Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Nature Communications
Author ORCID Identifier
Sarah E. Null https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7451-7908
Anna M. Sturrock https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9423-9845
Kristen Dybala https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2787-4600
Volume
15
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Publication Date
6-27-2024
Journal Article Version
Version of Record
Keywords
Water Flow, Natural Flow, Downstream Ecosystems, Environmental Water
First Page
1
Last Page
13
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Abstract
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 maintain 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.
Recommended Citation
Null, S.E., Zeff, H., Mount, J. et al. Storing and managing water for the environment is more efficient than mimicking natural flows. Nat Commun 15, 5462 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-49770-4
