Modelling of Tawa Reservoir catchment and development of TAWA reservoir operation Policy ( NIH-3_2016_4)

Abstract

A number of reservoirs have been planned and constructed in India for the conservation and utilization of the water resources for deriving various benefits. The Tawa River is one of the important left bank tributary of Narmada River and the Tawa dam a major irrigation project, is located on it. The management of any reservoir system from planning to operation is quite challenging as it deals with diverse complex variables and uncertainties viz., inflows, storages, diversions, inter/intra-basin water transfers, return flows, irrigation demands, hydropower demands, industrial demands and municipal water supply demands (Rani & Moreira, 2010).The reservoir management strategies should be based on the hydrological response of the catchment as well as the water utilization pattern in the command areas. The left bank canal (LBC) and right bank canal (RBC) of Tawa dam caters to large command area, which is largely located outside the extent of the confluence of Tawa River with the Narmada River. The Tawa river basin is however considered to be a water sufficient basin based on the present supply-demand scenario. Looking into the future changes and uncertainties, the management of the available water resources including the management and operation of the Tawa reservoir is a challenging and an interesting case study for devising targeted adaptation plans for the various stakeholders. In an uncertain futuristic scenario, the assessment of the impacts of changes in cropping pattern and population growth on the water availability and its subsequent impacts on meeting committed demands for domestic, industrial and agricultural sector is necessary. The study caters to these issues and explores the possibilities of formulating a revised reservoir operation policies to address the altered supply-demand scenario in the basin. The crop water requirement and irrigation scheduling of Kharif and Rabi Crops using CROPWAT 8.0 in Tawa command area. The estimation of water balance of Tawa reservoir has been accomplished by using a mathematical approach for 8 year period (2010-2018) to understand the present and future supply demands scenario of Tawa reservoir. The hydrological modelling of Tawa reservoir catchment was carried out using Soil Conservation Service-Curve Number. The revised reservoir operation policy for the present and future demands were formulated using NIHReSyP, a reservoir operation software developed at NIH. The study has been carried out by Er. Shashi Poonam Indwar Scientist-C & PI; Dr. T.Thomas, Scientist-E; Dr. T. R. Nayak, Scientist-F; Sh. R.V. Galkate, Scientist-E, Dr. R. K. Jaiswal, Scientist D, Dr. N.C.Ghosh, Scientist G (Ex). The team members from the implementing agency viz., Water Resources Department, Bhopal included Er. G. P. Sony, Chief Engineer(BODHI), A. K. Gupta, Director, Hydrometeorology; Sh. M. K. Paliwal, Dy. Director, Sr. Geo-hydrologist and Sh. Sanjiv Das, Dy. Director & DBA (Ex), Sh. Rakesh Aggarwal, Chief Engineer (WRD, Hoshangabad).