have witnessed a steady fall since November. The ongoing drought, mainly upstream on the Red and Washita rivers, could exacerbate the problem. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued the following press release Thursday under the title “Lake Texoma experiencing negative impacts of long-term drought.”

From USACE:The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Tulsa District (USACE) and The Southwestern Power Administration (SWPA) acknowledge the negative impacts associated with reduced water levels at Lake Texoma. Hydropower and municipal and industrial water supply usage contribute to the lower level, but remain critical in meeting electricity and water needs. Factors contributing to the lowering lake levels include a multi-year extreme drought with the lowest inflows since the lake’s

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construction in 1944, below average rainfall since 2009, and significant evaporation losses for the past few years. The current water level is in the range of elevation 609 feet, placing the lake in Drought Level 2 of the district’s Drought Contingency Plan. “Lake Texoma has significant power and water supply storage that is congressionally authorized for use and paid for by the users,” said Col. Richard Pratt, commander, USACE Tulsa District. “In times of drought, this storage is required to consistently provide water and electricity to the region and this results in a lower lake level. The entities that have water contract agreements with the Corps have a right to their water, and we all acknowledge that fact while emphasizing conservation to limit the long-lasting negative effects on fish, wildlife, and recreational activities.” The Corps realizes that the low pool elevation of Lake Texoma negatively impacts recreational users. Boaters can expect more water hazards and sand bars. Larger vessels may have difficulty navigating in marina concession areas, and all vessels may experience extremely shallow water conditions in various locations of the lake. Vessels equipped with a depth finder are strongly encouraged to monitor the water depth. As always, the Corps recommends that all boaters wear a life jacket.

Concerned citizens contacted Ralph Hall, U.S. Representative for Texas’ 4th District, about Lake Texoma’s dropping elevation, and Congressman Hall in turn contacted Tulsa District about these concerns. The Corps, SWPA and Hall are working together to increase the efficient management of Lake Texoma’s water storage. “Throughout my years in public service, I have had a good working relationship with the Army Corps of Engineers and hold great respect for them due to their knowledge, adherence to the law, and willingness to work collaboratively in order to best serve the American people,” said Hall. “I appreciate the Corps’ efforts on this issue, and I will continue to stay engaged with them as we work to help the people of Texoma during these difficult times of drought. We owe it to the good folks of Texoma to work together and be supportive of efforts that work towards maximum appreciation and use of this great body of water - one of the great lakes of our nation.”

In Drought Level 2, Public Law 100-71 requires that SWPA limit power production to rapid response, short term peaking purposes as determined by the power scheduling entity. Short term peaking generally means full power production of 4-8 hours per day on average, with more generation allowed during electrical emergencies. The Corps has coordinated with SWPA to reduce generation accordingly, with calendar year 2013 being the lowest generation year at Lake Texoma since hydropower operations began in 1945. Such a reduction in power production requires replacement power from more expensive energy sources to meet the region’s electricity needs. The Corps also notifies municipal and industrial water users to implement water conservation measures designed to lessen the impact of their withdrawals. The U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook for the period ending Feb. 28, 2014, indicates that the drought affecting the Lake Texoma watershed will persist or intensify. If the lake’s level drops into the range of elevation 607-599.9 feet, Lake Texoma will enter Drought Level 3 which requires a number of actions emphasizing conservation to limit the impacts associated with long-term drought, among them notification to SWPA of further restrictions of hydropower production. Tulsa District remains committed to the efficient management of the water stored in Lake Texoma for the purposes of flood risk management, hydropower, water supply, fish and wildlife, recreation, and navigation. The Corps’ website provides water level information on the Water Control Data System page at http://www.swt-wc.usace.army.mil/ (It may have taken awhile, but he finally figured it out! This is a disaster that will cost billions of dollars. Oh well, we can borrow the money from China!)California governor declaresdrought emergencyJohn Myers, KXTV-TV, Sacramento, January 17, 2014,usatoday.com

Sacramento — In what could become one ofCalifornia's biggest crises in years, Gov.Jerry Brown declared a statewide drought

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That’s water way over there!

emergency Friday, an action that sets the stage for new state and federal efforts. The governor also wants to focus Californians on the possibility of water shortages. "All I can report to you is it's not raining today and it's not likely to rain for several weeks," Brown said in a news conference in San Francisco. On Thursday, the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center forecast below normal precipitation for two-thirds of California through April. Brown's proclamation allows California to request a broad emergency declaration from President Barack Obama, which would expedite some water transfers, provide financial assistance and suspend some state and federal regulations. The situation in most of California and northern Nevada is extremely dry, according to the most recent report Thursday from the U.S. Drought Monitor, a federal website that tracks drought nationwide. Almost 99% of California is considered abnormally dry or worse; almost two-thirds of the state is in extreme drought. 2013 became the driest year on record in California; San Francisco had the least rain since record keeping there began during the gold rush of 1849.

For the past few weeks, Golden State lawmakers and California residents have been urging Brown to make the drought official, a situation made clear with bleak news from the first Sierra snowpack measurement of the season Jan. 10. “I think the drought emphasizes that we do live in an era of limits, that nature has its boundaries.” — Gov. Jerry Brown, California. The northern Sierra has a snowpack that's only 8% of normal for this date, according to the latest measurements released Thursday from the California Department of Water Resources. The central Sierra is at 16% of normal; the southern Sierra at 22%. Last year at this time, snowpack was normal or exceeded it. The mountain snowpack, while a boon for Lake Tahoe ski resorts, also acts like a reservoir during winter and early spring, providing the state with its biggest and most reliable water supply. Brown is urging voluntary water conservation to the tune of a 20% reduction. But he stopped short of saying such a reduction should be mandatory — for now, at least. "We ought to be ready for a long, continuous, persistent effort," including the possibility of drinking-

water shortages, he said. "I think the drought emphasizes that we do live in an era of limits, that nature has its boundaries." The chairwoman of the state Senate's Natural Resources and Water Committee sees the problem as an opportunity for the state to change the way it deals with water. "With a hotter and drier future, we can't duplicate water policies of the 20th century to address challenges of the 21st," Sen. Fran Pavley, a Democrat like Brown, from Agoura Hills in Southern California. "We need to be resourceful and create new water supplies with cost-effective, sustainable strategies."

Brown's executive order directs state officials to offer extra help to farmers and California communities by allowing water managers to move water more quickly to rights-holders. And it qualifies agriculture interests for federal programs meant to help with unemployment and financial losses. Most of California's farmers rely on irrigation to grow hundreds of crops including broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, celery, melons, lettuce and tomatoes year-round that are shipped across the USA. Some growers have had to leave fields fallow as their water allocations have run dry, affecting crops and jobs. Across the state, agriculture is responsible for more than three-quarters of California's water use, according to a 2009 UCLA report. "Drought conditions are wreaking havoc on farmers in California, especially in the San Joaquin Valley" from south of Sacramento to Bakersfield," Tom Nassif, Western Growers president and chief executive, said in a statement thanking Brown for his executive order. "The situation is dire and requires the full attention of state and federal leaders, which is why the declaration is so important." The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday that counties in 11 states qualify as primary natural disaster areas. The designation for some counties in Arkansas, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah means eligible farmers can qualify for low-interest emergency loans from the department.

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Brown also directed state agencies to use less water than they do now and to hire more firefighters for what already is a very dry winter. The state had six active wildfires Friday, including one that started as a campfire Thursday, destroyed five homes and threatened neighborhoods east of Los Angeles. State water experts have compared current conditions to the bleak 1976-77 drought season in California, one that Brown also oversaw during his first term in office. The governor fielded a question about the comparisons Friday and simply said it's a reminder that Californians need to look back at the conservation efforts of that era and how they use water in 2014. "This effort is a call to arms," he said.

This image obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows snow and water equivalents in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California abnormally low for January 2014 compared to the same time in 2013.(Photo: NASA/NOAA, AFP/Getty Images)

California droughtsCalifornia periodically has peaks and troughs of precipitation across the state, but only once in almost 120 years — in 1982 — has the statewide average exceeded 40 inches. Below are the nine multi-year droughts in the state since 1900.• 1918-20• 1923-26• 1928-35• 1947-50• 1959-62• 1976-77• 1987-92• 2000-02• 2007-09Source: California Department of Water Resourceshttp://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2014/01/17/california-drought-emergency/4581761/

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Environment:(The court will probably overturn it)Feds Stand By Current Dam, Salmon Plan For ColumbiaBy Courtney Flatt, ijpr.org, 1/17/14

The federal government today released its finalplan to protect endangered salmon andsteelhead in the Columbia River Basin. Thefederal government is standing by its previousplans for managing the Columbia River toprevent the extinction of its salmon andsteelhead. That means little would change fordam operations on the West's biggest river --but only if it wins court approval. Officials Fridayreleased the finalized plan, known as thebiological opinion or BiOp. It guides damoperations to assure they do not lead to the extinction of 13 species of salmon and steelhead that are protected under the Endangered Species Act. The plan has been the subject of more than 20 years of legal conflict between people who want to protect salmon and people who want the dams to produce hydroelectricity and maintain shipping traditions. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is the lead agency in developing the biological opinion. It says the current plan is on track to meet Endangered Species Act goals for the federally protected fish. NOAA officials say the plan may better protect some fish than previously thought.

"The actions outlined in the biological opinion, and the operation of the hydro system, is designed to move us in the direction towards recovery and avoid jeopardy, and this program does that," said NOAA's Barry Thom. "It actually does improve the status of the populations over time. But it is not designed to achieve ultimate recovery of the population." Officials say the 610-page plan will protect and improve habitat, with specific attention paid to tributaries and estuaries of the Columbia and Snake rivers. "A major focus of the tributary habitat program is to help us buffer against potential effects of climate change in the system, so that the habitat projects ... are designed to maintain and protect the cool water inputs into the system," Thom said during a conference call with reporters. In 2011, U.S. District Judge James A. Redden rejected the plan and asked the Obama administration to consider more ways to recover the endangered fish. Redden's suggestions included spilling more water over the dams to help juvenile salmon safely make it downriver to the ocean, changing reservoirs to help fish passage, and removing the Snake River dams altogether.

The case has been transferred to Judge Michael H. Simon. Now that the previous version of the plan is partway completed, supporters say a trend toward larger salmon runs shows the plan is working. Terry Flores is with Northwest RiverPartners, which represents commerce and industry groups that defend the presence of hydroelectric dams on the Columbia-Snake system. "This plan is amazing. It's the most comprehensive plan we can find anywhere in this country by far," Flores said. Environmental groups say they are disappointed with this finalized plan. Gilly Lyons, with advocacy group Save Our Wild Salmon, said the group is frustrated. "The federal agencies in charge here have re-issued a slightly tweaked, but largely status quo federal salmon plan that repeats a lot of the same mistakes over the past decade or so that kept them in court and bound them in litigation over these dams and the salmon that they impact," Lyons said. Lyons said it is too soon to tell if environmental groups will file another lawsuit. "With all the stuff that we see in the plan, or that's not there, as the case may be, it sure looks like the federal government

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would like to go back to court," Lyons said. NOAA officials said there will be a few years before they have to start writing a new 10-year plan beyond 2018. "One main priority is to carry out this existing biological opinion," Thom said. "There will be a period of time between [the 2018 discussions] and the next couple of years where I would like to focus our efforts on talking about long-term recovery. ... As opposed to focusing either on A) the litigation or B) the details of a new biological opinion beyond 2018."

(It’s going to take a while for that sediment to go away! What made them believe the sediment would go all the way to the ocean?)After largest ever dam removal on Elwha River, scientists track sedimentBy Jeff Gillies on January 17, 2014, fondriest.com

The largest dam removal in history is underway onthe Elwha River in Washington, wheredeconstruction has freed a massive amount ofsediment that had built up over the past 80 years intwo now-drained reservoirs. A recent study fromfederal scientists gives an early look at thedownstream effects of the sediment release, whichhas transformed the channel in ways that may notbe settled for decades. The 108-foot Elwha Damcame down in 2012, and the 210-foot GlinesCanyon Dam seven miles upstream is halfwaythere, opening up 70 miles of the river and itstributaries to migrating salmon for the first time in acentury. The height of the dams make them thelargest ever removed, but the projected release ofup to 13 million cubic meters of sediment is also arecord. “It’s by far the biggest dam removal projectin terms of the amount of sediment stored in thereservoirs,” said Amy Draut, a research geologistwith the U.S. Geological Survey’s Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center.The removals restored the connection between the ocean and river habitats, bringing benefits for both. One of those is benefits is additional salmon spawning ground, a habitat that depends on the natural flow of sediment. The sediment-trapping reservoirs deprived the lower sections of finer silt, sand and gravel, leaving the riverbed downstream of the dams artificially coarse.“These fish need a really specific grain size to use as spawning gravels.” Draut said. “The size of the cobbles that we were seeing below Elwha Dam were too coarse for fish to move around with their tails and build nests in.”

With one dam gone and the othernearly so, four federal agencies areconducting an intensive study of howthe incoming sediment is affecting thechannel and floodplain. The workincludes sophisticated data from landsurveys and terrestrial Lidar thatscientists are still analyzing. Results ofthose studies will be published over thecoming year. In the meantime, Drautand Andy Ritchie, a hydrologist withOlympic National Park, have authoreda preliminary study, recently publishedin the journal River Research andApplications. The study was lowhanging fruit, Draut said, forgoing

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A view of the Elwha River downstream of the Elwha Dam in 2007 before removal (Credit: Amy Draut)

complicated equipment like Lidar and relying instead on trowels and notebooks. “And lots of Ziploc bags,” Draut said. “My work isn’t romantic, but it’s cheap.” In March 2013, the researchers picked out 18 sediment deposits between Glines Canyon Dam and the ocean and used shovels to expose vertical profiles, describing what they saw and collecting samples for lab analysis of grain size and organic content. Prior to removal, modeling work had projected that the undammed river would carry fine mud from the reservoirs all the way to the ocean without depositing any in the channel. But Draut’s work shows that wasn’t the case: Mud made up an average of 20 percent of each deposit they sampled. In some places the additional material has built up the river bed, forcing the water to spread out from the former channel. “Even now at non-flood stage the river uses a lot of its floodplain area,” Draut said. “We saw places where the river channel is flowing through trees now, depositing huge amounts of gray, goopy sand and mud.” Draut said the models that predicted themud would pass weren’t designed topaint a clear picture of what woulddeposit along every inch of the river, butrather give a general idea of what wouldhappen across the river as a whole. Andthe fact remains that the majority of themud has passed to the ocean. The mudthat hasn’t passed through may be thereas a result of uncharacteristically lowflows during the two winter floodseasons that have passed sinceremoval. “If we got a big flood thiswinter, if we got a five-year flood or evena 10-year food– or heck, even a two-year flood–the river channel could lookcompletely different than it does now,” Draut said. “We might see a lot of erosion of the new deposits in the river. We might even see erosion and new deposition. It’s pretty hard to predict.” Meanwhile, the ecological benefits of the project are also emerging. Salmon have been spotted swimming upstream of the former dams and building nests below the former site of the Elwha Dam where the cobble was once too coarse. In addition to building more habitat for salmon, the sediment also makes it easier to feel the presence of other wildlife in the watershed, Draut said. “When we walk around in our field areas now, you see lots of animal tracks. ‘There were beavers here last night. And there’s a mountain lion print,’” Draut said. “It leaves a really different impression on you to walk around in a place like that than it did before they took the dams out.”

Other Stuff: Wind Energy Of No Use In The Pacific Northwest(Article too long. Read the whole sad con job here): http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2014/01/18/wind-energy-of-no-use-in-the-pacific-northwest/

(Why is this a political battle?)State panel releases dueling climate reportssfgate.com, January 22, 2014

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The same site as above photographed in 2012 after removal (Credit: Amy Draut)

Olympia, Wash. (AP) — A bipartisan state climate panel has released dueling reports how to reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions.The panel posted separate reports online Wednesday, splitting along party lines. It had missed a December deadline to come up with recommendations on tackling carbon pollution. Two Democratic lawmakers and Gov. Jay Inslee recommended more ambitious policies including capping carbon pollution, reducing the amount of coal-powered electricity utilities in the state use and promote cleaner cars and cleaner fuels. They say the state must take action to meet a state mandate to cut emissions.

Meanwhile, the panel's two Republicans recommended studying nuclear generation, encouraging conservation, providing incentives for hydroelectric power and revisiting the emissions goals set in 2008. They want an additional year to study the impacts of the policies.

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