Critical appraisal of methods for the assessment of environmental flows and their application in two river systems of India

In recent years, many hydrology-based approaches have been used to assess the environmental flows in various river systems over the globe. However, their application has been very limited in India. Brahmani and Baitarani River basins in India are two important water surplus basins, in which several water resources projects are coming up shortly. There is an urgent need for the water planners and stakeholders to assess environmental flows at various locations of the river systems for best management practices of available water resources. The present paper (i) critically evaluates the applicability of existing approaches, (ii) provides values of environmental design flows at different locations of Brahmani and Baitarani River systems, and (iii)suggest a suitable scientific approach for the assessment of environmental flows.