Monday November 23rd, 4pm, Mann Hall 323
Abstract: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District operates 5 multi-purpose reservoirs in North Carolina and Virginia. The authorized purposes of these reservoirs include flood control, recreation, water quality, fish and wildlife, water supply, and in two projects, hydropower. These reservoirs are B. Everett Jordan Dam and Lake on the Haw River in the Cape Fear River Basin; Falls Lake in the Neuse River Basin; W. Kerr Scott Lake in the Yadkin-Pee Dee River Basin; J. H. Kerr Reservoir which straddles NC and VA in the Roanoke River Basin; and Philpott Dam and Reservoir in Virginia on the Smith River also in the Roanoke River Basin. District water management staff continually tracks rainfall, runoff, streamflows, in-reservoir and downstream water supply withdrawals, downstream water quality targets, and hydropower generation to balance the overall best management of the river basins' water resources. This management requires a thorough understanding of basin, river and lake hydrology, hydraulics, meteorology including tropical forecasts, groundwater processes, and stakeholder communication. An overview of the basins, reservoirs and operational considerations for both flood and drought operations will be presented along with the significant challenges and issues unique to each project.