M-6 : Multipurpose operation of a reservoir

Abstract

Reservoir operation forms a very important part of planning and management of water resources systems. Once a reservoir has been developed, detailed guidelines have to be given to the operator which enable him to take decisions about storing or releasing water.

In case of a single purpose reservoir, the aim is to find the optimum amount of water to be released from the reservoir given the amount of water available in the reservoir, future demands and any information available about the inflows which are likely to enter the reservoir. For a multipurpose reservoir, in addition to the above, it is also required to optimally allocate the release among several purposes.

The basic guideline which is available to a reservoir manager is usually in the form of rule curves which specify the reservoir levels to be maintained during different times of a year. As it may not always be possible to adhere to rule curves, guidelines are also given as to how the deviations should be adjusted.

In this report, various procedures used to develop rule curves for a single purpose and multipurpose reservoir have been described. It is also discussed as to how to arrive an optimal decision in case of an unforeseen event. New techniques of determining reservoir operation procedure like simulation, optimization and real time operation have also been discussed.