Abstract
The Seoul metropolitan area in the Han River basin is searching for sustainable water supply options after recently experiencing an extreme drought. Building a new reservoir is a common way to alleviate water shortage, but this comes at a great environmental cost. The South Korean government granted permission to add on a water supply function for the Hwacheon Reservoir, the largest hydropower reservoir in Korea, for the first time in the history. This study develops a new rule curve for the Hwacheon Reservoir to supply water and generate energy at the same time, considering the status of other reservoirs in the Han River basin. The simulation model uses two scenarios, with scenario 1 simulating historic operation and scenario 2 applying the deficit supply method. The new rule curve was formulated based on the results from scenario 2. Time-based and volumetric reliability increased by 33% and 4%, respectively, and resiliency more than doubled compared to the historic reservoir operation. This is the first case study in South Korea that demonstrates how to successfully integrate a water supply function into an existing hydropower reservoir. This study can be applied and extended to other river basins in an attempt to alleviate water shortages by adding new functions to existing reservoirs.
Highlights
In large river basins, water resources are often managed by reservoir systems [1,2]
In South Korea, reservoir systems are vital for water resource management, as most rainfall is concentrated from June to September
Multipurpose reservoirs supplied the planned amount of water, and hydropower reservoirs released the inflow when the reservoir water level was above the normal high-water level
Summary
Water resources are often managed by reservoir systems [1,2]. Reservoir systems play key roles in water supply [3], power generation [4], flood control [5], and instream water supply [6]. This study developed a new rule curve for the Hwacheon Reservoir to help two separate agencies integrate their reservoir system operations. This study applied the deficit supply method to three multipurpose reservoirs (Chungju, Soyanggang, and Hoengseong Reservoirs) and a hydropower reservoir (Hwacheon Reservoir) to improve the water supply capability of the entire Han River reservoir system. The evaluation case was simulated to analyze the effects of the Hwacheon Reservoir rule curve on the water supply of the entire Han River reservoir system. The time-based reliability, volumetric reliability, and resiliency of the Chungju, Soyanggang, Hoengseong, and Paldang reservoirs were calculated and compared to evaluate the water supply capability, since the releases from these reservoirs have great effects on the water supply to the Seoul metropolitan area. This study evaluated the amount of water released from the Hwacheon Reservoir for the production of hydropower in order to check if the main function of power generation would still be maintained even after adding the water supply function
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