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Designing flows to resolve human and environmental water needs in a dam-regulated river

Author

Listed:
  • William Chen

    (University of Washington
    University of Washington)

  • Julian D. Olden

    (University of Washington)

Abstract

Navigating trade-offs between meeting societal water needs and supporting functioning ecosystems is integral to river management policy. Emerging frameworks provide the opportunity to consider multiple river uses explicitly, but balancing multiple priorities remains challenging. Here we quantify relationships between hydrologic regimes and the abundance of multiple native and nonnative fish species over 18 years in a large, dryland river basin in southwestern United States. These models were incorporated into a multi-objective optimization framework to design dam operation releases that balance human water needs with the dual conservation targets of benefiting native fishes while disadvantaging nonnative fishes. Predicted designer flow prescriptions indicate significant opportunities to favor native over nonnative fishes while rarely, if ever, encroaching on human water needs. The predicted benefits surpass those generated by natural flow mimicry, and were retained across periods of heightened drought. We provide a quantitative illustration of theoretical predictions that designer flows can offer multiple ecological and societal benefits in human-altered rivers.

Suggested Citation

  • William Chen & Julian D. Olden, 2017. "Designing flows to resolve human and environmental water needs in a dam-regulated river," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 8(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:8:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-017-02226-4
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02226-4
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    Cited by:

    1. Zhang, Yi & Cheng, Chuntian & Cai, Huaxiang & Jin, Xiaoyu & Jia, Zebin & Wu, Xinyu & Su, Huaying & Yang, Tiantian, 2022. "Long-term stochastic model predictive control and efficiency assessment for hydro-wind-solar renewable energy supply system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 316(C).
    2. Wenlin Yuan & Xueyan Yu & Chengguo Su & Denghua Yan & Zening Wu, 2020. "A Multi-Timescale Integrated Operation Model for Balancing Power Generation, Ecology, and Water Supply of Reservoir Operation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-21, December.
    3. Andrea J. Lund & David Lopez-Carr & Susanne H. Sokolow & Jason R. Rohr & Giulio A. De Leo, 2021. "Agricultural Innovations to Reduce the Health Impacts of Dams," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-8, February.
    4. Zhong, Ruida & Zhao, Tongtiegang & Chen, Xiaohong, 2021. "Evaluating the tradeoff between hydropower benefit and ecological interest under climate change: How will the water-energy-ecosystem nexus evolve in the upper Mekong basin?," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(C).
    5. Zhang, Yi & Cheng, Chuntian & Yang, Tiantian & Jin, Xiaoyu & Jia, Zebin & Shen, Jianjian & Wu, Xinyu, 2022. "Assessment of climate change impacts on the hydro-wind-solar energy supply system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    6. Basso, S. & Lazzaro, G. & Bovo, M. & Soulsby, C. & Botter, G., 2020. "Water-energy-ecosystem nexus in small run-of-river hydropower: Optimal design and policy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    7. Eui-Jeong Ko & Eunsong Jung & Yuno Do & Gea-Jae Joo & Hyun-Woo Kim & Hyunbin Jo, 2022. "Impact of River-Reservoir Hybrid System on Zooplankton Community and River Connectivity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-12, April.

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