The CEATI program provides utilities with an exclusive "closed door" and cost-effective vehicle for sharing experiences and addressing issues pertinent to their day-to-day operations and planning. In addition to serving as a strong technical resource tool, the CEATI program model is also structured to accommodate project collaboration opportunities yielding practical deliverables in which utilities can leverage their expenditures.

The CEATI Hydro program brings together the world’s leading hydroelectric utilities in three distinct areas:

The Water Management Interest Group (WMIG) is a collaborative program designed to assist hydroelectric generators and related industries in their ongoing efforts to improve water utilization and station efficiency, meet regulatory obligations, and foster acceptance of hydroelectric projects and operations. The program focuses on developing improvements to water management, water utilization, and inflow forecasting techniques.

WMIG Vision

The goal of CEATI's WMIG is to develop and make available cost effective water management tools, expertise, leading edge technology and operational information through the inter-active collaborative participation of a wide community of knowledgeable participants including utilities, independent power producers, government and other agencies.

The hydropower industry's community of engineering consultants, research institutions, government agencies, and service providers form part of the program on an awarded project basis as WMIG undertakes participant approved technological and management initiatives to solve specific problems and/or to capture improvement opportunities.

WMIG Strategic Directions

Although hydraulic generation has evolved through many decades of technological change and environmental regulation, it continues to demonstrate an enviable track record of outstanding performance. It now operates in a world of unparalleled change with new paradigms which include the competitive pressures of deregulation, increasing consumer reliance on hydropower's relative low cost and greenhouse gas emission free source of energy, high stakeholder expectations, and ever increasing investor, government, and public scrutiny. Many of the changes and challenges facing the electricity industry such as climate variability and greenhouse gas emissions are beyond the control but impact the hydropower water manager.

The goals of the group will be accomplished by undertaking participant approved projects, technology and scientific reviews and activities in the following strategic direction:

1. Watershed Management, Water Use Planning
- Water Use Management Strategies - Global Flow Management Strategies - Performance Measures and Benchmarking - Load Forecasting - Maintenance Scheduling - Energy Market Influence

2. Meteorology & Hydrology
- Variability & Forecasting Evaluations - Impacts on Watershed Hydrology & Modeling - Climate Change - Weather modification

3. Data Acquisition
- Reliability - Gap Filling & Data Extension - Collection, Validation and Quality Assurance - Use Geographic Information systems - Use of Data Visualization & Management - Data collection techniques - Equipment & Instrumentation

4. Hydraulics
- Diversion Modeling - Dam Break and Flood Routing - Erosion and Sedimentation - Peaking & Ponding operations - Simulation of Flows and Water levels - Hydraulics of Dam Failures - Flow Measurements - Hydraulic Losses - Physical & Numerical Modeling - Numerical Modeling of Ice Conditions

5. Operational Modeling & Optimization
- Modeling & Optimization Techniques - Watershed Optimization - Reservoir Optimization - Multiple Criteria Optimization - Expert Systems - In plant Operations - Stochastic Hydrology - Inflow Forecasting - Statistical Techniques

WMIG 2012 Priorities and Actions

Data Acquisition

• Technology Review, Integration of Radar & Satellite Precipitation Estimates into Rain and Snow Gauge Networks

Meteorology & Hydrology

• Tecnology Review, Impact of Wind, Temperature and Other Environmental Factors on Reservoir Evaporation Losses
• Project, Enhancement of the Technology of Probabilistic Forecasting
• Inter-relations of the Water Management Plan / PMF / Dam Break Studies

Watershed Management, Water Use Planning

• May 2011 Workshop: "Application of GIS Tools in Water Management", Niagara Falls, Ontario
• November 2011 Workshop: "Integrating Renewable Energy Sources", Las Vegas, Nevada
• Water Management Business Process Benchmarking

Hydraulics

• Project, Shallow Water Ice Profiling Sonar for measuring frazil ice
• Comprehensive River Ice Simulation System

Operational Modeling and Optimization

• Working Group - Planning & Optimization, Benchmarking Optimal Operations Planning of Water Resources
• Working Group - Post Analysis, Performance Measurement to Improve Efficiency of Generation Operations

Hydroelectric Operation & Environment Concerns

• Working Group - Assessment of the proposed Ecologo river operation criteria

Risk Management

• Develop a structured decision making framework for hydro projects operation under extreme conditions

The Dam Safety Interest Group (DSIG) is composed of dam owners who jointly sponsor research & development projects designed to help assess and improve the safety of dams. They have found great value in their ability to test and discuss different maintenance, design and emergency response strategies through the forums CEATI provides. Today, the DSIG is represented internationally by participants around the globe.

Topics and Issues of Interest:

• Dam Monitoring and Instrumentation/Surveillance
• Reliability of Discharge Facilities
• Evaluation of Dam Safety Performance
• Dam Risk Management
• Geophysical Methods for Assessing Seepage, Internal Erosion and Piping
• Static Ice Loads on Dams
• Non-Destructive Testing of Dam Anchors
• Dam Safety Surveillance Training
• Erosion Modeling
• Extreme Flood Research
• Flood Debris Management
• Sliding Resistance of Concrete Dams
• Dam Concrete Deterioration
• People, Technology, Organization

HPLIG is a collaborative technology focused program designed to assist hydroelectric utilities in their efforts to lower capital and operation costs, extend equipment life, improve efficiency, increase reliability and reduce outage times for equipment repair and maintenance, improve safety and environmental performance, improve risk based asset management decision making, performance evaluation and benchmarking techniques.

Topics and Issues of Interest:

• Hydropower Technology
• Capital and Maintenance Investment
• Maintenance Programming
• Workforce Productivity
• Environmental Performance