Climate and Hydrology Dataset for Use in Longer-term Planning
9 June 2009

Below is the agenda of this workshop. Click on highlighted items to download the associated PowerPoint file.

Materials:

“Climate and Hydrology dataset for use in the Agencies’ Longer-Term Planning Studies,” 4 June 2009, Public Review Draft, co-authored by RMJOC agencies staff
(i.e. Work Plan, electronically distributed as “RMJOCWrkPln_ExtRev090609.doc”)

Click the highlighted link to download the Word document for commenting. Please submit comments to Nancy Stephan at nlstephan@bpa.gov. Comment period will conclude on July 10.

Agenda

Framing the Day (Facilitated by: Randy Wortman, USACE)

• Project Objectives – Rick Pendegrass (BPA), Pat McGrane (Reclamation), Jim Barton (USACE) - agency motivations and general context for this effort
• Workplan Overview & Workshop Objectives - Nancy Stephan (BPA)

Orientation Talks related to key Workplan Subjects (Facilitated by: Levi Brekke, Reclamation)

• (re: Work Plan Tasks 1 and 2) Status and Review of Climate Change and Hydrology Data Development by the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group (UW CIG) – Alan Hamlet (UW CIG) – Briefing on UW CIG’s selection of climate projections, how these projections may be used and relation to downscaling choices (Work Plan, Appendix B) , and hydrologic modeling
• Discussion on UW CIG Data Development Effort
• (re: Work Plan Tasks 3.1-3.4) Reservoir Operations/Regulation Models overview
  • Pat McGrane (Reclamation) - suite of Snake, Deschutes, and Yakima models
  • Nancy Stephan (BPA) - Hydsim
  • Patti Low (USACE) - ResSim, AutoReg/SSARR (Streamflow Synthesis and Reservoir Regulation Model), HYSSR

Orientation Talks related to key Workplan Subjects - Session II (Facilitated by: Nancy Stephan, BPA)

• (re: Work Plan Task 3.1) Adjusting Inflow Data for Reservoir Simulation Models, using either Hybrid- or Transient-style information from UW CIG (Levi)
• (re: Work Plan Task 3.2) Seasonal Water Supply Forecasts under Climate Change
  • Nancy Stephan (BPA) – Background on real-world forecast development and relation to this Work Plan effort
  • Levi Brekke (Reclamation) –2009 Reclamation Research with NRCS, NWRFC and CBRFC and methods that may be shared with this Work Plan effort (Levi)
• (re: Work Plan Task 3.3) Flood Control Storage Targets (Patti Low, USACE) – description of how storage reservation diagrams, seasonal water supply forecasts and runoff “shape” assumptions are used to define targets for reservoir simulation; and, implications of using “climate change” seasonal water supply forecasts
• (re: Work Plan Task 3.3) Variable Energy Content Curves (VECCs) (Nancy Stephan, BPA) – description of how VECCs are developed for reservoir simulation and their relation to seasonal water supply forecasts
• (re: Work Plan Task 3.4) Demonstration Analyses of Operations and Reservoir Regulation using both Hybrid-scenario and Transient Climate Projections (Levi Brekke, Reclamation) – simulation plans and what we hope to learn

Group Discussion and Looking Ahead (Seshu Vaddey, USACE)

• Summary of the Day
  (messages heard, additional reactions?)
• Review of Related Efforts
  ( invite attending parties to brief group on related efforts (project summary, status, how their effort relates to this Work Plan, collaboration opportunities?)
• Work Plan Implementation (Levi Brekke)
  (Schedule Preview, highlight opportunities for stakeholder input during implementation, describe peer review process at end of Work Plan)
• Work Plan Finalization - External Review
  (Inviting (a) general comments on the Work Plan, and (b) sharing of opportunities to collaborate with related efforts in the region and request that comments be returned by July 10 (nlstephan@bpa.gov)