Download or read book Environmental Flows for Hydropower Projects written by Weltbankgruppe and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Good Practice Handbook is designed to provide guidance to practitioners on taking rigorous and consistent approaches to assess hydropower project impacts on downstream river ecosystems and people, and determine their Environmental Flows (EFlows) commitments. The Handbook outlines a good practice approach for integrating EFlows into hydropower projects, emphasizing the selection of context-appropriate EFlows Assessment methods. Its structure follows the main steps of this approach: 1. Understand the context of river functioning and the provision of ecosystem values and services into which EFlows will be introduced (Section 2); 2. Understand the potential downstream impacts associated with hydropower development (Section 3) and how these can be mitigated (Section 4); 3. Align ESIA and EFlows Assessments and ensure data sharing and good communication between the assessment teams (see Section 5); 4. Apply a context-appropriate EFlows Assessment method (Section 6); 5. Conduct a comprehensive and appropriate stakeholder engagement program leading to a decision on EFlows and other mitigation measures based on the outcome of the assessment (Sections 7 and 8); and 6. Prepare an Environmental Flow Management Plan (EFMP2; Section 9). It also provides the following: A logframe for integrating EFlows into hydropower plants (Section 10); and Case studies to illustrate the main concepts addressed in the Handbook (Section 11).
Download or read book Environmental Flows for Hydropower Projects written by World Bank Group and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Good Practice Handbook is designed to provide guidance to practitioners on taking rigorous and consistent approaches to assess hydropower project impacts on downstream river ecosystems and people, and determine their Environmental Flows (EFlows) commitments. The Handbook outlines a good practice approach for integrating EFlows into hydropower projects, emphasizing the selection of context-appropriate EFlows Assessment methods. Its structure follows the main steps of this approach: 1. Understand the context of river functioning and the provision of ecosystem values and services into which EFlows will be introduced (Section 2); 2. Understand the potential downstream impacts associated with hydropower development (Section 3) and how these can be mitigated (Section 4); 3. Align ESIA and EFlows Assessments and ensure data sharing and good communication between the assessment teams (see Section 5); 4. Apply a context-appropriate EFlows Assessment method (Section 6); 5. Conduct a comprehensive and appropriate stakeholder engagement program leading to a decision on EFlows and other mitigation measures based on the outcome of the assessment (Sections 7 and 8); and 6. Prepare an Environmental Flow Management Plan (EFMP2; Section 9). It also provides the following: A logframe for integrating EFlows into hydropower plants (Section 10); and Case studies to illustrate the main concepts addressed in the Handbook (Section 11).
Download or read book A Holistic Framework for Environmental Flows Determination in Hydropower Contexts written by Ryan A. McManamay and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The consensus view in the ecological science community is that the natural flow regime sustains the ecological integrity of river systems. In order to provide better conditions for aquatic biological communities, changes are needed in hydropower dam operations to affect downstream river flows. Identifying the magnitude, frequency, duration, timing, or rate of change of stream flows to meet ecological needs is a challenge to hydropower dam owners. This report addresses the limitations of existing environmental flow paradigms and their applications to hydropower, and it presents a new framework catered towards hydropower needs. The Instream Flow Project (IFP) was carried out by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Argon National Laboratory to develop tools aimed at defining environmental flow needs for hydropower operations. Hydropower projects in the United States are subject to FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) licensing and relicensing procedures, which can take several years and be very expensive. The purpose of the framework is to organize efforts used to determine environmentally acceptable flows for hydropower into a staged process, which can be applied to expedite the regulatory process.
Download or read book Climate Impacts on Water Resources in India written by Ashish Pandey and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-08-31 with total page 393 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book chiefly focuses on environmental flow, water pollution and water quality. Several chapters also cover water treatment technologies and management. In today’s context, climate change and climate variability are important issues in the water sector, which is called upon to develop adaptation strategies to cope with their negative impacts. Human health depends upon the quality of water used for drinking and irrigation purposes. These core issues are discussed and addressed in several chapters. The book explores the impact of climate change on water resources and considers various climatological scenarios. In this regard, it carries out a trend analysis and compares the performance of various Global Climate Models (GCMs). Further, it conducts a water quality analysis and water quality mapping so as to provide information on the most vulnerable areas in the context of water quality. Emerging pollutants, generated from paper mills, are identified in order to choose an appropriate treatment technology. Bioremediation techniques are included for the characterization of improved water quality parameters. The book also presents a low-cost treatment technology for fluoride removal, which can help water managers ensure potable water to stakeholders. In terms of maintaining river ecology in the downstream areas of water resources project sites, the book provides a number of case studies on assessment of environmental flows. Advanced treatment technologies that can be highly advantageous for removing water pollutants are presented. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable resource for academics, water resources practitioners, scientists, water managers, environmentalists, administrators, NGOs, researchers and students who are involved in water management with a main focus on water pollution, the environment, climate change and health.
Download or read book A Holistic Framework for Environmental Flows Determination in Hydropower Contexts written by and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Among the ecological science community, the consensus view is that the natural flow regime sustains the ecological integrity of river systems. This prevailing viewpoint by many environmental stakeholders has progressively led to increased pressure on hydropower dam owners to change plant operations to affect downstream river flows with the intention of providing better conditions for aquatic biological communities. Identifying the neccessary magnitude, frequency, duration, timing, or rate of change of stream flows to meet ecological needs in a hydropower context is challenging because the ecological responses to changes in flows may not be fully known, there are usually a multitude of competing users of flow, and implementing environmental flows usually comes at a price to energy production. Realistically, hydropower managers must develop a reduced set of goals that provide the most benefit to the identified ecological needs. As a part of the Department of Energy (DOE) Water Power Program, the Instream Flow Project (IFP) was carried out by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and Argon National Laboratory (ANL) as an attempt to develop tools aimed at defining environmental flow needs for hydropower operations. The application of these tools ranges from national to site-specific scales; thus, the utility of each tool will depend on various phases of the environmental flow process. Given the complexity and sheer volume of applications used to determine environmentally acceptable flows for hydropower, a framework is needed to organize efforts into a staged process dependent upon spatial, temporal, and functional attributes. By far, the predominant domain for determining environmental flows related to hydropower is within the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) relicensing process. This process can take multiple years and can be very expensive depending on the scale of each hydropower project. The utility of such a framework is that it can expedite the environmental flow process by 1) organizing data and applications to identify predictable relationships between flows and ecology, and 2) suggesting when and where tools should be used in the environmental flow process. In addition to regulatory procedures, a framework should also provide the coordination for a comprehensive research agenda to guide the science of environmental flows. This research program has further reaching benefits than just environmental flow determination by providing modeling applications, data, and geospatial layers to inform potential hydropower development. We address several objectives within this document that highlight the limitations of existing environmental flow paradigms and their applications to hydropower while presenting a new framework catered towards hydropower needs. Herein, we address the following objectives: 1) Provide a brief overview of the Natural Flow Regime paradigm and existing environmental flow frameworks that have been used to determine ecologically sensitive stream flows for hydropower operations. 2) Describe a new conceptual framework to aid in determining flows needed to meet ecological objectives with regard to hydropower operations. The framework is centralized around determining predictable relationships between flow and ecological responses. 3) Provide evidence of how efforts from ORNL, PNNL, and ANL have filled some of the gaps in this broader framework, and suggest how the framework can be used to set the stage for a research agenda for environmental flow.
Download or read book Sustainable Civil Engineering Practices written by Varinder S. Kanwar and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-04-30 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book comprises select proceedings of the International Conference on Sustainable Civil Engineering Practices (ICSCEP 2019). It covers several important aspects of sustainable civil engineering practices dealing with effective waste and material management, natural resources, industrial products, energy, food, transportation and shelter, while conserving and protecting the environmental quality and the natural resource base essential for future development. The book also discusses engineering solutions to sustainable development and green design issues. Special emphasis is given on qualitative guidelines for generation, treatment, handling, transport, disposal and recycling of wastes. The book is intended as a practice-oriented reference guide for researchers and practitioners, and will be useful for all working in sustainable civil engineering related fields.
Download or read book Environmental Flows in Water Resources Policies Plans and Projects written by Rafik Hirji and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2009 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book advances the understanding and integration in operational terms of environmental flows (water allocation) into integrated water resources management (IWRM). Based on an in-depth analysis of 17 global water policy, plan, and project case studies, it addresses the highly contested complexities of environmentally responsible water resources development, broadens the global perspectives on "equitable sharing" and "sustainable use" of water resources, and expands the definitions of "benefits sharing" in high-risk water resources development. The book fills a major gap in knowledge on IWRM and forms an important contribution to the ongoing discourse on climate change adaptation in the water sector.
Download or read book Environmental Flows Decision making and Implementation at Hydropower Project Facilities in the Western United States written by Alan Cai and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The construction and operation of dams, reservoirs, hydropower plants, and water diversion infrastructure has significantly altered riverine ecosystems by disrupting natural hydrologic, geomorphic and ecological processes. These facilities release environmental flows to prevent and mitigate their negative impacts. Environmental flows implementation has advanced in recent decades through the development of the functional flows and active management paradigms, as well as an increasing emphasis on responsiveness to hydroclimatic variability. In order to facilitate the adoption of these modern approaches, this study establishes a baseline understanding of the extent to which these principles are currently being utilized, as well as the attitudes of facility operators regarding this topic. An online survey is used to solicit information from operators of hydropower facilities in the Western United States. We received 63 valid responses from 447 emailed survey invitations, yielding a 14 percent completed response rate. Descriptive and exploratory data analysis techniques were used to obtain insights. Results indicate that the regulatory framework and objectives for environmental flows are grounded in the protection of targeted species, especially fish. Respondents report widespread usage of traditional environmental flows techniques that are simple, static, non-collaborative, and reactive. The application of modern advances in environmental flows may be hindered by inadequate stakeholder consultation, infrastructure, and regulatory frameworks, as well as pressure to deliver for competing operational objectives (especially hydropower) after satisfying the minimum environmental regulatory requirements. Operators indicate general belief in climate change and approval towards current environmental flows regimes, yet a significant minority do not conceptualize climate change as impacting their local region or their ability to implement environmental flows in the future. Lastly, hydrologic basin and facility size may have associative relationships with the extent of environmental flows implementation. This study contributes to the body of interdisciplinary knowledge that aims to guide the siting and reoperation of river facilities for optimized ecosystem health, hydropower, and other benefits.
Download or read book Flow written by International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and published by World Conservation Union. This book was released on 2003 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An environmental flow is the water regime provided within a river, wetland or coastal zone to maintain ecosystems and their benefits where there are competing water uses and where flows are regulated. Pioneering efforts in South Africa, Australia and the United States have shown that the process to establish them poses great challenges. Second in the series of the Water & Nature Initiative, this guide draws extensively on the experiences in these countries to offer hands-on advice and practical guidance on technical issues for this emerging issue on the water resource agenda.
Download or read book Environmental Mitigation at Hydroelectric Projects written by and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Environmental Flows in Water Resources Policies Plans and Projects written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Hydropower Projects written by Robert Zwahlen and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2022-01-03 with total page 631 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book describes the entire process of environmental impact assessment for hydropower and dam projects, not from a legal or regulatory point of view, but from a very applied one, based mainly on the personal experience of the author, who is involved in this field of work since over 40 years, by describing the different steps of such an assessment, covering all major aspects to be dealt with. The focus is on environmental issues, while the other main subject—social impacts—is mentioned here only briefly. It will be of interest not only for ESIA (Environmental and Social Impact Assessment) practitioners, be they consultants involved in the preparation of such studies or staff members of environmental protection agencies having to come to decisions based on them, but also for engineers and planners involved in such projects, developers, and people interested in questions related to energy, environment, and climate change. Overall, this book aims at contributing to put the discussion about hydropower and dam projects on a more objective level.
Download or read book Water for the Environment written by Avril Horne and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2017-08-16 with total page 760 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Water for the Environment: From Policy and Science to Implementation and Management provides a holistic view of environmental water management, offering clear links across disciplines that allow water managers to face mounting challenges. The book highlights current challenges and potential solutions, helping define the future direction for environmental water management. In addition, it includes a significant review of current literature and state of knowledge, providing a one-stop resource for environmental water managers. Presents a multidisciplinary approach that allows water managers to make connections across related disciplines, such as hydrology, ecology, law, and economics Links science to practice for environmental flow researchers and those that implement and manage environmental water on a daily basis Includes case studies to demonstrate key points and address implementation issues
Download or read book A Synthesis of Environmental and Recreational Mitigation Requirements at Hydropower Projects in the United States written by and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 10 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Environmental mitigation plays an important role in the environmentally sustainable development of hydropower resources. However, comprehensive data on mitigation required by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) at United States (US) hydropower projects is lacking. Therefore, our objective was to create a comprehensive database of mitigation required at non-federal hydropower projects and provide a synthesis of available mitigation data. Mitigation data was collated for over 300 plants licensed or relicensed from 1998 through 2013. We observed that the majority of FERC mitigation requirements deal with either hydrologic flows or recreation and that hydropower plants in the Pacific Northwest had the highest number of requirements. Our data indicate opportunities exist to further explore hydropower mitigation in the areas of environmental flows, fish passage, and water quality. Lastly, connecting these data with ecological outcomes, actual flow data, and larger landscape level information will be necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of mitigation and ultimately inform regulators, managers, and planners.
Download or read book Riverine Ecosystem Management written by Stefan Schmutz and published by Springer. This book was released on 2018-05-08 with total page 562 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book surveys the frontier of scientific river research and provides examples to guide management towards a sustainable future of riverine ecosystems. Principal structures and functions of the biogeosphere of rivers are explained; key threats are identified, and effective solutions for restoration and mitigation are provided. Rivers are among the most threatened ecosystems of the world. They increasingly suffer from pollution, water abstraction, river channelisation and damming. Fundamental knowledge of ecosystem structure and function is necessary to understand how human acitivities interfere with natural processes and which interventions are feasible to rectify this. Modern water legislation strives for sustainable water resource management and protection of important habitats and species. However, decision makers would benefit from more profound understanding of ecosystem degradation processes and of innovative methodologies and tools for efficient mitigation and restoration. The book provides best-practice examples of sustainable river management from on-site studies, European-wide analyses and case studies from other parts of the world. This book will be of interest to researchers in the field of aquatic ecology, river system functioning, conservation and restoration, to postgraduate students, to institutions involved in water management, and to water related industries.
Download or read book A Guide to Stream Habitat Analysis Using the Instream Flow Incremental Methodology written by Ken D. Bovee and published by . This book was released on 1982 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Establishing the Environmental Flow Regime for the Middle Zambezi River written by Elenestina Mwelwa-Mutekenya and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2021-07-28 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Middle Zambezi, host to a rich biodiversity, is located in the central part of the Zambezi River Basin which covers eight Southern African Countries. The area is located downstream of three hydropower schemes. In the last decades, the floodplain riparian tree, the Faidherbia albida, vital for the local wild life, has shown a worrying decrease in its regeneration rates. This thesis explores establishing the environmental flow regime for the Middle Zambezi reach in order to minimise the impact of the upstream hydropower schemes on the river environment, using the Faidherbia albida tree as a biological indicator. The research identified that the current dam operations have completely altered the natural hydrological rhythm from pre-Kariba dam dry season flows of 100-200 m3/s increasing to 1,000-1,500 m3/s. The sudden closure of the dam floodgates can be linked to the observed river channel-widening phenomenon. In addition, the Faidherbia albida tree now experiences longer flood residence over the floodplain, making it inaccessible to animals to allow for regeneration. In order to save the F. albida tree, a two-pronged environmental flow regime is proposed of releasing a moderate flood of 5,800 m3/s once in 5 years, for 5 to 6 weeks in the months of February to March, and phasing the spillway gates closure over a period of 3 to 4 weeks to keep the floodplain wet enough until the months of May and June. Phasing of the spillway gate closure would also mitigate the excessive bank erosion.
