Event

SCIENCE TALK: Storing and Managing Water for the Environment Is More Efficient Than Mimicking Natural Flows

A Priority-based Water Balance Operations Model and a Reservoir Temperature Model

Time
- America/Toronto
Details
Open to public

Dams and reservoirs are often needed to provide environmental water and maintain suitable water temperatures for downstream ecosystems. In this talk, Professor Sara Null will examine whether water allocated to the environment, with storage to manage it, might allow environmental water to more reliably meet ecosystem objectives than a proportion of natural flow. Among other approaches, she will focus on using a priority-based water balance operations model and a reservoir temperature model to explore the pass-through of a portion of reservoir inflow versus allocating a portion of storage capacity and inflow for downstream flow and stream temperature objectives. She will justify that storage provides the ability to manage release timing to use water efficiently for environmental benefit, with the co-benefit of increasing reservoir storage to protect cold water at reservoir depth.
 

Join the event

 

sarah Null

Prof. Sarah Null
Lead, Environmental Water Management
UNU-INWEH
 

 

Related content

News

ProSPER.Net Sustainability Forum Marks World Environment Day 2025

The event explored how universities can embed sustainability in their teaching, research and operations.

17 Jun 2025

Media Coverage

Launch of RCE Ningbo Featured in Chinese Media

Several Chinese media featured the newly established Regional Centre of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development in Ningbo, China.

13 Jun 2025