Water quality management with time varying river flow and discharger control

An extension of the classical river quality management problem is presented that allows for time varying operation of the treatment plants. The hydrology of the river is represented by a set of steady state flow regimes; a river water quality model is used for each of these regimes to give a constraint set to be imposed on the discharges in order to achieve the stream standards during that regime. The objective function distinguishes between investment costs, fixed operating costs, and variable operating costs. A treatment system is sought that minimizes the sum of these costs, taking account of the possibility of operating the treatment system at various different levels during the year. The model is quantified and tested on an example.