Nalcor Inflow Vista project

Inflow Forecasting for Muskrat Falls Flood Management

Nalcor Energy

|

Canada

|

2014

Automatic data acquisition and inflow forecasting.
Scheduled dam construction at reduced cost.
Improved worker safety at dam site.

Challenge

  • During the construction of the Lower Churchill hydroelectric project in Labrador, Canada, Nalcor Energy needed to properly manage scheduling at the site. 
  • The Churchill Falls Generating Station has plant outflows ranging from 1,000 m3/s overnight to 3,000 m3/s during the day, so accurate inflow forecasts were also needed. 
  • The outflows significantly impact water volume at the Muskrat Falls dam site and the lower river, where peak spring flows can be as high as 6,500 m3/s. 
  • A software tool that could both manage the construction schedule and provide accurate forecasts of inflow volumes, especially during the spring runoff, was needed.

Solutions

  • Set up and calibrated the inflow Vista module of Vista DSS™ for the lower Churchill River. 
  • The set up included six subwatersheds. 
  • Flow released from the upstream Churchill Falls hydroelectric generation station on the Churchill River (which constitutes a large portion of the river flow at Muskrat Falls), is represented in the model.

Highlights

  • Vista produces continuous inflow forecasts that are updated daily, and route flows down the Churchill River to the Muskrat Falls project. 
  • Vista also projects outflows and water levels at the Muskrat Falls dam site. 
  • For short-term inflow forecasts, Vista features automatic access of real-time hydrometric and weather data, snow course data, and pertinent meteorological forecast data. 
  • To assess the risk of the river flow flooding the construction site, extended streamflow prediction forecasts are generated periodically using observed and historical temperature and precipitation data. 
 

Project numbers

6 sub-watersheds
6,500 m3/s peak spring flows
1,000 m3/s outflows overnight to 3000 m3/s during the day

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