Safe Management of Complex River Systems

Nowadays hydroelectricity is one of the leading power generation technologies, which is widely spread all over the World. Despite low ecological impact during normal operation of the hydro power plants in case of emergencies floods can cause severe damages to the environment, built constructions and inhabitants. And this problem is especially important for large rivers with several dams on them. Proper management of complex river systems is especially important. In this Chapter are analyzed current complex river systems management approaches. It is shown, that none of them consider simultaneously rationalization of energy production, maintaining required water level in the river system and minimizing possible damage from seasonal floods at a complex river system. Hence, basing on the literature review a novel approach to describe the system for finding an operational model guide is presented in the Chapter. The developed approach is applied to the mountain region of Valle d’Aosta in North Western Italy. The dynamic modelling is performed using the Powersim simulation tool. Based on the results, a safe balancing may be performed that prevents from uncertainty in storage and water flow with effective utilization and minimum flood occurrence.