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Re:The West's historic drought is threatening hydropower at ... by giantg2 on Tuesday August 16, 2022 @11:21AM (#32484001)
At 0 feet, you will end up with silt being sucked though or accumulating/clogging. Also, the intakes are likely below the stated level, but you need X number of feet above that for water pressure to turn the turbines. Either way, I'm not sure that a retrofit is a feasible option.
Re:The West's historic drought is threatening hydropower at ... by Victerius on Tuesday August 16, 2022 @11:24AM (#32484036)
> you will end up with silt being sucked though or accumulating/clogging

A big filter at the intake?

Re:The West's historic drought is threatening hydropower at ... by shadowgovt on Tuesday August 16, 2022 @11:40AM (#32484280)
Filters have to be cleaned, a process that is both expensive and dangerous at the bottom of a reservoir that high. Which is why the better solution is to put the intakes up a bit and allow the bottom of the reservoir to serve as a settlement pool.
Re:The West's historic drought is threatening hydropower at ... by giantg2 on Tuesday August 16, 2022 @11:29AM (#32484110)
That still doesn't solve the pressure part of the problem, and likely makes it even worse.