Author(s): Etienne Motyka; Jannik Haas; Alberto De La Fuente
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Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: 3D hydrodynamic and water quality simulation of Rapel reservoir were carried out for studying the influence of the hydropeaking operation of its hydropower plant. We focused on the water quality of the upstream reservoir and the thermal pollution and hydrological alteration of the downstream river. For this aim, Rapel reservoir located in Central Chile was chosen, and a set of six scenarios (dry, wet, normal hydrologic years; with and without environmental constraints, EC) were simulated, each 2.5 years long. As algae bloom predictor, the total chlorophyll-a concentration was chosen. The numerical results show that changes in retention time of the reservoir explain part of the simulated differences between simulations for wet, normal and dry hydrological conditions. Moreover, the contrast between simulations with and without environmental constraints showed that the EC improve the hydrological alteration in all cases, but worsen the algae concentration during dry years.
Year: 2018