The mode of operation of a regulating reservoir for effective use of river flow

Abstract

In the absence of a reservoir on the downstream side, a river flow that increases temporarily by rainfall cannot be stored and discharged apart from requirements in a command area. This unused water (excess water) occurs to some extent even in a drought year and making effective use of this supply is considered as one of the countermeasures for water shortage. Setting up a regulating reservoir on the upstream side of head works is regarded as one of the methods for making effective use of excess water. The inflow to the river and water delivery loss occurred from rainfall are stored in the regulating reservoir and supplied to the command area on the downstream side as agricultural water. An operational method for the regulating reservoir to effectively utilize the excess water was examined for a canal system by simulation. In an investigated area, there was excess water even in drought years, and making use of it through the regulating reservoir whose capacity is smaller compared to that of a dam can become one of the countermeasures for the drought period. The simulation in this study could estimate quantitatively the effect of the regulating reservoir to make the excess water effective.