Reservoir flood control operation model incorporating multiple uncontrolled water flows

Abstract

This study presents a weighted pre-emptive goal programming model formulation for coordinated reservoir operation, with easy inclusion of uncontrolled water flows. The model is combined with a multiple water inflows forecasting model, and can be used for real time reservoir operation. Water flow routing from various upstream sites is accounted by with a single compact equation. Integration of controlled and uncontrolled water flows in the optimization model simplifies the operation model, resulting in accurate computation of the downstream water flow. Multiple objectives with water storage and flow variables are used to derive optimal regulation for a reservoir system under flood conditions. For real time operations, the model can be used to determine optimal water release rates for a current period, on the basis of an optimal water release schedule for an operating horizon (T). The model is applied to the flood control operation of reservoirs in the Narmada River Basin (India), with three controlled and three uncontrolled water flows affecting the downstream flow at Hoshangabad. Reservoir water storage and downstream control point flows are zoned, with prioritized objectives used to derive the optimal water release rates. Model applications to the 1999 flood event in the Narmada River Basin with observed and forecasted inflows illustrates that, if water inflows were known through a forecasting technique well in advance, the coordinated operation of the reservoirs could substantially reduce the peak water flows at the control points. The study also indicates that uncontrolled channel flows at the damage site were sufficiently high to cause flooding at the damage site.