Minimizing the impact of vacating instream storage of a multi-reservoir system: a tradeoff study of water supply and empty flushing

Abstract. Reservoir operator does not favor storage above a certain level in situations such as the pre-release operation prior to a flood, scheduled engineering constructions or mechanical excavations of sediments in the impoundments, drawdown and empty flushing, etc. This paper selects the last of which as the case study, and a method is presented to promote the feasibility of emptying reservoir storage. The impact of emptying reservoir on water supply is minimized through appropriate joint operation in a multi-reservoir system, where drawdown and empty flushing is carried out in a primary reservoir and the other reservoirs provide backup water for supply. This method prioritizes allocating the storage in the primary reservoir for water supply during specific periods prior to its empty. If the storage of every reservoir achieves its predefined conditions, drawdown of the primary reservoir is activated and followed by empty flushing. Previously preserved storage in the other reservoirs ensures adequate water supply during the periods of emptying the primary reservoir. Flushing of the primary reservoir is continued until either the accumulative released water exceeds the specified volume, storage in the backup reservoirs drops below the pre-defined threshold, or the inflow to the primary reservoir recedes from the flood peak to be below the releasing capacity of outlets. This behavior is simulated and linked with a nonlinear optimization algorithm to calibrate the optimal parameters defining the activation and termination of empty flushing. The optimized strategy limits the incremental water shortage within the acceptable threshold and maximizes the expected benefits of emptying reservoir.