Figure 1
Conceptual schematic of RColSim and the six major sub-basins that RColSim simulates.
Figure 2
Code architecture of RColSim.
Figure 3
Seasonality of system operation and rule curve selection process for operation of the Columbia River Basin. Each week one of these rule curves is selected for the operation of each dam in the CRB water system. Overall, water stored behind dams cannot be more than the flood control URCs. In terms of the minimum operation level (CRC and ORCLL), the rule curves cannot drop below the dam water level during the worst historical water supply year.
Figure 4
Simulated vs. observed long-term mean change in reservoir storage by calendar month, post-processed from on the original weekly time step simulation from 1979 to 2007.
Table 1
Performance metrics for RColSim simulated vs. observed monthly dam outflow. These metrics include the Pearson Correlation Coefficient (r), Mean Error (ME), Kling-Gupta Efficiency (KGE), Normalized Root Mean Square of Error (NRMSE), and Volumetric Efficiency (VE). The simulation period is from August 1979 to September 2007. The original simulation time step was weekly, which was aggregated to monthly to construct this table. The table also provides information about dam location in the basin and acronyms used in RColSim to refer to each dam.
| DAM NAME | BASIN | RColSim_names | ME | NRMSE% | r | KGE | VE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bonneville | Lower Columbia | BON | 2497.94 | 54.3 | 0.88 | 0.81 | 0.85 |
| The Dalles | Lower Columbia | DA | 2511.92 | 52.4 | 0.88 | 0.83 | 0.85 |
| John Day | Lower Columbia | JD | 1941.09 | 52.8 | 0.88 | 0.83 | 0.85 |
| McNary | Lower Columbia | MCN | 2456.03 | 52.9 | 0.88 | 0.84 | 0.84 |
| Libby | Kootenay | LB | –384.66 | 114.4 | 0.39 | 0.39 | 0.51 |
| Bonners Ferry | Kootenay | BONF | –574.7 | 105.3 | 0.49 | 0.48 | 0.62 |
| Corra Linn | Kootenay | CL | –1256.83 | 63.8 | 0.81 | 0.8 | 0.78 |
| Duncan | Kootenay | DU | –166.57 | 88.4 | 0.57 | 0.55 | 0.48 |
| Brownlee | Snake River | BR | 737.65 | 90.2 | 0.78 | 0.52 | 0.6 |
| Dworshak | Snake River | DW | 376.35 | 121.6 | 0.34 | 0.33 | 0.35 |
| Hells Canyon | Snake River | HC | 758.84 | 86.1 | 0.8 | 0.54 | 0.62 |
| Ice Harbor | Snake River | IH | –362.35 | 40.2 | 0.93 | 0.87 | 0.8 |
| Little Goose | Snake River | LIG | 2463.91 | 45.3 | 0.93 | 0.78 | 0.78 |
| Lower Monumental | Snake River | LM | 2603.76 | 45.2 | 0.93 | 0.78 | 0.79 |
| Lower Granite | Snake River | LG | 2068.19 | 45.1 | 0.93 | 0.79 | 0.79 |
| Grand Coulee | Mid-Columbia | GC | –3569.27 | 81.8 | 0.67 | 0.67 | 0.81 |
| Priest Rapids | Mid-Columbia | PR | 1786.24 | 71 | 0.77 | 0.76 | 0.82 |
| Rock Island | Mid-Columbia | RI | 1645.69 | 70.2 | 0.77 | 0.76 | 0.83 |
| Rocky Reach | Mid-Columbia | RR | 1645.91 | 73.7 | 0.75 | 0.74 | 0.82 |
| Wanapum | Mid-Columbia | WA | 1599.91 | 70.3 | 0.77 | 0.76 | 0.83 |
| Wells | Mid-Columbia | WE | 1639.44 | 75.2 | 0.74 | 0.73 | 0.82 |
| Chief Joseph | Mid-Columbia | CJ | 1547.78 | 81.2 | 0.69 | 0.69 | 0.81 |
| Albeni Falls | Pend Oreille | AF | –1068.71 | 49.1 | 0.87 | 0.8 | 0.78 |
| Boundary | Pend Oreille | BD | –941.56 | 46.9 | 0.89 | 0.84 | 0.79 |
| Cabinet | Pend Oreille | CB | –840.27 | 43.3 | 0.9 | 0.83 | 0.77 |
| Hungry Horse | Pend Oreille | HH | –89.69 | 141.5 | 0.11 | 0.1 | 0.27 |
| Kerr | Pend Oreille | KE | –252.83 | 79.4 | 0.64 | 0.6 | 0.66 |
| Noxon Rapids | Pend Oreille | NOX | –774.48 | 45.2 | 0.89 | 0.81 | 0.76 |
| Mica | Upper Columbia | MI | –904.03 | 83.8 | 0.61 | 0.59 | 0.67 |
| Revelstoke | Upper Columbia | REV | –1173.34 | 95.3 | 0.53 | 0.52 | 0.75 |
| Keenleyside (Arrow) | Upper Columbia | AR | –2359.78 | 93.4 | 0.56 | 0.56 | 0.7 |
Figure 5
Incremental drainage areas for each dam simulated in RColSim. The red triangles mark the location of dams with reservoirs, and the black stars indication the location of run-of-river dams. The light gray boundaries delineate the incremental drainage area between downstream and immediately upstream dam(s).
| Description | Abbreviation | |
| 1 | Columbia River Basin | CRB |
| 2 | No-Regulation, No-Irrigation | NRNI |
| 3 | Bonneville Power Administration | BPA |
| 4 | Critical Rule Curve | CRC |
| 5 | Operating Rule Curves Lower Limit | ORCLL |
| 6 | Upper Rule Curve | URC |
| 7 | Assured Rule Curve | ARC |
| 8 | Variable Rule Curve | VRC |
| 9 | Pearson Correlation Coefficient | r |
| 10 | Mean Error | ME |
| 11 | Kling-Gupta Efficiency | KGE |
| 12 | Normalized Root Mean Square of Error | NRMSE |
| 13 | Volumetric Efficiency | VE |