Climate variability results in the need for Hydropower operations to prepare and operate thorough extreme events. These events affect the capacity and operations of existing water management infrastructures and can have an impact on safety, the environment, the supply of electricity, and stakeholder operations. While extreme high inflows attract the most media attention, extreme lows or drought conditions can also continue to challenge water managers, water users as well as the environment.
How will existing hydropower and future facilities be impacted? Through integrated water management and dam safety planning studies, infrastructure assessments, well developed Emergency Preparedness Plans and hydropower operations can be prepared for extreme events. A robust risk management system will allow hydropower operators to be confident in the complex decisions that are required. It is also important to understand the need to review all water management actions through the use of a post analysis system.
1. Planning Studies and Tools
- This session will focus on the analysis of regulatory framework and how it is applied to flood hazard estimation around the world. In addition, the analysis of existing flood hazard estimation approaches and their application to common case studies will be explored.
- Dam safety studies and water management planning can come together to develop effective reservoir operational rule curves that accommodate our climate variability.
2. Infrastructure Assessments
- How do companies perform assessments to ensure full capability in the case of an extreme event? The Maturity Matrix is a tool which can be used to measure an organizations "maturity" by identifying opportunities for improvement, benchmarking other organizations and facilitating discussions with management and stakeholders.
3. Emergency Preparedness Plans
- Examples of current hydropower EPPs
- Facilitate public safety through well-developed plans and procedures for notifying flood forecasting agencies, emergency services, and downstream communities with real-time information concerning any developing flood events.
- Plan and provide for emergency action activities to preclude a dam breach.
- Plan and test project / emergency services personnel and facilities for EPP activation if river control is lost or another type of emergency develops.
- Developing inundation maps and communicating with emergency services concerning the understanding and use of these maps during a developing emergency when evacuation becomes necessary.
- Develop communication plans and instructions to convey information to emergency services managers and other agencies as well as downstream communities and political entities.
- Use of innovative communication tools during emergency events.
- Recovery plans.
4. Operating through the Event
- Risk Management Case Studies
- Hydro-operation planners face complex issues that require a quick response; flood routing events often trigger competing and conflicting objectives. The workshop will offer examples of robust risk management systems which will help operation-planners respond more quickly and communicate openly / transparently their decisions to the stakeholders and senior management.
- Extreme events may also destroy the functionality of many monitoring systems; therefore, it is important to also ensure that alternate means of monitoring are in place during an event.
- Operating through extreme high or low events can negatively impact our environment - case studies will offer possible mitigation.
5. Post analysis system
- Post analysis case studies on managing water through extreme events
To provide an opportunity to share examples of how water managers and dam safety engineers are adapting to climate variability through improved planning studies, event preparation, infrastructure assessment and operations, using risk management systems.
