Description  

Hydropower is a “clean” source of electrical supply in that it does not contribute to the air and greenhouse gas emissions associated with fossil-fuel generation.  However, through the diversion of streamflows and alteration of natural hydrographs, hydropower does contribute to the degradation of California’s freshwater ecosystems.   There is a need therefore to refine and improve the available tools related to allocating water among competing demands, including hydroelectric generation, while ensuring protection of the aquatic species and habitats of the state’s streams, rivers, and reservoirs.  The goal of the proposed study is to identify gaps in our scientific understanding of instream flows and identify research needs related to developing economically efficient and ecologically effective management tools for use in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) hydropower relicensing processes.  This information will be used to guide and focus future research efforts funded through the California Energy Commission's Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) Program.

The study will use a combination of targeted literature review and feedback from knowledgeable individuals representing hydropower industry, government, recreational and environmental stakeholders to identify and prioritize data gaps and research needs.  The study will both get feedback on lessons learned from past FERC hydropower relicensing processes and identify areas of emerging interest and/or concern.

The study can be divided into three general areas of investigation: 

1.     Identifying gaps in scientific understanding of ecological processes related to regulation and management of instream flows.

2.     Identifying institutional constraints, informational requirements and resource assessment needs related to effective state resource agency regulation of instream flows for hydropower.

3.     Identifying limitations, perceived inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement in the instream flow assessment methodologies used in hydropower relicensing processes. One objective will be to identify opportunities for developing project-scale resource assessment tools to allow for “size tailored” approaches to agency required resource assessment studies.

Once feedback has been gathered, the information will be synthesized to develop research priorities for future PIER funded research on managing stream flows in FERC hydropower relicensing process.