Projects

Juniper Creek Hydroelectric Project

Completed 2020

Brailey Hydrologic led the development of the 300-kW Juniper Creek Hydroelectric Project, a privately owned run-of-river hydroelectric facility located in the Chugach Mountains near Eagle River, Alaska. The project involved more than a decade of hydrologic monitoring, feasibility evaluation, permitting, engineering design, and construction, culminating in a reliable year-round renewable energy system connected with the local utility grid.

 

Designed to operate in an alpine environment with winter temperatures  extending below −20°F, the facility demonstrates the successful integration of hydrologic analysis, hydraulic design, and engineering to deliver reliable, low-maintenance renewable energy. The project supplies enough clean energy to meet electricity needs of approximately 200 homes and demonstrates the long-term viability of small-scale run-of-river hydropower in Alaska.

Susitna Watana Hydroelectric Project

2012-2016

Brailey Hydrologic provided hydrometric and hydrographic surveying services to support of the Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project, one of Alaska's largest proposed renewable energy developments.

 

The firm conducted bathmetric surveys and Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) discharge measurements along 240 miles of the Susitna River. The resulting hydraulic and bathymetric datasets supported flow-routing analyses, hydraulic modeling, and environmental studies for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) licensing process.

North Slope Breakup Studies

2011-2012

Brailey Hydrologic collaborated with researchers from the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), the Water and Environmental Research Center (WERC), and the Bureau of Land Management to conduct hydraulic field investigations supporting spring breakup studies on Arctic rivers within the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska.

 

The project included discharge measurements, water-surface slope surveys, suspended sediment sampling, and longitudinal river-bed profile surveys to characterize hydraulic conditions during spring breakup. Field investigations were completed on eight rivers, including the Colville River, Fish Creek, and Ublutuoch River. The resulting field data supported evaluations of ice-jam flooding, sediment transport, and hydraulic processes affecting North Slope infrastructure and resource development.

Cosmos Hills Hydroelectric Project

2010-2011

Brailey hydrologic led the hydrologic field investigations supporting the evaluation of run-of-river hydroelectric development in the Cosmos Hills region of northwest Alaska.

 

The project included installing and operating stream gaging stations, conducting discharge measurements, developing stage-discharge rating curves, and collecting seasonal flow data on Cosmos Creek, Wesley Creek, Dahl Creek, and the Kogoluktuk River. The resulting hydrologic monitoring network provided the field data necessary to evaluate hydroelectric feasibility, characterize low-flow conditions critical to power generation, and support future engineering design and permitting.