DOI: 10.5066/p1astetf
title: CE-QUAL-W2 theoretical dam operational scenarios for select U.S. Army Corps of Engineer reservoirs and tributaries downstream of U.S. Army Corps of Engineer dams in the Willamette River Basin, Oregon: 2011, 2015, and 2016

description: Reservoir outflows and downstream water temperatures in the Willamette River Basin, Oregon, are influenced by the operation of 13 U.S. Army Corps of Engineer (USACE) dams that comprise the Willamette Valley System (WVS). CE-QUAL-W2 models have been developed to simulate water release temperatures from a subset of WVS dams, and thermal effects to downstream reaches that may result from theoretical management scenarios in the WVS (Stratton Garvin and others, 2023a; Stratton Garvin and others, 2022). This data release includes CE-QUAL-W2 boundary conditions and output files used to model thermal effects of two different dam operational scenarios for select USACE WVS reservoirs and downstream tributaries for 2011, 2015, and 2016. These operational scenarios represent two alternatives that can be used to better understand the effects of dam operations on thermal conditions within and downstream of WVS reservoirs. The scenarios are applied to six reservoir sub-models (Stratton Garvin and others, 2023b): Hills Creek Lake, Lookout Point and Dexter Lakes, Cougar Reservoir, Green Peter and Foster Lakes, Detroit Lake, and Big Cliff Lake. Additionally, the scenarios are applied to seven river sub-models downstream of WVS dams (Stratton Garvin and Rounds, 2022; Stratton Garvin and others, 2023b): Middle Fork Willamette River, Coast Fork and Middle Fork Willamette River, McKenzie River, South Santiam River, North Santiam River and Santiam River, Upper Willamette River, and Middle Willamette River. The model scenarios documented in this data release were originally developed to support the WVS Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS; USACE, 2025) and were subsequently updated to better support regional water availability analyses in the Willamette River Basin. These model scenarios may not be appropriate for uses other than their intended purpose of evaluating generalized patterns of water temperature that might result from alternative dam operations. Users are advised to read the dataset's metadata and readme files and associated reports referenced below to better understand model development and calibration.

Stratton Garvin, L.E., and Rounds, S.A., 2022, CE-QUAL-W2 models for the Willamette River and major tributaries downstream of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dams: 2011, 2015, and 2016 (version 1.1, December 2023): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P908DXKH.

Stratton Garvin, L.E., Rounds, S.A., and Buccola, N.L., 2022, Updates to models of streamflow and water temperature for 2011, 2015, and 2016 in rivers of the Willamette River Basin, Oregon: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2022–1017, 73 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20221017.

Stratton Garvin, L.E., Buccola, N.L., and Rounds, S.A., 2023a, Updates to CE-QUAL-W2 models for select U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoirs in the Willamette Valley Project and an inter-reservoir reach of the Middle Fork Willamette River, northwestern Oregon (ver. 1.1, June 2025): U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2023–5085, 89 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20235085.

Stratton Garvin, L.E., Rounds, S.A., and Bartelt, K.M., 2023b, CE-QUAL-W2 models for select U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoirs in the Willamette Valley Project and an inter-reservoir reach of the Middle Fork Willamette River, northwestern Oregon, 2011, 2015, and 2016 (ver. 1.1, May 2025): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9UJFXA5.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), 2025, Willamette Valley System Operations and Maintenance Final Environmental Impact Statement: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District, accessed May 23, 2025 at https://usace.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16021coll7/id/27619