Hydropower

Our hydropower services are comprehensive, extending from retrofitting non-powered dams through the execution of hydropower feasibility studies, preliminary resource assessments, and engineering design including turbine selection and powerhouse design.

GZA ‘s FERC Part 12D experience includes Safety Inspections (Chpt 14), Periodic Inspections and Comprehensive Assessments (Chpt 16) along with Potential Failure Mode Analysis (Chpt 17) and Level 2 Risk Analysis (Chpt 18).

Related services include hydrologic and hydraulic studies, inflow design flood evaluations, subsurface exploration, dam instrumentation and monitoring, seepage and stability analyses, spillway and gate evaluations, emergency action planning, dam-break analysis, inundation mapping, and functional exercises.

GZA also assists owners with FERC licensing and relicensing strategy and implementation. Services may include stakeholder and agency coordination, Pre-Application Documents and Notices of Intent, study planning and execution, license-process support, draft and final license applications, and Section 401 water quality certification applications. Our multidisciplinary capabilities allow technical, environmental, and regulatory issues to be evaluated together, helping clients develop practical, defensible paths forward.

Additional capabilities include invasive-species investigations and monitoring, invasive-species control planning, fish and eel passage design, and preparation of Exhibit F and Exhibit G drawings. GZA’s approach emphasizes careful listening, clear documentation, regulatory awareness, and solutions aligned with each owner’s operational and project objectives.