Environmental Flow Applications in the Management of Hydroelectric Dams: Science, Policy, and Management

Public and private water resource management entities are tasked with managing hydropower dams for multiple uses, including tradeoffs among hydroelectric system reliability, refill of reservoirs, and manipulating downstream flow regimes for the health and sustainability of riverine ecosystems (environmental flows). The science, policy, management, and application of environmental flow assessment have grown rapidly in recent decades.  This growth has led to a correspondingly large number of widely varying methods that are used for evaluating riverine ecosystem components of hydrology, geomorphology, biology, water quality, and connectivity. Uncertainties resulting from insufficient quantitative empirical data, poor predictive capabilities, and lack of integrated assessment methods and decision support tools have resulted in negative impacts to both riverine ecosystems and the flexibility of water resource management. While all environmental flow applications are unique, this uncertainty can be reduced through the application of state-of-the-science processes, tools, and techniques. The objective of this symposium is to foster communication among the environmental flow science, policy, and management community in order to advance the application of environmental flow concepts in the context of hydroelectric dam operations.