us army corps of engineers building strong ® usace – acf operations bailey crane water management...

US Army Corps of Engineers

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USACE – ACF Operations

Bailey CraneWater ManagementUSACE, Mobile District

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Mobile District Basins

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Conduct water management activities for Corps reservoirs

Supervise flood control Technical assistance Exchange data with National

Weather Service and provide information to District elements

Operation of rainfall and river reporting network

Maintain project data Preparation/revision of water

control manuals Develop hydrologic models

Water Management – USACE Perspective

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Water Management Staff

Supervisory Hydraulic Engineer

4 Hydraulic Engineers

1 Engineer Interns

1 Hydrologic Technician

Office staffed 365 days/year (limited hours on weekends)

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Lake Lanier

West Point Lake

Walter F. George Lake

Andrews L&D

Lake Seminole/Woodruff Dam

Flint River

Chattahoochee River

Apalachicola River

The ACF Basin

Buford Dam and Lake Sidney Lanier

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Recreation

Water Quality

Hydropower

Navigation

Project Purposes and Demands

Municipal &Industrial

Environmental

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ACF Major Water Users

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Minimum Flows on the ACF

5000 cfsApalachicola R. at

Chattahoochee

750 cfsat Peachtree Ck

670 cfsbelow West Point

• Lanier and West Point have instantaneous flow requirements; Jim Woodruff has a daily average flow requirement

• Peachtree Creek

• Minimum flow below Jim Woodruff varies with RIOP rules

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ACF BasinACF BasinBasin Storage

When Full:

62.5% - Lake Lanier

17.6% - West Point

14% - W. F. George

ACF StorageACF Storage

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ACF Drainage AreaACF Drainage Area Lanier1040 Miles2

West Point2210 Miles2

WF George4080 Miles2

Jim Woodruff9770 Miles2

Only 6% of Drainage Area!

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What Does This Mean?

ReFill Rate Compared to Lanier

0.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

8.0

Rat

io t

o L

anie

r

Series1 1.0 3.5 3.2 7.5

Lake Lanier West Point W.F. George Lake Seminole

100 MW

West Point and WF GeorgeWill fill 3 ½ time faster than Lanier

If the reservoirs did not release a drop of Water

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Current System Drivers

“Balanced System” Operations

State water quality flow requirement near Peachtree Creek on Chattahoochee River

Revised Interim Operating Plan (RIOP)

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State Water Quality Requirement

State Water Quality Requirement

1,100- 1,500 cfs minimum release to meet Metro-Atlanta 750/650-cfs WQ

flow

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Revised Interim Operating Plan Dictates operations based on basin inflow and

releases from Jim Woodruff Dam

Year-round operations to support flow needs for sturgeon spawning, young sturgeon, mussels, and host fish for mussels

Minimize or avoid impacts of low flow operations on listed species or critical habitat

Provide for storage when water is more plentiful to allow for future augmentation during low flows in support of mussels

Minimize impact to other project purposes

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RIOP Operations-Release Decision Matrix

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How Did We Get Here?

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Historic Low Flows on the Flint

Most flows below the 10th percentile during late August and September

Daily record lows at numerous gages on many days

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Woodruff Discharge vs Basin Inflow

Woodruff Discharge

7 Day Basin Inflow

5,000 CFS Minimum Release

Flow supplemented with storage

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Forecasting Lake LevelsQPF’s

CPC Precip Outlooks

SERFC River Forecasts

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Forecasting Lake Levels

Short term forecasts use QPF’s and river flow forecasts NWS, SERFC

Long term forecast based on predicted climate conditions and forecasted percent of normal rainfall Climate Prediction Center

Flood forecasts use QPF’s, river flow forecasts, and data collected by project personnel.

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Lake Lanier► Authorized by PL 79-525► Completed 1957► Authorized Project Purposes

Flood Control Hydropower

Water Quality Water Supply

Recreation Navigation

Fish & Wildlife

Top of Flood Pool Elev 1085

Top of Conservation (summer) Elev 1071

Top of Conservation (winter) Elev 1070

Current Pool Elev 1058.3

Feet Below Full (Winter Pool) 11.7 ft

Plant Capacity 127 MW

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Lake Lanier-5 Week Forecast

1035.00

1040.00

1045.00

1050.00

1055.00

1060.00

1065.00

1070.00

1075.00 Lanier Action Zones and Actual 2011 Elevations

Top of Conservation

Zone 1

Zone 2

Zone 3

Zone 4

Bottom of Conservation

Elevation in FT NGVD

1-Jan 1-Feb 1-Mar 1-Apr 1-May 1-Jun 1-Jul 1-Aug 1-Sep 1-Oct 1-Nov 1-Dec

Record Low Elevations 1960-2010

Actual data thru November 28, 2011

2011 Actual Elevation Forecast Elevation Historical Average Elevation Record Low Elevation (1960-2010)

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► Authorized by PL 87-874► Completed 1975► Authorized Project Purposes

Flood Control Hydro Power

Recreation Water Quality

Navigation Fish/Wildlife

Top of Flood Pool Elev 641

Top of Gates (closed) Elev 638




Feet Below Full (Winter Pool) 5 feet


West Point

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West Point-5 Week Forecast

620.00

622.00

624.00

626.00

628.00

630.00

632.00

634.00

636.00

638.00

640.00West Point Action Zones and Actual 2011 ElevationsElevation in FT MSL

Top of Conserva-tion

Zone 1

Zone 2

Zone 3

Zone 4

Bottom of Conservation



2011 Actual Elevation Forecast Elevation Historical Average Elevation

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► Authorized by PL 79-525► Completed 1963► Authorized Project Purposes

Hydro Power Water Quality

Recreation Fish/Wildlife

Navigation

Top of Flood Pool NA

Top of Gates (closed) Elev 192




Feet Below Full (Winter Pool) 3.3 ft


Walter F. George

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Walter F. George-5 Week Forecast

184.00

185.00

186.00

187.00

188.00

189.00

190.00

191.00

192.00W.F. George Action Zones and Actual 2011 ElevationsElevation in FT MSL

Zone 1

Zone 2

Zone 3

Zone 4


Bottom of Con-servation

Top of Conservation


2011 Actual Elevation Forecast Elevation Historical Average Elevation

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1-Jan 1-Feb 1-Mar 1-Apr 1-May 1-Jun 1-Jul 1-Aug 1-Sep 1-Oct 1-Nov 1-Dec -

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1,400,000

1,600,000

1,800,000

0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1,400,000

1,600,000

1,800,000

2011 ACF Basin Composite Conservation & Flood Storage

Co

mp

osi

te C

on

serv

atio

n &

Flo

od

Sto

rag

e, (

ac-f

t)

Top of Conservation

Drought Zone

Composite Zone 3

Composite Zone 2

Composite Zone 1

Composite Zone 4

Actual data through 11-28-2011

George ConservationWest Point ConservationLake Lanier Conservation

George Flood StorageWest Point Flood StorageLake Lanier Flood Storage

Add value of 1,856,000 acre-ft to include inactive storage.

Remaining Composite Storage in the ACF

5 Week Forecast

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Long-Term Outlook

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3 Month Precipitation Outlook

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Long-Term Forecasts

Developed using ACF ResSim Baseline Model

Based on percentile flows of entire period of record

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Lake Lanier – 3 Month Forecast

2011 Observed Elevations10th Percentile Hydrology25th Percentile Hydrology50th Percentile Hydrology

Top of Conservation

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West Point -3 Month Forecast


Top of Conservation

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Walter F. George - 3 Month Forecast


Top of Conservation

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Summary

Conditions for the upcoming fall and spring are forecast to be drier than normal as La Nina conditions persist

Full refill of storage projects on the ACF is unlikely for the upcoming year

The Corps will take advantage of opportunities to store water while meeting basin-wide needs and project purposes

us army corps of engineers building strong ® usace – acf operations bailey crane water management...

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