Hatch has a long history of model development for hydro systems that was first started as a means to conduct engineering analysis in the 1970’s but later evolved into the development of a complete water management commercial package. Such a system has been used by various hydro utilities companies under the name of Vista DSS™ since the mid 1990’s. In the operational environment, Vista DSS™ assists system operators, dispatchers, and engineering operations staff in the real-time, short- and long-term scheduling process to achieve maximum value for the water resource and generation systems. As a study tool, it provides system analysts with the means to conduct a wide variety of studies and deal with a number of important issues currently facing the hydro industry. This includes amongst other topics the rapid increase in renewable power, perturbations to the natural inflow patterns due to climate change, rehabilitation and redevelopment of aging facilities, a greater push toward automation of the operation, and the overall drive to maximize efficiency.