Author(s): Le Ngoc Son; Le Dinh Thanh
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Hydropower; Reservoir operation; Simulation; Environmental flow; Ba river basin
Abstract: Large hydropower reservoirs have been dominating water allocation in many river basins in Vietnam. The operation of reservoir system shall ensure not only power generation but also other water uses such as irrigation, domestic and industrial water supply, flood prevention as well as environmental protection. The increase of water demand in river basin has been causing conflicts among water uses, and maintaining certain minimum river flow has been required and stipulated in relevant water laws. However, there has not existed any common formula to specify minimum downstream release from reservoir. Such demand on different water uses and minimum flow especially during dry season may cause reduction of power generation. In order to quantify this impact of the increasing water demand on hydropower generation, reservoir system in Ba river basin is selected as a case study. First, analysis is carried out for current and perspective water resources associated with socio-economic and environmental aspects in the basin to define system river runoff and water demand including minimum flow at control points determined by Tennant method. Second, HEC-Res Sim, a modeling of reservoir system operation, is used to simulate the system for different water resources development scenarios including consideration of climate change impact on future river flow and operational alternatives. Finally, implication of reservoir operational strategies is also presented based on system performance indicators derived from above-mentioned HEC-Res Sim model.
Year: 2014