John Chandler

Grew up on the family farm in Maine. Received M.S. focused in Water Resources and Environmental Engineering from the University of Maine at Orono. Did two tours with the Indian Health Service in California and Washington. Joined Puget Sound Energy in 2009. I'm also the Past President of the American Water Resources Association Washington Section.
Since 2014 I've been the water manager of the Baker Project, two reservoir system in northwest Washington. There are several competing objectives for the 1.9 million acre-feet of average annual inflow including flood control, environmental constraints, power production, recreation, and grid support. I've also studied the changes in flow at the facility over the years and adapted our operations to those changes. This is most apparent in the fall drawdown period where big storms have become more frequent. I now try to get more space in the lakes earlier to buffer against the higher risks of storm events. I've also worked on a battery research project at the utility and a little bit on our decarbonization plans (though not as much as I'd like to!). I've also given presentations to a wide variety of groups from 4th graders to international professionals in water resources. The topics I present on are typically related to hydro power, dams, shifting hydrology over time, the period of record we should be using as hydro practitioners, and some discussion of using hydro over natural gas (when possible) to help balance the grid.