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Flooded with water deficits : optimal timing of an environmental flow release, using flow forecasts in the operational management of a reservoir

Chen, J. (2010) Flooded with water deficits : optimal timing of an environmental flow release, using flow forecasts in the operational management of a reservoir.

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Abstract:Humankind has modified the natural flow regime of rivers to improve human well-being. Since ecosystems are a result of the flow regime, these flow regulations have impacted ecosystems. Particularly in river branches located downstream of a reservoir, the ecosystems are highly influenced by the altered flow regime. This raised the discussion on the need for a more natural flow regime to sustain the original river ecosystem and its benefits. A flow regime required to maintain certain ecosystem conditions is represented by the environmental flow requirement (EFR). Releases for the EFR are not common, since they may cause water deficits amongst the reservoir’s functions. The EFR includes a low- and a high flow requirement. This research focuses on the high flow requirement, of which the allocation usually has a degree of freedom within the moment that it can be released. Since reservoir inflows and water demands vary over time, the timing of the environmental release has an influence on the water deficits. Therefore, flow- and demand forecasts can help in optimizing the timing of environmental flow releases, to minimize the accompanying water deficits. This research analyses the extent of the deficit reductions, achieved by an optimization in the timing of environmental flow release by the inclusion of flow forecasting in the operational management of a reservoir. For this, an optimization model is developed with Delft-FEWS software, with hydrological (Ribasim) and numerical (MATLAB) software embedded. The model is applied to the Kafue River (Zambia) with the Itezhi Tezhi dam and Kafue Flats wetlands. Aspects that influence the optimization are identified and analysed for the case study.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Clients:
Deltares
Faculty:ET: Engineering Technology
Subject:56 civil engineering
Programme:Civil Engineering and Management MSc (60026)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/59725
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