Multiobjective Portfolio Analysis of Dam Removals Addressing Dam Safety, Fish Populations, and Cost

Zheng, Pearl Q.; Hobbs, Benjamin F.

doi:10.1061/(asce)wr.1943-5452.0000209

Cited by 24 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…The approach is noteworthy for the combined use of optimization, multicriteria analysis, simulation and habitat suitability modelling. Zheng and Hobbs () consider a similar type of multi‐objective framework, focusing, in particular, on dam safety issues.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimal Fish Passage Barrier Removal—Revisited

King

O’Hanley

2014

River Research & Apps

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Infrastructure, such as dams, weirs and culverts, disrupt the longitudinal connectivity of rivers, causing adverse impacts on fish and other aquatic species. Improving fish passage at artificial barriers, accordingly, can be an especially effective and economical river restoration option. In this article, we propose a novel, mixed integer programing model for optimizing barrier mitigation decisions given a limited budget. Rather than simply treating barriers as being impassable or not, we consider the more general case in which barriers may be partially passable. Although this assumption normally introduces nonlinearity into the problem, we manage to formulate a linear model via the use of probability chains, a newly proposed technique from the operations research literature. Our model is noteworthy in that it can be readily implemented and solved using off-the-shelf optimization modelling software. Using a case study from the US State of Maine, we demonstrate that the model is highly efficient in comparison with existing solution methods and, moreover, highly scalable in that large problems with many thounsands of barriers can still be solved optimally. Our analysis confirms that barrier mitigation can provide substantial ecological gains for migratory fish at low levels of investment.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimal Fish Passage Barrier Removal—Revisited

King

O’Hanley

2014

River Research & Apps

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“…This converson is usually done by applying weights to each objective to create one overall objective (the weighting method) or by converting some objectives into constraints (the constraint method) (Cohon 1978;Louie et al 1984;de Neufville 1990). Both methods have been applied in similar problems (Kuby et al 2005;Zheng and Hobbs 2012;Louie et al 1984).…”

Section: The Constraint Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multi-Purpose Optimization for Reconciliation Ecology on an Engineered Floodplain--Yolo Bypass, California, USA

Grimm

Lund²

2016

SFEWS

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Floodplains in California and elsewhere are productive natural habitats with high levels of biodiversity, yet today they are often permanently disconnected from rivers by urban or agricultural development and flood management structures. This disconnection poses a threat to many native fish, bird and other species that evolved to take advantage of seasonal floodplain inundation. The traditional restoration approach to this problem is to recreate historical floodplain by restoring natural hydrologic and successional processes. However levees, dams, and development have made this largely impossible in much of the developed world. Reconciliation ecology recognizes this limitation, and encourages instead the re-engineering of human dominated landscapes to allow for coexistence of native species and human uses. Flood control bypasses are particularly promising places to reconcile historical fish and bird uses of floodplain habitats with human uses. However, the reconciliation approach requires nuanced management of a complex system. Using the Yolo Basin flood bypass in California's Central Valley as an example, this study develops formal multi-objective optimization to help planners identify management options that best improve habitat quality for fish and birds with minimal costs to farmers or wetland managers. Models like the one developed here can integrate large amounts of data and knowledge, and offer an explicit accounting of relationships and trade-offs between different objectives. This is especially useful in reconciliation planning, where many uses and variables interact on a landscape, and deliberate re-engineering requires consideration of many decisions simultaneously. Initial results suggest that modest land-use changes and inundation management strategies can significantly improve seasonal bird and fish habitat quality at little cost to farmers or other human land uses. The model applications demonstrate the usefulness of multi-objective optimization in reconciling managed floodplains, and provide a framework for integrating new knowledge and testing varying assumptions to improve management over time.

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“…Zheng and Hobbs (2013) and Zheng et al (2009) develop a multi-objective portfolio analysis (MPA) framework as a tool for selecting dams for removal. For an application to the Lake Erie basin, the framework considers: (1) ecological impact of dam removal based on walleye recruitment, (2) risks based on dam age, safety inspection record, and hazard potential classification, and (3) economic costs including dam removal, lost revenue from the dam service, and need for sea lamprey mitigation following removal.…”

Section: Stakeholder Engagement Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Planning and implementing small dam removals: lessons learned from dam removals across the eastern United States

Tonitto

Riha

2016

Sustain. Water Resour. Manag.

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We review and build on a growing literature assessing small dam removal outcomes to inform future dam removal planning. Small dams that have exceeded their expected duration of operation and are no longer being maintained are at risk of breach. The past two decades have seen a number of small dam removals, though many removals remain unstudied and poorly documented. We summarize socio-economic and biophysical lessons learned during the past two decades of accelerated activity regarding small dam removals throughout the United States. We present frameworks for planning and implementing removals developed by interdisciplinary engagement. Toward the goal of achieving thorough dam removal planning, we present outcomes from well-documented small dam removals covering ecological, chemical, and physical change in rivers post-dam removal, including field observation and modeling methodologies. Guiding principles of a dam removal process should include: (1) stakeholder engagement to navigate the complexity of watershed landuse, (2) an impacts assessment to inform the planning process, (3) pre-and post-dam removal observations of ecological, chemical and physical properties, (4) the expectation that there are short-and long-term ecological dynamics with population recovery depending on whether dam impacts were largely related to dispersion or to habitat destruction, (5) an expectation that changes in watershed chemistry are dependent on sediment type, sediment transport and watershed landuse, and 6) rigorous assessment of physical changes resulting from dam removal, understanding that alteration in hydrologic flows, sediment transport, and channel evolution will shape ecological and chemical dynamics, and shape how stakeholders engage with the watershed.

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Multiobjective Portfolio Analysis of Dam Removals Addressing Dam Safety, Fish Populations, and Cost

Cited by 24 publications

References 26 publications

Optimal Fish Passage Barrier Removal—Revisited

Optimal Fish Passage Barrier Removal—Revisited

Multi-Purpose Optimization for Reconciliation Ecology on an Engineered Floodplain--Yolo Bypass, California, USA

Planning and implementing small dam removals: lessons learned from dam removals across the eastern United States

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