Uinta Basin replacement project: a SCADA case study in managing multiple interests and adapting to loss of storage
Date
2005-10
Authors
Pullan, Wayne, author
U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage, publisher
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract
Section 203(a) of the Central Utah Project Completion Act authorized a replacement project--the Uinta Basin Replacement Project (UBRP) - to replace the Uinta and Upalco Units of the Central Utah Project (CUP) which were not constructed. The UBRP will provide: 2,000 acre-feet of irrigation water; 3,000 acre-feet of municipal and industrial water; reduced wilderness impacts; increased instream flows; and improved recreation. On the Lake Fork River, UBRP must be integrated into a complex water environment. The SCADA information generated by UBRP will play a key role in reducing uncertainty for water users - which is expected to have an economic impact. Construction delays in enlarging Big Sand Wash Dam and Reservoir eliminated the ability of the Moon Lake Water Users Association (Association) to store any substantial amount of water behind the old dam during the 2005 irrigation season. In response to this crisis, the partners in the project expanded the planned installation of SCADA monitoring and automation at key sites and required the installation to be completed over a period of weeks instead of years. The objective was to mitigate the effect of the lost storage by increasing flexibility and finetuning operations. The effort was largely successful.
Description
Presented at SCADA and related technologies for irrigation district modernization: a USCID water management conference on October 26-29, 2005 in Vancouver, Washington.