Abstract
This study evaluates the dam water-supply capacity in Korea using the water shortage index. The water-shortage index (SI) and generalized water-shortage index (GSI) used in this study are evaluated and modified slightly by considering both the damage cost due to water-supply failure and the construction cost of water-supply systems in Korea. The modified indices are then applied for performance evaluation of 16 multipurpose dams in Korea, whose results are evaluated using different units: each dam, each river basin, and all dams. In the analysis of the dam level and basin level, water-supply problems are detected in several dams and in some river basins. However, the SI and GSI estimated for all dams are found to be lower than 1. This result indicates that, even though the total amount of storage capacity is enough to satisfy the design supply, water resources are not well spatially distributed in Korea. It is also found that the modified indices are valid to describe the performance of each dam in water deficient regions during occurrence years of major droughts. In conclusion, the SI and GSI can offer alternative ways of evaluating dam water supply under different environmental conditions and potentially help determine optimal water-storage capacity of dams.
Highlights
About 70% of the total precipitation is concentrated in the hot summer season fromJune to September in Korea
As the threshold SA/DA is determined when the total damage cost from water shortage is the same as the total water-supply cost, about 7~8% is appropriate as the threshold for the water-shortage index in Korea
Most dams in the Nakdong River Basin recorded the minimum water-storage level, and the government restricted the water supply to deal with the drought
Summary
About 70% of the total precipitation is concentrated in the hot summer season from. June to September in Korea. From a practical point of view, only the comparison of the costs of water-shortage damage and developing additional water resources can determine the new dam project. For this purpose, the water shortage index (SI) and generalized water shortage index (GSI) were considered in this study [43,44]. The objective of this study is to evaluate the dam water-supply capacity in Korea using water-shortage indices. The modified version of empirical indices is applied to a total of 16 multipurpose dams in Korea, the results of which are used to evaluate the current water-supply capacity of the studied dams.
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