Temperature and Flow Dynamics of the Klamath River

Technical Memorandum 7

Leon BasdekasMike Deas

Watercourse Engineering, Inc424 2nd Street, Suite B

Davis CA 95616

Modeling DomainLink Dam (RM 254)KR Keno

(RM 237)

KR Iron Gate (RM 190)

KR Seiad Valley (RM 129)

KR Orleans (RM 58)

KR Turwar(RM 5)

TR Hoopa(RM 12)

Pac

ific

Oce

an

TR Lewiston (RM 110)

Sac River Keswick (RM 301)

Focus of TM 7

Extent of Modeling Framework (PacifiCorp 2005a)

Link Dam (RM 254)KR Keno

(RM 237)

KR Iron Gate (RM 190)

KR Seiad Valley (RM 129)

KR Orleans (RM 58)

KR Turwar(RM 5)

TR Hoopa(RM 12)

Pac

ific

Oce

an

TR Lewiston (RM 110)

Sac River Keswick (RM 301)

Focus of TM 7

Extent of Modeling Framework (PacifiCorp 2005a)

Klamath River reaches represented by the global modeling framework and the current

area from Iron Gate Dam to Turwar

Modeling Tools

• The Research Management Associates (RMA) models were chosen for their ability to accurately simulate flow and transport in steep rivers.

• Flow is represented with RMA-2, a finite element hydrodynamic model capable of modeling highly dynamic flow regimes in short space- and time-steps. Output includes velocity, depth, and representative surface and bed areas which are passed to the water quality model RMA-11.

• RMA-11 is a finite element water quality model simulating temperature as well as the fate and transport of a wide range of physical, chemical, and biological constituents.

• These two linked river models are applied on hourly or sub-hourly time steps to capture the short-term response of state variables such as temperature. For this application, the RMA models are applied in one-dimension, representing variations along the longitudinal axis of the river.

Modifications Based on Prior Recommendations

• The RMA-11 code has been modified to allow for a bed conductance term in the heat budget consistent with Cole and Wells (2002) in response to a recommendation by USGS (Risley and Rounds, 2006); however, the model was generally insensitive to this change.

• Boundary conditions for minor tributaries below Iron Gate have been refined based on work by USGS (Flint and Flint 2005).

• Coincident with these updates, the model calibration has been updated and the new results are presented here.

Klamath River, Iron Gate Dam to Turwar Reach Geometry Summary

Node spacing 150 meters

Number of nodes

2082 nodes in length

Length 190.54 miles from RM 0.00-190.54

Elevations Range: 0-671 meters

Widths Range: 17-340 meters

Side slopes 1:1

Data sources UTM coordinates from CH2M HILL; Elevations estimated from USGS topographic maps

Notes n/a

Calibration and Validation Sites Along the Klamath River

LocationApproximate River

MileDistance Between

Locations

Klamath River below Iron Gate Dam 190.54 0.0

Klamath River above Shasta River 177.52 13.02

Klamath River above Scott River 143.86 33.66

Klamath River at Seiad Valley 129.04 14.82

Klamath River above Clear Creek 99.04 30

Klamath River at Orleans 57.58 41.46

Klamath River above Trinity River 43.33 14.25

Klamath River at Martins Ferry 39.5 3.83

Klamath River at Turwar 5.28 34.22

*Locations are associated with the river models RMA-2 and RMA-11

Summary Statistics for All Years in the Refined Calibration and the Updated

Validation: 2001-2004 (All Values in °C)

Location Mean Bias MAE RMSE

Klamath River below Iron Gate Dam -0.71 0.99 1.21

Klamath River above Shasta River -0.24 1.30 1.56

Klamath River above Scott River 0.14 1.21 1.44

Klamath River at Seiad Valley 0.58 1.01 1.23

Klamath River above Clear Creek 0.48 1.16 1.37

Klamath River at Orleans 0.32 1.00 1.23

Klamath River above Trinity River -0.01 0.91 1.12

Klamath River at Martins Ferry 0.04 0.56 0.70

Klamath River at Turwar 0.65 1.13 1.46

average 0.14 1.03 1.26

maximum 0.65 1.30 1.56

minimum -0.71 0.56 0.70

0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

12.00

5 30 55 80 105 130 155 180 205 230 255

River Mile

An

nu

al F

low

(M

AF

)

Trin

ity R

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Sal

mon

R.

Sco

tt R

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Sha

sta

R.

Iron

Gat

e D

am

J.C

. B

oyle

Dam

Ken

o D

am

Link

Dam

Cop

co D

am

Annual Runoff: 2000

0.00

2.00

4.00

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12.00

5 30 55 80 105 130 155 180 205 230 255

River Mile

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w (M

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)

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mon

R.

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tt R

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Sha

sta

R.

Iron

Gat

e D

am

J.C

. B

oyle

Dam

Ken

o D

am

Link

Dam

Cop

co D

am

Seasonal Flow: 2000

Winter

Spring

Summer

Fall

0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

12.00

5 30 55 80 105 130 155 180 205 230 255

River Mile

An

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Flo

w (

MA

F)

Tri

nity

R.

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lmo

n R

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Sco

tt R

.

Sh

ast

a R

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n G

ate

Da

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J.C

. Bo

yle

Da

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am

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pco

Da

m

Annual Flow: 2001

0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

12.00

5 30 55 80 105 130 155 180 205 230 255

River Mile

Flo

w (

MA

F)

Tri

nity

R.

Sa

lmo

n R

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tt R

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Sh

ast

a R

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Iro

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ate

Da

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J.C

. Bo

yle

Da

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en

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am

Lin

k D

am

Co

pco

Da

m

Seasonal Flow: 2001

Winter

Spring

Summer

Fall

Time Series of Hourly Water Temperature for the Klamath River at RM 150, Above Scott

River

RM 150

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

0 Jan30 Feb 29 Mar 30 Apr 29 May 29 Jun 28 Jul 28 Aug 27 Sep 26 Oct 26 Nov 25 Dec 24

Day

Tem

per

atu

re (

°C)

Longitudinal Profile of Daily Maximum, Mean, and Minimum Water Temperatures in

the Klamath River for February 15

Longitudinal Profile Plan View

12-13C13-1414-1515-1616-1717-18

Iron Gate Dam

Shasta River Scott River

Salmon River

.

Trinity R.

Turwar

Longitudinal Profile of the Klamath River on May 1

Longitudinal Profile of the Klamath River on June 1

Travel Time on the Klamath River on May 1

Shasta

Riv

er

Salm

on Riv

er

Scott River

Trinity

Riv

erRM 147.37

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

5152535455565758595105115125135145155165175185

River Mile

Ho

urs

Mean Node

Travel time on the Klamath River on June 1

RM 153.31

Shasta

Riv

er

Salm

on Riv

er

Scott River

Trinity

Riv

er

0

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40

60

80

100

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140

160

5152535455565758595105115125135145155165175185

River Mile

Ho

urs

Mean Node

Travel time on the Klamath River on September 1

Shasta

Riv

er

Salm

on Riv

er

Scott River

Trinity

Riv

er

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

5152535455565758595105115125135145155165175185

River Mile

Ho

urs

Mean

Six Proposed Mainstem Reaches for the Klamath River Coho Life-Cycle Model

Conclusions

• Flow and temperature model has been refined, calibrated and validated.

• Model performance is good and the tool is ready for specific applications.

• The river experiences variability longitudinally and seasonally

• Iron Gate Dam is limited in its ability to regulate temperature and flow throughout the entire lower Klamath River.