Hydrology Northwest’s Relevant Project Experience
Middle Fork Nooksack Gauging Station: City of Bellingham, WA – General contractor and project manager for installation and monitoring of a permanent station. Construction included placement of a 4 ft by 16 ft stilling well, 6 ft tall walk-in gauge house, ramps and steel cable-way supports, and 1″ cable-way with car spanning the river. Installation was at a remote location where all materials and tools required helicopter delivery and placement. Responsible for discharges, flow records, operation and monitoring.
Quinault and Salmon River Gauging Projects: Quinault Indian Nation, Taholah, WA – Installed and operated continuous gauges on 5 steams and rivers for fisheries information. Installations included small and large stilling wells, low profile bubbler systems and submersible pressure transducers. Retained to continue monitoring for past 15 years.
Pend Oreille River Tributaries Gauging: Pend Oreille PUD, Newport, WA – Purchased and installed new H350 XL bubbler stream gauges in 13 creeks in Spring of 2009. Assisted PUD with GOES application and installed GOES transmitters on selected stations. Lead hydrologist for station monitoring, collecting discharge data, computing rating curves and calculating daily discharge records.
Anyox Hydroelectric Project: Anyox Hydroelectric Corp., Richmond, BC. – Project manager for hydrologic studies of 10 proposed projects. Installed 7 new gauges in 3 days at remote locations. Trained new field tech to download and program gauges and take accurate discharge measurements. Produced long-term flow records based on hydrologic and rainfall comparisons.
Koma Kulshan Hydroelectric Project: Pacific Energy, Commerce, CA – Project manager for field studies, analysis, and reports for hydrology studies and recalculation of energy projections for a 13 MW project. Project included complex hydrology of two streams diverted into a single penstock. Mr. Rittmueller produced accurate results within two weeks. Installed 5 new gauging stations to monitor required instream flow releases. Retained by current project owners for the past 25 years to complete periodic hydrology monitoring updates.
Sullivan Lake Project:Sullivan Lake, WA. PO PUD, Newport, WA. – Purchased and installed new H3553 bubbler stream gauges with GOES transmitters in 3 creeks in 2012.
Sunrise Lake Hydroelectric Project: R.W. Beck & City of Wrangell, Wrangell, AK. – Installed two gauging stations and one elevated log shelter on a remote island near Wrangell. Installation was completed to specifications of USGS.
Loud Creek Hydroelectric Project: City of Akutan, AK. – Conducted on site training for City staff to install and monitor new stream gauge on Akutan Island, AK. Purchased and shipped to Akutan all instrumentation, materials and tools to successfully install stream gauge within 3 weeks of receiving authorization to proceed with contract.
Nooksack River Hydrology Studies: Tacoma City Light, Tacoma, WA. – Monitored and computed flow records for 3 streams in Nooksack basin for proposed hydroelectric projects. Principal investigator for long term hydrology and energy production feasibility studies. Supervised team of five engineers and hydrologists. Detailed models supported initial energy estimates and analyzed the benefits of varying penstock and turbine sizes.
Cultus Mountain Water Supply: Skagit PUD #1, Mt. Vernon, WA. – Installed 6 gauging stations to verify instream flow releases for resident and anadromous fish. Project Manager for IFIM studies. Additional water rights were needed and studies were undertaken on creeks currently used for water supply to determine availability of additional water for diversion. Instream flow for all creeks successfully negotiated with State and Tribal agencies.
Jordan and Canyon Lake Creek Hydroelectric Project: Scott Paper, Everett, WA. – Operated gauging stations for feasibility of 2 proposed projects in Cascade Mountains. Project manager for environmental studies. Principal author and coordinator of FERC Exhibit E. Critical issues included relocation of intake in order to reduce instream flow requirement, potential for severe erosion and sedimentation impacts, threatened & endangered species, and tribal cultural use.
50 Year Daily Hydrology Study of 8 Streams in the Skagit and Nooksack Rivers: Hydro West Group, Bellevue, WA. – Project manager and principal investigator for intensive analysis of hydrology feasibility for 8 proposed hydroelectric projects. Installed 14 gauges to continue data gathering on hydroelectric sites for further analysis.
Bear Creek Hydroelectric Project: Pacific Energy, Commerce, CA. – Installed and operated new gauging station. Principal investigator for long term hydrology. Retained to conduct additional hydrology studies.
Power Creek Hydroelectric Project: Cordova Electric Cooperative, Cordova, AK. – Installed new shelter and instrumentation at abandon USGS station. Measured stream discharge and instructed local tech on discharge measurements and station monitoring. Computed rating curves and daily flow records.