Reservoir Operation During Drought

During the past 25 years, the U.S. has experienced two of its most severe droughts: One in the Northeast in 1962-1967; and the other during 1975-1977 in the Great Plains and the states along the West Coast. Many of the water supply systems in these areas are based upon surface reservoir storage. This report discusses the drought response of three regional reservoir systems within these drought impacted areas. Both single reservoir and multiple reservoir operations are examined. The study areas are the Potomac River and the Delaware Basins (both on the East Coast), and the state of California. The reservoir systems of these regions are chosen for study for several reasons. First, they are hydrologically diverse. California is an arid region. The Delaware and Potomac basins are humid. Secondly, all three are technically, institutionally, and politically complex. Studying complex reservoir systems is more beneficial than studying simpler reservoir because issues involved in drought operation of a large reservoir system are broader in scope and can be narrowed to apply to smaller systems. Thirdly, the droughts in these areas were severe and the impacts of their water supply management were widely felt. Finally, drought operation plans have been developed for almost all of the reservoir systems studied as a result of their drought experience.

This volume includes over 30 chapters, written by experts from around the world. It examines numerous management strategies for dealing with drought and scarcity. These strategies include management approaches for different regions, such as coastal, urban, rural, and agricultural areas. It offers multiple strategies for monitoring, assessing, and forcasting drought through the use of remote sensing and GIS tools. It also presents drought mitigation management strategies, such as groundwater management, rainwater harvesting, conservations practices, and more.

River catchments and reservoirs play a central role in water security, food supply, flood risk management, hydropower generation, and ecosystem services; however, they are now under increasing pressure from population growth, economic activities, and changing climate means and extremes in many parts of the world. Adaptive management of river catchments and reservoirs requires an in-depth understanding of the impacts of future uncertainties and thus the development of robust, sustainable solutions to meet the needs of various stakeholders and the environment. To tackle the huge challenges in moving towards adaptive catchment management, this book presents the latest developments in cutting-edge knowledge, novel methodologies, innovative management strategies, and case studies, focusing on the following themes: reservoir dynamics and impact analysis of dam construction, optimal reservoir operation, climate change impacts on hydrological processes and water management, and integrated catchment management.

This report is designed to help water managers & planners who are not expert in modeling, & modeling experts in one area who are interested in surveying available models in another area. Covers: model development & distribution org's.; general-purpose software; demand forecasting & balancing supply with demand; water distribution system models; ground water models; watershed runoff models; stream, hydraulics models; river & reservoir water quality models; & reservoir/river system operation models. Inventory of selected models appendix. Tables.

This book explores many recent techniques including ANN, fuzzy logic, hydraulic models and IWRM utilized for integrated water resources management, a real challenge in India for obtaining high irrigation efficiency. The book deals with topics of current interest, such as climate change, floods, drought, and hydrological extremes. The impact of climate change on water resources is drawing worldwide attention these days; for water resources, many countries are already stressed and climate change along with burgeoning population, rising standard of living, and increasing demand are adding to the stress. Further, river basins are becoming less resilient to climatic vagaries. Fundamental to addressing these issues is hydrological modelling which is covered in this book Further, integrated water resources management is vital to ensure water and food security. Integral to the management is groundwater and solute transport. The book encompasses tools that will be useful to mitigate the adverse consequences of natural disasters.