C3A_Hickey - Riversymposium

Software to help define environmental flows:
The Regime Prescription Tool (HEC-RPT)
US Army Corps
of Engineers
John Hickey
Water Resource Systems Division
CEIWR-HEC-WR

Willamette River Basin - Sustainable Rivers Project
Fall 2007 -
Spring 2008
February
2006
June to
December
2006
Richter, Warner, Meyer, and Lutz. 2006.
A collaborative and adaptive process for
developing environmental flows. River
Research and Applications 22:297-318.
January
2007

Willamette Enviro Flow Workshop

Willamette Enviro Flow Workshop
Full Group
Aquatics
(fish, others)
Riparian Veg
& Floodplains
Floods/pulses
Low Flows
Floods/pulses
Low Flows
Flow Components:
•Flood Flows
•Pulse Flows
•Low Flows
Unified Floods/pulses
Unified Low Flows
Unified Flow
Requirements
Floods/pulses defined by:
•Purpose •Duration
•Magnitude •Rate of Change
•Frequency •Contingencies
•Timing •Uncertainties
…over 40 scientists, engineers, and natural resource managers - working
to reach consensus on a set of flow requirements in only two days…

HEC-RPT (Regime Prescription Tool)
Help different interest groups reach consensus
about how rivers should be managed

Phase 1 – Setting up the project
Phase 2 – Use it to help build environmental flows

Create “Systems”

Import Data

Looking at river flows

Looking at river flows

Looking at river flows

Looking at river flows

Looking at river flows

Looking at river flows

Looking at river flows

Define the “States”

Define the “States”

Ready to Build Flows

Phase 1 – Setting up the project
Phase 2 – Use RPT to help build environmental flows

Building Low Flows

Building Low Flows

Building High Flows

Building High Flows

Compare Patterns

Compare Patterns

Compare Patterns

Complete Export…

…for analyses with other Software
HEC-RAS
HEC-HMS
HEC-ResSim
HEC-DSSVue
HEC-EFM
HEC-PRM
River Hydraulics
Surface Water Hydrology
Reservoir Operations
Data Management and Use
Ecosystem Functions
Water Resource Optimization
Cottonwood Recruitment
Mayfly Habitat

Conclusions
• Designed to help different interest groups reach
consensus about how rivers should be managed
– Electronically trace flow recommendations
– Quick comparisons to historical data
– Helpful in showing patterns of river flow
– Compare recommendations from different stakeholders
– Export recommendations to DSS for more detailed analyses
• First joint software development project by the Corps
of Engineers and The Nature Conservancy
• New tool…Willamette River, USA, Rio Patuca, Honduras
• Available free of cost (www.hec.usace.army.mil and
www.nature.org/initiatives/freshwater/conservationtools/hecrpt.html)