Prescriptive Reservoir System Analysis Model - Missouri River System Application

Abstract : A reservoir system analysis model has been developed that is based on determining prescriptive operations for use by water managers in the Corps of Engineers. The model, coined HEC-PRM, represents the reservoir system as a network and uses network-flow programming to allocate optimally the system water. The goals of and constraints on system operation are represented with system penalty functions. The objective function of the network problem is the sum of convex, piece-wise linear approximations of these penalty functions. The solution is the optimal allocation of water in space and time for the system based on minimizing the total system penalty. The results are processed to display time series of reservoir releases, reservoir storage volumes, channel flows, and other pertinent information. The model has been successfully tested on the Missouri River system. Operation purposes include hydroelectric power, in-stream and reservoir recreation, navigation, flood control, in-stream and reservoir water supply, and environmental goals and constraints. Analyses are performed for period-of-record monthly flow sequences. In climate change studies, it is proposed that the model be applied for hydrologic time series representing present conditions, then successively applied for hydrologic time series representing changed future conditions.