Water Operations And Maintenance Bulletin - Usbr.gov

Damages to the Markley Cove Marina & Boatcaused by the 2020 Lightning Complex Fire atReclamation’s Lake Berryessa.Preparing for and MitigatingWildland FireJohn HutchingsRegional Wildland Fire Coordinator, California-Great Basin Regional OfficeWildfires are a natural phenomenon in Californiaand are essential to the health and regenerationof its ecosystems. Historically, wildfires caused bylightning and volcanic activity would periodicallysweep through California’s landscapes, regeneratingforests by clearing underbrush, returning nutrientsto the soil, removing dead and diseased vegetation,and aiding in seed germination for fire-dependentflora. These periodic fires would prevent the overaccumulation of fire fuels, resulting in less intenseand destructive wildfires. Wildfires continued to playa natural role in California until the early 1900s,when Federal and state governments viewed fireas destructive to natural landscapes and adoptedaggressive fire exclusion policies to extinguishall natural and human-caused fire. Excludingfire from its natural ecological role has resultedin a vast increase in the accumulation of live,dead, and downed vegetation in the state’s forestsand brushlands.While wildfires are a natural part of California’slandscape, the fire season in California and across theWest is starting earlier and ending later each year,with climate change considered a key driver in thistrend. Warmer spring and summer temperatures,reduced snowpack, and earlier spring snowmelt createlonger and more intense dry seasons that increasemoisture stress on vegetation and make forestsmore susceptible to severe wildfires. Fire seasonhas increased by 75 days across the Sierra NevadaMountains, which seems to correspond with anincrease in the extent of forest fires across the state.The number of catastrophic wildfires has steadilyincreased over the last decade, with eight of the tenlargest recorded wildfires in California history havingoccurred between 2017 and 2021.Water Operations and Maintenance Bulletin5

Reclamation’s Auburn Project Lands before fuelsreduction activities.These fires can cause significant damage toReclamation’s land, infrastructure, and watershedsthat supply Reclamation reservoirs. Intense fireand post-fire watershed conditions can impact thequality, quantity, and timing of water entering thesereservoirs, which can impede Reclamation’s abilityto deliver water and power and adversely impactdownstream investments such as instream habitatrestoration projects.As wildfires become more intense, managing them hasbecome increasingly difficult, particularly as urbandevelopment continues to encroach into what was oncewildlands. Californians increasingly live near high-riskfire corridors, with residential neighborhoods spillinginto previously rural or remote areas. This transitionzone is known as the wildland-urban-interface (WUI)and greatly increases the risk wildland fire poses onhuman populations. Mixing fire-prone wildland areasand suburban development makes it difficult for fireto maintain its natural ecological role and presentschallenges for firefighters to protect life and property.The combination of increased fire fuel buildup onand urban development near Reclamation lands andwaterbodies has prompted Reclamation to take aproactive role in managing these lands to reduce thebuildup of hazardous fuels. To mitigate the impactsand reduce the severity of wildland fires, Reclamationengages in wildfire management activities (WFM)such as developing fire management plans for allburnable lands throughout the region and funding aRegional Wildland Fire Coordinator position to planand implement regional fire mitigation activities,including fuel breaks around its infrastructure and onReclamation lands in the WUI.6Winter 2021 / Issue 254Completed section of Auburn Shaded Fuel Break afterhazardous fuels reduction activities.A fuel break is a common pre-fire managementtechnique that provides opportunities for firefightingsuccess by modifying a vegetative arrangement tochange fuel composition. Fuel breaks are generallya wide strip of land on which vegetation has beenmodified so that a fire burning into it can be morereadily controlled. This is achieved through careful andstrategic thinning of dense vegetation so that wildfiredoes not easily move from the ground to the overheadtree canopy where fire intensifies and spreads rapidly.A fuel break does not stop a wildfire but increases thelikelihood of containing it by reducing the quantityand continuity of flammable vegetation.Reclamation’s ability to implement fire mitigationprojects and other WFM activities is significantlylimited by its funding capabilities. Reclamationis not currently one of the five dedicated Federalfirefighting agencies and is working to optimizethe program to take care of its assets and criticalinfrastructure. Because of this, fuel reduction projectsare implemented on Reclamation lands throughout theCalifornia-Great Basin (CGB) Region under an arrayof contracts, agreements, and partnerships with otherFederal, state, and local governments, including nongovernment agencies such as FireWise Communitiesand local Fire Safe Councils. These partners have ashared interest in mitigating fuel loads and post-fireimpacts on Reclamation lands to improve publicsafety and protect assets and resources within theirrespective communities from a wildfire originating onor burning through Reclamation lands. Funding andimplementing such projects is often obtained by thesestakeholders through grants, in-kind labor, and privatefiscal contributions.

Direct funding for WFM projects on Reclamationlands is primarily dedicated to CooperativeAgreements with the California Conservation Corpsand the California Department of Forestry and FireProtection’s inmate conservation camp program.These are Reclamation’s main labor sources forconstructing and maintaining nearly 5,000 acres ofcurrent and planned hazardous fuels reduction workthroughout CGB. Initial planning efforts have focusedon using these limited resources to protect vulnerablewater delivery and power generation infrastructureand on CGB wildlands adjacent to residential andcommercial development. Recent wildfire activityhas also prompted CGB to monitor and mitigatepost-fire-related impacts such as increased runoff,erosion, and accumulation of debris and sediment inits reservoirs.Although Reclamation is not considered a Departmentof the Interior land management or fire bureau,its ability to carry out its mission is substantiallythreatened by the impacts of wildland fire.Mandatory evacuations of dams and powerplantsalong with damages to power transmission equipmenthave resulted in disruptions in power generation andunregulated thermal releases from reservoirs; post-fireconditions such as fire-damaged trees and unstablehillsides have threatened penstocks, canals, accessroads, communication towers, and buildings; debrisflow, erosion, and sedimentation triggered by intenseprecipitation events over burn scars have significantlyaffected the quality, quantity, and timing of waterentering reservoirs; and turbidity, contaminants, anddebris have threatened Reclamation investments inimproving instream habitat conditions for endangeredand threatened species.As the effects of wildfire on water resourcesmanagement become more profound, Reclamationand CGB are continuing to increase their footprint inpreparing for and mitigating the impacts of wildlandfire. CGB is strengthening existing partnershipsand exploring mutually beneficial partnerships withupstream landowners to reduce the impacts of wildfireon water resources.Inmate fire crew removing hazardous trees along an access route to Whiskeytown Dam following the 2018 Carr Fire.Water Operations and Maintenance Bulletin7

Moving from Reactive to Proactive:Utilizing GIS to Address Wildland FireImpacts to ReclamationKendra FallonRegional Wildland Fire Coordinator, Columbia-Pacific Northwest Regional OfficeThe Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) is notunique among other Federal agencies that areimpacted by wildland fire on jurisdictional lands.Over the past four years, the Columbia-PacificNorthwest (CPN) Region has averaged 39 individualincidents per season with yearly burned acres rangingfrom 750 to 17,600. What does separate Reclamationfrom sister agencies is the impact potential of thesefires on downstream Reclamation assets and theimpacts that an emerging incident can have onoperations. It is anticipated that fire season willcontinue to lengthen, fires will be more severe, andburned acres will continue to increase.In an effort to shift from a reactive to proactiveposition, the CPN Region developed an ArcGISOnline App (App) that overlaid mapped Reclamationjurisdictional lands, values, and assets with near-realtime fire perimeter feature layers and satellite heatsignatures. The purpose of the App was 1) to providea near-real-time visualization of fire activity in theregion in spatial relation to critical assets or facilities,2) identify large fires upstream of Reclamationreservoirs that may contribute to detrimentalsedimentation influx or changes to the watershedhydrology, and 3) coordinate with ReclamationOperations and Maintenance (O&M) employeesabout continuity of operations if there is a threat fire.The App went live in time for the 2021 fire season,which provided an excellent proving ground for theutility of this product. The following are case studiesof the utility of the App as it pertains to O&M.Muckamuck Fire, Conconully, WashingtonThe Muckamuck Fire was identified as a threatearly through the App’s satellite feed of initial startlocations and heat imagery showing direction ofspread. This allowed advanced notification to theEphrata Field Office who were able to quicklyascertain any potential impacts to Reclamationvalues and assets and coordinate with stakeholdersin the area. By the time the fire reached Reclamation8Winter 2021 / Issue 254land, Reclamation was well prepared to coordinateand liaise on behalf of the Bureau with the IncidentManagement Team (IMT) assigned to the fire. Dueto the large fire footprint in relationship to a smallreservoir, Reclamation coordinated with adjoiningagencies to collect information regarding thepotential post-fire hydrologic impacts (e.g., debrisflow and soil burn severity).Screen capture of the information provided by the CPNWildland Fire App for Muckamuck.Schneider Springs Fire, Yakima, WashingtonAt the same time as the Muckamuck Fire, theSchneider Springs Fire started a couple of mileseast of Bumping Lake, Washington. Similar toMuckamuck, this fire was also identified as apotential threat, triggering early communicationwith the Yakima Field Office (YFO) staff regardingpotential impacts. The YFO Maintenance staffexpressed concerns about the fire not only physicallyimpacting the facility at Bumping Dam, but also thepotential impacts to the ability to access facilitiesalong the Tieton River to manually operate the gatesfor the annual fall “flip flop” of flow from the YakimaRiver to the Tieton River.

Knowing these concerns in advance of the eventualIMT’s assignment to the fire allowed them to becommunicated to the team during the in-briefing,which led to the establishment of an escort planshould the transportation routes become subjectto mandatory evacuation. The early identificationof the potential threat of the fire to the BumpingDam facility also provided a window of opportunityfor staff to access the facility to prepare for theapproaching fire, where they did a final facilityinspection to confirm reservoir elevation (storagecapacity) and gate positioning was set to assurerelease flows were stable long-term during theduration of the incident.Screen capture of the information provided by the CPNWildland Fire App for Schneider Springs.Snake River Complex, Lewiston, IdahoThe Snake River Complex was a complex of firesignited by lightning south of Lewiston, Idaho. Thefires were communicated early in their growth as apotential threat to the facility at Soldier Meadows toappropriate Snake River Area Office (SRAO) staff.Utilizing the near-real-time satellite imagery of firegrowth and direction, SRAO staff reached out tothe Lewiston Orchards Project Irrigation DistrictManager to maintain communications. Through thesecommunications, the SRAO Emergency ManagementSpecialist (EMS) was able to give ongoing updatesregarding the fire’s progression while also obtainingspecific details of on-scene firefighting efforts. Withthese communications, the SRAO EMS was able toidentify key facilities that had been protected withsuppression efforts. Further, having identified thesespecific facilities, the SRAO and the district were ableto prepare plans for further suppression techniques toprotect these facilities if the fire were to once againthreaten the facilities. With these plans in place,communication to Planning Section Chiefs of theIncident Command Team would have been quick andconcise even if the district were to need to evacuatefrom the area.Screen capture of the information provided by the CPNWildland Fire App for Snake River Complex.Review and Future DirectionThe App did achieve the desired objectives andcreated large windows of opportunity to anticipateand prepare for potential impacts during emergingincidents. Though this product was developedspecifically for the CPN Region, the framework canbe adopted and modified by any other region thatmay find benefits. It is anticipated that the App willcontinue to evolve and include more information asadditional data is mapped and as feedback is receivedfrom the end users. Though the utility of the Apphas demonstrable application to multiple differentdisciplines within Reclamation, these case studieswere selected to help plant the seeds of thought forhow the Wildland Fire Program can continue todevelop to meet O&M needs.Water Operations and Maintenance Bulletin9

Seasonal Condition AssessmentNicholas Casamatta, P.E.Conveyance Operations and Maintenance Program Manager, Asset Management DivisionThe end of summer brings many things: the fall harvest,winter rain and snow, or depending where you liveat least cooler temperatures. Reclamation operates in17 western states. Regardless which is yours, fall andwinter typically bring lower demand for irrigation water,and in many places deliveries stop all together. Thisis an excellent opportunity to turn attention towardcondition assessment, maintenance, and planning.Seasonal change in conditions can enable work difficultor otherwise impossible to conduct the rest of the year.Condition assessment between shut down and waterup, or at least between low and high flow periods, isa prudent practice. This includes identifying changesover the season, those which require immediate action,and providing sufficient time to plan and executerepairs. Doing so sets your team up for success comespring, which is a critical and potentially hectic time formany irrigators.Embankments Animal burrowsErosion / slope failuresEncroachmentsUnauthorized deliveriesCross drainage structure blockagesSediment depositionMechanical and Electrical Equipment Proper Operation of gates and valvesǞ Exercise travelǞ Motor performanceǞ SealsǞ Coatings Cathodic Protection / Corrosion MonitoringǞ Broken and missing connectionsǞ Utilizing test stations and ensuring functionǞ Sacrificial anode presence and condition InstrumentationǞFlow measurement, level, and position sensors Are they intact and properly located? Review results throughout the season forerrors or disruptionsClosed Conveyance Conduits Black Canyon Main Canal Gate in off-season (2021).Condition AssessmentAssessing the condition of many assets can be difficultor impossible during normal operations and seasonsof high vegetation growth. The presence of water andvegetation can obscure view, prevent access, and inhibitthe ability to test mechanical equipment. As a result, itis critical to take advantage of outages and off-seasonsto identity changes and assess condition. The followinglist highlights important areas for annual inspectionand those that may be best suited for the off-season oran outage.10Winter 2021 / Issue 254Tunnels, Culverts, and SiphonsǞ Displacement at an entrance, exit, and jointsǞ Sediment depositionǞ Internal erosion / loss of supportǞ Cracking and intersecting patterns of cracking Safe entrance is critical, includingair monitoringMaintenanceMaintenance is a continual process, but not all actionscan be conducted throughout the year. It is critical toaddress issues that affect the integrity of the systemor the ability to safely resume or increase flow in thespring. Making these repairs in the off-season can

safeguard against the consequence of an unplannedoutage during irrigation season. Concrete and corrosionrepairs are currently the most common maintenanceneeds identified on Reclamation infrastructure basedon our internal facility review programs. Beforejumping straight into action, it’s important to considera do-no-harm approach. Concrete and coating repairscan be expensive, complex, and are expected to endure.Preventing early and sometimes immediate failure ofrepairs requires appropriate planning. Critical to successand longevity are appropriate surface preparation andenvironmental conditions like humidity and temperature.The following list highlights important opportunities formaintenance during the off-season based on the previousareas for inspection.Embankment Repairs Erosion, animal burrows, slope failuresConcrete lining repair and replacementthe most economical or efficient approach. Conductinga detailed corrosion assessment is a wise step prior toconducting large repairs.After analysis, the best course of action may be a seriesof zone repairs over multiple years or a full recoat.Additional analyses with instrumentation can also beused to quantify areas of coating failure and corrosionnot visible to the human eye as a means of prioritizingaction and effectively assigning limited resources.Other important tasks such as planning for emergencymanagement can be well-suited to slower times of year,especially when they require coordination betweenmultiple groups. In fall 2020, “Emergency ManagementProgram for Water Impoundment Structures” underwenta major revision within the Reclamation Manual.It contains additional details and requirements foremergency management plans, including content,format, exercise schedules, and urban canals.New York Canal(Boise Proje

Bulletin Mission Statement This Water Operations and Maintenance Bulletin is published quarterly through the Asset Management Division of the Dam Safety and Infrastructure Directorate. It serves as a medium to connect personnel who operate and maintain Bureau of Reclamation water supply systems. Bulletin History