Decision support system for integrated reservoir regulation

Abstract

Reservoirs are one of the most important components of a water resources development project. Reservoir management involves allocating available water among multiple uses and users, minimizing the risks of water shortages and flooding and optimizing the beneficial use of water. With so many uncertainties, the management of reservoirs is a challenging problem and its tailor-made solution is not available. Now-a-days, Decision Support Systems (DSS) are being widely used in cases where the problems are very complicated / non-structured. A DSS helps the decision maker by considering all objectives and then evaluating options to identify a solution that best solves an explicit problem while satisfying as many objectives as possible. In view of the importance of reservoir operation problem in Indian context and the non-availability of a generalised software for this purpose, the National Institute of Hydrology has taken up the task of developing a DSS for integrated reservoir regulation, taking particular care of the data availability and conditions in India. The DSS has menu driven options for simulation of a multipurpose multi-reservoir system for conservation operation. Using a trial policy, the operation of a system can be simulated and the reliability analysis can be carried out. The detailed operation table can be used to refine the policy till the optimum is reached. The DSS is capable of presenting the results in tabular as well as graphical form. In the present form, the DSS has limited features and its capabilities are being enhanced.