Reclamation Honored for Technological Achievement at Shasta Dam
WASHINGTON, D.C.— The National Hydropower Association today presented the Bureau of Reclamation with a 2002 Hydro Achievement Award in the category of Technical Solutions for its state-of-the-art Shasta Temperature Control Device. The award was announced during a breakfast ceremony at the association’s annual conference.
“The Bureau of Reclamation is to be saluted for tackling an issue of great import to the region with a solution of equal enormity,” said Marla Barnes, who served on the judging committee. “Protecting fisheries while producing hydroelectric power more efficiently is a win-win for California.”
“We are very pleased to be recognized for this special achievement,” said Kirk Rodgers, Regional Director, Mid-Pacific Region. “The Shasta Temperature Control Device represents a winning collaboration of technology, biology, and economics working to meet the needs of our customers and the environment.”
Completed in 1997, the TCD is a shutter-type structure designed to draw water from the deepest levels of Shasta Lake through the powerhouse turbines, maximizing power generation while at the same time providing life-producing cold water for threatened chinook salmon that spawn downstream in the Sacramento River. The device also improves dissolved oxygen and turbidity levels in the river water and allows Reclamation to fulfill contractual obligations for both water delivery and power generation.
Previously, from 1987 to 1997, in order to provide the proper water temperature for salmon downstream, Reclamation released cold water through Shasta Dam’s low-level river outlets instead of passing this water through the hydro turbines. Approximately $65 million in power generation was foregone at Shasta after Reclamation began bypassing the power plant to meet downstream temperature objectives.
The temperature control device cost approximately $80 million to design and build. The 8,000-ton, 300-foot-tall steel-frame structure is connected to the upstream face of the dam. A series of gates allows for the withdrawal of water at various lake levels, which helps operators to optimize release water temperatures. The Shasta TCD, along with modifications in Central Valley Project operations, is aimed at controlling water temperatures in the upper Sacramento River to maintain optimum river conditions for salmon recovery while generating power in the 629-megawatt-capacity powerplant. From 1998 through 2001, Shasta generated an average of 2,200 gigawatt-hours of energy per year, which supplied power to more than 733,000 people.
Shasta Dam is a major feature of Reclamation’s CVP and is located on the Sacramento River just northwest of Redding, California. Shasta Lake has a storage capacity of 4.5 million acre-feet and provides water for urban, agricultural, power, and environmental benefits and flood control.
The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers received an Honorable Mention in the category of Technological Solutions for developing its Second Powerhouse Juvenile Fish Bypass System Improvements at the Bonneville Dam. In the category of Public Education, Tacoma Power was recognized for its “Penstock Pals” program. And, Hydro-Quebec took first prize in the Recreational Stewardship for its efforts along Quebec’s Saint-Maurice River.
Begun in 1994,the Hydro Achievement Awards recognize members of the hydroelectric community who have demonstrated exemplary river stewardship, applied resourcefulness and creativity to meeting the challenges of development and shown an uncompromising commitment to championing hydropower as a vital component of the country’s energy future.
The National Hydropower Association is a non-profit national trade association based in Washington, DC. It seeks to secure hydropower’s place as a clean, renewable and reliable energy source that serves national environmental and energy goals.