2025 Annual Conference Presentations

Click below to view the PowerPoint slides from the 2025 Annual Conference.
To view the agenda from this meeting, click here.

MONDAY 2.24.2025

Keynote Speaker | Dawn Lindell | Seattle City Light

Small Hydro:  As The Turbine Turns; Maintenance Considerations | Albin Atzmueller | Voith Hydro Inc.

Small Hydro: Small Hydro Workshop | Lewis Rounds | Ballard Marine Construction

Small Hydro: Public Safety Around Dams | Sharon Roach | HDR

Small Hydro: Small (But Mighty) Hydropower | Colin Sasthav | U.S. Department of Energy

Small Hydro: CWIFP Update | Nate Campbell | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

(Panel #1: Not authorized to be shared)

(Panel #2: Not authorized to be shared)

Panel #3: Columbia River Treaty: Ecosystem Function & Flow Augmentation | Cody Desautel | Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation

Panel #3: Columbia River Treaty Flood Risk Management | Kristian Mickelson | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Panel #3: Columbia River Treaty: Real-time Flood Risk Management in the Mid-C | Peter Graf | Grant County PUD

Panel #4: Hebgen Gate Failure: Responding through Engagement of Dam Safety, Environmental, and Operations | Matt Jaeger - Montana Fish, Wildlife, & Parks | Jeremy Clotfelter - NorthWestern Energy

TUESDAY 2.25.2025

Finding Common Ground Documentary Screening | TVW & Puget Sound Institute

Panel #5: NEPA Overview | Matt Petersen | SWCA Environmental Consultants

Panel #5: NEPA at FERC | Tyler Rychener | WSP

Panel #5: What's Up With NEPA? | Andrea Wortzel | Troutman Pepper Locke LLP

Panel #6: Water Management Adaptation: Tradeoffs and the Bigger Picture | John Chandler | Puget Sound Energy

Panel #6: Reservoir Management Under Hydrologic Change | Patty Dillon | Northwest Hydraulic Consultants

Panel #6: Powerhouse Replacement or Repair | Brian Stevens |U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

Panel #7: TDG Mitigation at Spillways | Ed Zapel | Northwest Hydraulic Consultants

Panel #7: Water Quality in the Hydro Context: Water Quality Protection and Compliance at Hydro Facilities | Pradeep Mugunthan - Four Peaks Environmental Consulting | Paul Kusnierz - Avista

Panel #8: Spillway Gate Inspection & Analysis| Kenny Dosanjh | HDR

Panel #8: Spillway Gate Operator Lessons Learned and Recommendations | James Boag | McMillen, Inc.

Panel #8: Owner’s Perspectives on Spillway Gate Rehabilitation and Retrofit | Nathan Higga | PacifiCorp

Panel #9: Resource Adequacy | Gary Ivory - Douglas County PUD | Chris Green - PNWH2 | Lisa Stites - Grant County PUD | Tim "TJ" Ferreira - Grid SME

Panel #10: Lower Clark Fork River Two-Way Trap and Transport Program | Shana Bernall | Avista

Panel #10: Strategies for Minimizing Bull Trout Interactions During Spring Chinook Collection at the Chiwawa River Weir | Scott Hopkins | Chelan County PUD

Panel #11: Compliance Challenges in Implementation | Sahara Shrestha | Troutman Pepper Locke LLP

Panel #12: Powerhouse Component Replacement or Repair? | Donald Jarrett | Jarrett PLLC

WEDNESDAY 2.26.2025

Panel #13: Hydro's MW Valuation Considerations in the Marketplace | David Howell | Avista

Panel #13: PacifiCorp System Overview | Drew Martin | PacifiCorp

Panel #13: Pumped Storage: Key Differentiators for Market Valuation | Matt Shapiro | rPlus Hydro

Panel #13: Making the Most Out of a MW | Colin Sasthav | Dept. of Energy Water Power Technologies Office

Panel #14: Mussels and Dam Operations Northwest Hydropower | Heidi McMaster | Bureau of Reclamation

Panel #14: Idaho Invasive Species Program | Nick Zurfluh | Idaho Department of Agriculture

Panel #14: Quagga Mussels and Idaho Power Company | Michael Stephenson | Idaho Power

Panel #15: Pump Storage: Removing Hurdles | Mike Manwaring | Stantec

Panel #16: Asset Management Panel Discussion | Mark Parrish U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Panel #17: Heber Light & Power Small Hydro & BESS | Eric Thatcher | Wheeler Power Systems

Panel #18: Whitewater Recreation at Hydropower Facilities | Thomas O’Keefe | American Whitewater

Panel #18: Considerations & Coordination of Water Use Whitewater Boating Plan at the Henry M. Jackson Hydro Project | Dawn Presler | Snohomish PUD

Panel #18: The Evolution of a Whitewater Flow Program | Jordan Tollefson | NorthWestern Energy

Panel #19: Path to Hydropower Decommissioning | Jeremy Somogye | Eugene Water and Electric Board

Panel #20: FERC Perspective | Doug Boyer | Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Panel #20: FERC Comprehensive Assessment for Technical Professionals | Lyle Stone - GeoEngineers | Megan Puncke - Black & Veatch

Panel #20: FERC Comprehensive Assessment for Technical Professionals | Chris Steinmetz | Grant County PUD