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Releases from a Changed Water Right Plan

Once the changed water right is temporarily stored in a changed water rights plan, operating rules are used to release the water from the plan to meet a direct diversion demand, to store in a reservoir, to meet return flow obligations (e.g. Terms and Condition Plan requirement), or to offset an Augmentation Plan requirement. The user can release directly from the plan to a downstream user or via exchange using Direct Plan/Reservoir Release Operating Rule (Type 27) and the Exchange Plan/Release Operating Rule (Type 28). The functionality of these operating rules has been modified specifically for the use with changed water rights plans and should be used to simulate releases from the plan.

These operating rules allow for the following options when releasing from the plan:

  • Limit the release from the plan by the source water right diversion capacity
  • Limit the release based on a release limit plan (Plan Type 12)
  • Limit the release based on the amount diverted via another operating rule
  • Impose Terms and Conditions based on the released water

  • Include a Reuse Plan to track reusable supplies associated with the changed water

  • In the operating rule (*.opr) file, include a Direct Plan/Reservoir Release Operating Rule (Type 27) or the Exchange Plan/Release Operating Rule (Type 28), depending on the location of the destination, to release water from the changed water right plan to a demand.

    • The source is the changed water right plan and the destination is the demand.
    • Set the priority relative to the priorities of other water sources available to the demand (e.g. release from the plan to a demand after more junior supplies are used).
    • Include carriers or monthly switches if necessary.
    • Include a reuse plan if applicable; see the How to Model Reusable Supplies section for more information.
    • Use the operating limit flags (OprLimit), as described in Section 4.13.27 and 4.13.28, to limit the release amount to either a release limit plan or to the amount diverted via another operating rule.
      • OprLimit = 5 ties the release from the plan (or sub-plan if it has been split using a Type 46 operating rule) to the source water right diversion structure and allows the model to limit the release based on available capacity at the source structure. Include the Type 26 operating rule ID that diverted the water into the changed water right plan.
      • OprLimit = 2 or 7 limits the release from the changed water rights plan to the release limit plan. Include the Type 47 operating rule ID that defined the monthly and annual release limitations. If more than one release operating rule refers to the release limit plan, the total released from those rules will be limited to the release limit plan.
      • OprLimit = 3 or 8 limits the release from the changed water rights plan to the amount diverted and/or carried via another operating rule. Include the operating rule ID of the diversion or carrier operating rule; generally a Type 11 carrier rule. If more than one release operating rule refers to the carrier rule, each individual release rule will be limited by the amount carried (i.e. cumulative releases will not be limited).
      • OprLimit = 4 or 9 incorporates the limitations from all the limits above. Include the Type 26 operating rule ID, the Type 47 operating rule ID, and the carrier rule ID to apply all three limits.
    • Include a Terms and Conditions plan ID and indicate whether a standard, fixed, or mixed return flow pattern is used. If a standard pattern is used, include the return flow factors in the operating rule as well. See the following Terms and Conditions Operations section for more information on implementing these plans.
  • Review the plan summary (*.xpl) file, the operating rule summary (*.xop) file, and the diversion structure summary (*.xdd) file for information on the releases from the changed water right plan.
    • When water diverted from a Changed Water Right Plan for direct use by a Type 27/28 rule the diversion structure summary (*.xdd) files reports this release as:
      • at the source, the water release to the destination is reported as Carried, Exchanged or Bypassed and,
      • at the destination, the water diverted is reported as From River by Other.