Considerations for Retrofitting Large Dams for Hydropower

Schmitt, Robert W.; Varga, Laszlo; ,

Considerations for Retrofitting Large Dams for Hydropower

by Robert W. Schmitt, US Army Engineer District, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,
Laszlo Varga, US Army Engineer District, Pittsburgh, PA, USA,

Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Water Power '87

Abstract:

The majority of large dams which are currently being retrofitted for hydropower are either flood-control impoundments or navigation structures. In the Ohio River Division of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, these dams operate with scheduled releases or are run-of-the river types. In both cases, fairly smooth or gradual-changing discharges are provided to downstream channels. To remain environmentally acceptable, it is intended that these discharge modes will continue after the addition of power. Other concerns, which are not so easily addressed, are: associated backwater effects; changed stage-discharge relationships; supervisory controls; reaeration; maintaining good navigational access to locks; minimum flows over fixed-crest river dams and drawdown effects upstream thereof; flashboards; integral structural modifications; independent site consideration; stacked projects; pumped storage; selective withdrawal; and other environmental problems.

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