Efficient Reservoir Operation With A Multi-Objective Analysis

Abstract

During the past several decades numerous major multiple-purpose reservoir systems have been constructed throughout the nation. About 5,500 large reservoir system exists in India, and generally, their operation is done through the rule curve. As demands on reservoir system is increasing day by day and along with this a continuously changing pattern of various factors like temperature, rainfall, land use land cover, etc. has been observed since the past several decades, evaluation of refinements and modifications in the existing operating rule or development of new policy of the reservoir systems is becoming an increasingly important activity. In the present study, an optimal operation policy has been developed for a multi-purpose reservoir, namely, Maithon Reservoir in order to maximize the hydropower production subject to the condition of satisfying the irrigation water demands (IWDs), domestic and industrial water demand (DIWD) with an eye on sustainable sediment management using a non-linear programming model (NLP). The operation policies have been derived by dividing the entire operation year into three segments, i.e., pre-monsoon (April to May), monsoon (June to October) and post-monsoon (November to March) in order to analyze the different possibilities during real-time operation. In each segment the percentage fulfillment of various purposes like IWD, 192DIWD, and corresponding hydropower production are determined. The fulfillment of various purposes has been determined under 50%, 60%, and 80% and dependable inflow conditions. The distinguishing feature of this model is that it maximizes hydropower generation along with sustainable sediment management strategy also.