Increasing Flows to Save Fish Will Not Hinder Hydropower
Press release from the California Water Impact Network
In a recent letter to the State water Resources Control Board, several California utilities commented on the agency’s proposed updates to the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan. The plan lists several management alternatives, including some that would increase freshwater flows through the San Francisco Bay-Sacramento River/San Joaquin River Delta Estuary. Such flows are necessary to bring California’s once mighty salmon runs back from the brink of extinction: the fish need clean, cold water delivered at critical times of the year to survive.The utilities, however, claim enhanced “unimpaired” flows are a horrible idea.
The California Municipal Utilities Associations stated that increased cold water flows from the state’s reservoirs “…would reduce the reliability of California’s grid by requiring dam owners to release water in the spring, leaving less water for hydroelectric generation to offset peak demand in the summer…” The CMUA letter also maintains hydroelectric generation is critical during multi-year year droughts to ease pressure on the grid during heat waves.
In its comment letter, PG&E expressed the same objections, adding ominously that “…The loss in carbon-free generation will be replaced by natural gas generation with significant carbon emissions.”
The utilities are wrongfully framing the issue as a zero-sum game, insisting any serious attempt to save the salmon will result in drastic cuts to power generation. Presenting such false choices as fact do nothing to either guarantee a secure electrical grid or restore our public trust fisheries.
Hydropower, in fact, plays a relatively small role in California’s electricity generation schematics. On an annual basis, it supplies from 5% to 13%, but the variability year-to-year is great. During wet years, the figure is higher. But during droughts, the amount of electricity produced by the turbines located at our major dams is minuscule.
California’s foremost major energy problem isn’t hydropower capacity: it’s providing enough power – from all sources – during peak demand days. Not surprisingly, the worst such days occur during extended droughts when hydropower availability is low.
Both state and federal law require cold water releases from our major reservoirs to maintain salmon in “good condition.” That’s not the most important reason for challenging the utilities on their rejection of increased flows, however: more compelling is the simple fact that denying salmon the cold water they need will do nothing to change California’s energy calculus. As noted, hydropower is a minor contributor to the state’s energy mix even when reservoirs are brimming. To ensure a more efficient and resilient grid, we need a broader, more inclusive, more nuanced approach to power production and demand.
This goal should be prioritized as we enter an era of accelerated and unprecedented climate change. We can expect dramatic swings between drought and wet – sometimes disastrously wet – years. Hydropower reliability will degrade; in some years, the turbines will hum, but in other years they’ll fall silent. For true security, California needs a mix of sustainable and renewable energy sources and storage infrastructure.
The utilities’ opposition to enhanced flows isn’t about ensuring energy security. We can have our fish and our electricity too – we just can’t let the utility companies kill fish and suborn policymakers working toward a sustainable energy future.
