A Cascade Of Models To Guide Reservoir Operations: Application On The Deadwood River System, Idaho, USA

Adaptive management strategies are increasingly being used by resource managers to optimize complex water delivery systems at the scale of entire watersheds. A variety of models have been proposed to evaluate systems in a piecemeal approach that often times operate at different spatial and temporal scales and prove difficult to integrate with associated field data. In the Deadwood River system of Central Idaho, a series of cascading models was utilized to examine potential impacts of reservoir operations on endangered resident bull trout. Results from integrating limnologic, temperature, nutrient, hyporheic, and hydraulic models show that reservoir operations must remain dynamic depending upon the hydrologic conditions (wet vs. dry) present during any given year. Assimilating models that operate at various levels within a watershed will become increasingly important as climate change affects the regional hydrology and water resources operations must adjust to meet current and future demands.