scholarly journals Directions and Extent of Flows Changes in Warta River Basin (Poland) in the Context of the Efficiency of Run-of-River Hydropower Plants and the Perspectives for Their Future Development

Energies ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 439
Author(s):  
Mariusz Sojka

This paper presents changes in the flow of 14 rivers located in the Warta River basin, recorded from 1951 to 2020. The Warta is the third-longest river in Poland. Unfortunately, the Warta River catchment area is one of the most water-scarce regions. It hosts about 150 hydropower plants with a capacity of up to 5 kW. The catchment areas of the 14 smaller rivers selected for the study differ in location, size, land cover structure and geological structure. The paper is the first study of this type with respect to both the number of analyzed catchments, the length of the sampling series and the number of analyzed flow characteristics in this part of Europe. The analysis of changes in the river flows was performed with reference to low minimum, mean and maximum monthly, seasonal and annual flows. Particular attention was paid to 1, 3, 7, 30 and 90-day low flows and durations of the flows between Q50 and Q90%. In addition, the duration of flows between Q50 and Q90% were analysed. Analysis of the direction and extent of particular flow types was performed by multitemporal analysis using the Mann–Kendall (MK) and Sen (S) tests. The analysis of multiannual flow sequences from the years 1951–2020 showed that the changes varied over the time periods and catchments. The most significant changes occurred in the low flows, while the least significant changes occurred in the high flows. From the point of view of the operation of the hydropower sector, these changes may be unfavourable and result in a reduction in the efficiency of run-of-river hydropower plants. It was established that local factors play a dominant role in the shaping of river flows in both positive and negative terms, for the efficiency of the hydropower plants.

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 15771-15809 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. K. Kiptala ◽  
M. L. Mul ◽  
Y. Mohamed ◽  
P. van der Zaag

Abstract. Effective management of all water uses in a river basin requires spatially distributed information of evaporative water use and the link towards the river flows. Physically based spatially distributed models are often used to generate this kind of information. These models require enormous amounts of data, if not sufficient would result in equifinality. In addition, hydrological models often focus on natural processes and fail to account for water usage. This study presents a spatially distributed hydrological model that has been developed for a heterogeneous, highly utilized and data scarce river basin in Eastern Africa. Using an innovative approach, remote sensing derived evapotranspiration and soil moisture variables for three years were incorporated as input data in the model conceptualization of the STREAM model (Spatial Tools for River basin Environmental Analysis and Management). To cater for the extensive irrigation water application, an additional blue water component was incorporated in the STREAM model to quantify irrigation water use (ETb(I)). To enhance model parameter identification and calibration, three hydrological landscapes (wetlands, hill-slope and snowmelt) were identified using field data. The model was calibrated against discharge data from five gauging stations and showed considerably good performance especially in the simulation of low flows where the Nash–Sutcliffe Efficiency of the natural logarithm (Eln) of discharge were greater than 0.6 in both calibration and validation periods. At the outlet, the Eln coefficient was even higher (0.90). During low flows, ETb(I) consumed nearly 50% of the river flow in the river basin. ETb(I) model result was comparable to the field based net irrigation estimates with less than 20% difference. These results show the great potential of developing spatially distributed models that can account for supplementary water use. Such information is important for water resources planning and management in heavily utilized catchment areas. Model flexibility offers the opportunity for continuous model improvement when more data become available.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyu Kyu Thin ◽  
Win Win Zin ◽  
Zin Mar Lar Tin San ◽  
Akiyuki Kawasaki ◽  
Abdul Moiz ◽  
...  

The need for electricity is rapidly increasing, especially in developing countries. There is vast hydropower potential existing globally that has not yet been explored. This could be the only solution to solve future global power shortage. Hydropower is a clean and renewable source of energy because it does not exploit the use of water. However, using the conventional approach to harness hydropower results in several challenges. It is difficult to identify suitable sites and assess site potential during the planning stage of hydropower projects. In this study, run-of-river hydropower potential for the Myitnge River Basin was estimated by intergrating a Geographic Information System (GIS) and Soil & Water Assessement Tool (SWAT) model. A GIS based tool was developed using Python to spot the potential locations of the hydropower plants. The hydrological model (SWAT) was designed in order to obtain the values of monthly discharge for all potential hydropwer sites. The flow duration curves at potential locations were developed and the design discharge for hydropower was identified. Forty-four run-of-river (ROR) type potential hydropower sites were identified by considering only the topographic factors. After simulation with SWAT model, twenty potential sites with a hydropower generation potential of 292 MW were identified. Currently, only one 790 MW Yeywa Hydropower Plant, which is the largest plant in Myanmar, exists in the Myitnge River Basin. The amount of estimated power generated from ROR may increase the existing power system of Myitnge Basin by 36%. This study will assist stakeholders in the energy sector to optimize the available resources to select appropiate sites for small hydropower plants with high power potential.


Author(s):  
Predrag Simonović ◽  
Ratko Ristić ◽  
Vukašin Milčanović ◽  
Siniša Polovina ◽  
Ivan Malušević ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diver E. Marín ◽  
Juan F. Salazar ◽  
José A. Posada-Marín

<p>Some of the main problems in hydrological sciences are related to how and why river flows change as a result of environmental change, and what are the corresponding implications for society. This has been described as the Panta Rhei context, which refers to the challenge of understanding and quantifying hydrological dynamics in a changing environment, i.e. under the influence of non-stationary effects. The river flow regime in a basin is the result of a complex aggregation process that has been studied by the scaling theory, which allows river basins to be classified as regulated or unregulated and to identify a critical threshold between these states. Regulation is defined here as the basin’s capacity to either dampen high flows or to enhance low flows. This capacity depends on how basins store and release water through time, which in turn depends on many processes that are highly dynamic and sensitive to environmental change. Here we focus on the Magdalena river basin in northwestern South America, which is the main basin for water and energy security in Colombia, and at the same time, it has been identified as one of the most vulnerable regions to be affected by climate change. Building upon some of our previous studies, here we use data analysis to study the evolution of regulation in the Magdalena basin for 1992-2015 based on the scaling theory for extreme flows. In contrast to most previous studies, here we focus on the scaling properties of events rather than on long term averages. We discuss possible relations between changes in the scaling properties and environmental factors such as climate variability, climate change, and land use/land cover change, as well as the potential implications for water security in the country. Our results show that, during the last few decades, the Magdalena river basin has maintained its capacity to regulate low flows (i.e. amplification) whereas it has been losing its capacity to regulate high flows (i.e. dampening), which could be associated with the occurrence of the extremes phases of  El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and anthropogenic effects, mainly deforestation. These results provide foundations for using the scaling laws as empirical tools for understanding temporal changes of hydrological regulation and simultaneously generate useful scientific evidence that allows stakeholders to take decisions related to water management in the Magdalena river basin in the context of environmental change.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 653 ◽  
pp. 1077-1094 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lingtong Gai ◽  
João P. Nunes ◽  
Jantiene E.M. Baartman ◽  
Hongming Zhang ◽  
Fei Wang ◽  
...  

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