SAN DIEGO--(Business Wire)--A recently completed river-flow and reservoir management
demonstration project shows how a new technology can help California
generate more electricity and save water. The Integrated Forecast and
Management (INFORM) system has the potential to boost hydroelectric
production by up to 20% while increasing water supplies by up to 50%.
INFORM was developed by the Hydrologic Research Center (HRC), a San
Diego non-profit research organization, and the Georgia Water
Resources Institute (GWRI), in Atlanta, Georgia. The system used
extended weather models and decision management models covering a
network of Northern California reservoirs.
Growing concern over climate change inspired the INFORM project.
Climate change is expected to create even greater water management and
energy issues for California in the coming decades. The recent energy
crisis and ongoing water shortage highlight California's vulnerability
to heat waves and drought. As the climate continues to change, water
and power will be in ever shorter supply - yet demand will continue to
grow. Scientists have already seen a trend toward earlier onset of
spring - and less water from mountain snowmelt available in summer.
This troublesome trend is expected to accelerate according to an
assessment study of the climate impacts for California. As the United
Nations just concluded their climate summit in Bali, Indonesia without
any specific targets for reduction in greenhouse gases, California
must continue to seek ways it can both reduce its impact on global
warming and adapt to climate change. Technology, like the system
developed by HRC, will help California immensely. More hydropower
means less carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas responsible for the
warming trend.
Both the climate change assessment study and the demonstration
project completed by HRC were sponsored by the California Energy
Commission
(http://www.energy.ca.gov/pier/environmental/project_fact_sheets/
500-02-008.html). The INFORM project was also sponsored by the
California Bay Delta Authority and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration.
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About INFORM
The Integrated Forecast and Management (INFORM) project developed
by HRC and GWRI uses present-day weather, climate and hydrologic
forecasts of precipitation, temperature, snowmelt and runoff. The
INFORM system analyzes resulting flow into Northern California river
and reservoir systems, together with increased demand scenarios and
alternative management scenarios, for improved water-use efficiency. A
second phase of the project will start in spring 2008.
About the Hydrologic Research Center (HRC)
The Hydrologic Research Center (HRC) is a non-profit 501(c)(3)
corporation established in 1993 with a mandate of applying science for
solutions to societal problems involving water. For more information
on HRC and the INFORM project, contact Konstantine Georgakakos,
858-794-2726, kgeorgakakos@hrc-lab.org. Additional information can be
found on HRC's website: http://www.hrc-lab.org/giving/FFGS_index.php.
Hydrologic Research Center
Konstantine P. Georgakakos, Sc.D.
858-794-2726
kgeorgakakos@hrc-lab.org
Copyright Business Wire 2008
