A Comprehensive Approach to Balancing Water for Fish and People

摘要

The Catawba-Wateree river basin is a highly regulated system in North Carolina and South Carolina that includes 11 main-stem reservoirs and four regulated riverine reaches. The reservoirs support typical southeastern U.S. warmwater fisheries, while the riverine reaches support a variety of species, including trout and several diadromous fishs. The reservoirs and regulated river reaches provide multiple uses, including hydroelectric generation, drinking water, cooling water for electric power plants,recreation, and residential development. As part of the relicensing process for the hydroelectric developments, many stakeholders were convened to study and negotiate a comprehensive relicensing agreement. A computer model was used to assess the combinedeffects of various operating regimes, water-use amounts, and hydrologic conditions on reservoir levels, river flows, and hydroelectric generation. The model used projections of the effects of increased population growth, water use, and reservoir sedimentation for a period 50 years into the future. Model outputs were postprocessed to further understand the impacts to aquatic habitat, recreation, aesthetics, hydropower generation, and water supply. Although future demand for water resources exceeded theavailable supply under some conditions, an acceptable balance was reached after extensive negotiation. The objectives of this paper are to describe how the relicensing process was used to arrive at a balanced management plan for water and other resources in a large basin, describe some of the tools used to assist the decision-making process, and to list some important lessons that can assist others in designing a framework for other water allocation efforts.