IEA Hydropower Implementing Agreement Annex VIII - Hydropower Good Practices:Good Practice Case Study • October 24th, 2006
This Good Practice illustrates a successful case study of habitat restoration and hydropower optimization. During the period of late 1980s to the mid-1990s, the Bureau of Reclamation spilled cold water through Shasta Dam’s low-level river outlets to provide proper water temperatures for salmon downstream, instead of passing water through the hydro turbines. A Temperature Control Device (TCD), with a unique selective withdrawal system that routes water through Shasta Powerhouse, has provided the answer to maintaining the required water temperature for fish and at the same time, generating clean inexpensive electricity. An aerial view of the TCD, Shasta Dam and power plant is shown in Figure 1.
