Model-Based Operation of Multi-Purpose River and Reservoir Systems

The optimal management of multi-objective river and reservoir systems is particularly challenging for event-driven real-time operation to ensure predictive planning and to determine the best possible operation strategy. The best flow forecast possible for the river basin as well as knowledge of the effects of control instructions on flow dynamics and on the achievement of operation objectives must therefore be used. This paper presents a decision support tool for the management of a multi-objective river and reservoir system in Germany. In this context model-based predictive control is an appropriate method for optimizing the value to be controlled over a short forecast period. The future system status is simulated with a forecast-based hydraulic process model. In this way the most effective solutions for the required reservoir release which will fulfil the pre-specified multi-purpose operation objectives can be identified. These results can be used for the efficient analysis of upcoming conflicts of objectives. In combination with the users’ practical experience a realizable control instruction may be derived.