RIVER HYDROPOWER OPERATIONSWater Quality Plan • July 29th, 2005
There are 15 major dams on the 1,214 mile long Columbia River, including four storage facilities on the Upper-Columbia River in Canada. The Rocky Reach Hydroelectric Project, located on river mile 473.7, is the eighth dam upstream from the river’s mouth and one of four non-federal installations located on the Mid-Columbia River (Figure 1). The operation of these Mid- Columbia dams is managed in accordance with international and regional agreements to address everything from flood control and environmental priorities to management of electric generation in a manner that ensures the most efficient use of coordinated resources. These agreements, in conjunction with the location and design of the run-of-river Rocky Reach dam, relegate it to a largely passive role in river operations. This paper provides an overview of these agreements and defines ho w Rocky Reach Project system operations are influenced by the requirements of each.
