Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Estimating RESCON model parameters for efficient sediment flushing in a dam reservoir

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Environmental Earth Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this study, we developed a parameter estimation method of a reservoir conservation model that was developed by the World Bank for efficient sediment flushing operation in dam reservoirs. The parameters for sediment flushing operation are flushing discharge, duration, frequency, and necessary reservoir drawdown. The parameter estimation method was applied to Shahpur Dam in Pakistan, in which sediment balance ratio and long-term capacity ratio were used as indicators of flushing efficiency. For efficient flushing of Shahpur Dam, we recommended that bottom outlets at the dam be retrofitted to achieve a flushing discharge of 7.5 m3/s. The reservoir water elevation should be drawn to a minimum level of 430 m, and the flushing operation should be performed annually over a 15-day span. Flushing using these parameters would result in 100% sediment balance, with 69% of original dam capacity recovered in the long term. We also assessed constraints on dam site for successful flushing. The drawdown ratio was 0.72, sediment balance ratio at full drawdown was 1.58, flushing width ratio was 0.88, and top width ratio was 1.23. For every increment of 0.5 m3/s in flushing discharge, the amount of sediment flushed increased by 0.020–0.025 million tonnes. This method can provide guidelines for implementation of sediment flushing operations for reservoir sediment management.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • ADB (1999) Project performance audit report on the small Dam Project (Loan 750-PAK[SF]) in Pakistan. Asian Development Bank, Manila, Philippines

    Google Scholar 

  • Afzal M, Awais M, Shah SMS, Mahmood S (2016) Impact of urbanization on inflow and sedimentation load in Rawal Lake of Pakistan. Pak J Agric Sci 53(3):673–677

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahmad S (2001) Watershed management in Pakistan: achievements and issues. In: National seminar on water resources. Lahore, Pakistan, pp 1–17

  • Ahmad S, Israr M, Ahmad R (2015) Assessment of river Shahpur for flood risk in Northern Pakistan. Civ Environ Res 7(4):20–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson E (1996) The feasibility of flushing sediment from reservoirs. TDR Project R5839, Report OD 137. HR Wallingford, England

  • Bhatti MA, Cheema MA, Skogerboe GV (1999) Maintenance and operational activities in the command areas of Shahpur and Mirwal small dams. International Water Management Institute, Lahore

    Google Scholar 

  • Chaudhry MA, Rehman H (2007) Approaches to enhance the life of reservoirs. In: Water Asia international conference and expo of water technologies. Lahore, Pakistan, pp 3–13

  • Chaudhry MA, Rehman H (2012) Worldwide experience of sediment flushing through reservoirs. Mehran Univ Res J Eng Technol 31(3):395–408

    Google Scholar 

  • Chaudhry MA, Habib-ur-Rehman M, Akhtar MN, Hashmi HN (2014) Modeling sediment deposition and sediment flushing through reservoirs using 1-D numerical model. Arabian J Sci Eng 39(2):647–658. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-013-0670-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emamgholizadeh S, Bina M, Ghomeyshi M (2006) Investigation and evaluation of the pressure flushing through storage reservoirs. ARPN J Eng Appl Sci 1(4):7–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Fruchart F, Camenen B (2012) Reservoir sedimentation different type of flushing—friendly flushing example of Genissiat Dam flushing. In: International symposium on dams for a changing world. Hal, Kyoto, Japan, pp 2–7

  • Ghumman AR, Al-Salamah IS, AlSaleem SS, Haider H (2017) Evaluating the impact of lower resolutions of digital elevation model on rainfall-runoff modeling for ungauged catchments. Environ Monit Assess 189(2):54. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-5766-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang Z, Wu B (2018) An overview of project and its environmental issues BT. In: Huang Z, Wu B (eds) Three Gorges Dam: environmental monitoring network and practice. Springer, Berlin, pp 1–14

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Janjua MY, Ahmad T, Gerdeaux D (2008) Comparison of different predictive models for estimating fish yields in Shahpur Dam, Pakistan. Lakes Reserv Res Manag 13(4):319–324. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1770.2008.00377.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Janjua MY, Ahmad T, Akhtar N (2009) Limnology and trophic status of Shahpur Dam reservoir, Pakistan. J Anim Plant Sci 19(4):224–273

    Google Scholar 

  • Kawashima S, Johndrow TB, Annandale GW, Shah F (2003) Reservoir conservation vol II: RESCON model and user manual. The World Bank, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirchherr J (2018) Strategies of successful anti-dam movements: evidence from Myanmar and Thailand. Soc Nat Resour 31(2):166–182. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2017.1364455

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kondolf GM, Yongxuan G, Annandale GW, Morris GL, Jiang E, Zhang J, Cao Y, Carling P, Fu K, Guo Q, Hotchkiss R, Peteuil C, Sumi T, Wang H-W, Wang Z, Wei Z, Wu B, Wu C, Yang CT (2014) Sustainable sediment management in reservoirs and regulated rivers: experiences from five continents. Earth’s Future 2(5):256–280. https://doi.org/10.1002/2013EF000184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Madadi MR, Rahimpour M, Qaderi K (2017) Improving the pressurized flushing efficiency in reservoirs: an experimental study. Water Resour Manag 31(14):4633–4647. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-017-1770-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mangrio AG, Aslam M, Ikram M (2011) Estimation and rapport between rainfall-runoff and sediment load as soil loss from Rawal sub-watershed. Pak J Agric Agric Eng Vet Sci 27(1):27–38

    Google Scholar 

  • Moridi A, Yazdi J (2017) Sediment flushing of reservoirs under environmental considerations. Water Resour Manag 31(6):1899–1914. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-017-1620-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morris GL, Jiahua F (1998) Reservoir sedimentation handbook: design and management of dams, reservoirs, and watersheds for sustainable use. McGraw Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Palmieri A, Shah F, Annandale GW, Dinar A (2003) Reservoir conservation volume I: the RESCON approach. The World Bank, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Peter DW, Bruce RW (2007) Regional studies of the Potwar plateau area, Northern Pakistan. U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2078–A–I, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, USA

  • Samad N, Chauhdry MH, Ashraf M, Saleem M, Hamid Q, Babar U, Tariq H, Farid MS (2016) Sediment yield assessment and identification of check dam sites for Rawal Dam catchment. Arabian J Geosci 9(6):466. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-016-2484-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schleiss AJ, Franca MJ, Juez C, De Cesare G (2016) Reservoir sedimentation. J Hydraul Res 54:595–614. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221686.2016.1225320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmutz S, Moog O (2018) Dams: ecological impacts and management. In: Riverine ecosystem management: science for governing towards a sustainable future. Springer International Publishing, Cham, pp 111–127

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sheikh IM, Pasha MK, Williams VS, Raza SQ, Khan KSA (2007) Environmental geology of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi area. In: Regional studies of the Potwar plateau area, Northern Pakistan. pp 1–2

  • Shen HW (1999) Flushing sediment through reservoirs. J Hydraul Res 37(6):743–757. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221689909498509

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tariq A (2004) Hydrologic assessment of small dams in Potohar area: case study of Jammergal Dam. In: Pakistan engineering congress, 69th annual session proceedings. Pakistan engineering congress, Lahore, Pakistan, pp 271–292

  • Thorkildsen K (2018) ‘Land yes, dam no!’ Justice-seeking strategies by the anti-dam movement in the Ribeira Valley, Brazil. J Peasant Stud 45(2):347–367. https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2016.1217842

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ullah S, Ali A, Iqbal M, Javid M, Imran M (2018) Geospatial assessment of soil erosion intensity and sediment yield: a case study of Potohar Region, Pakistan. Environ Earth Sci 77(19):705. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-018-7867-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Oorschot M, Kleinhans M, Buijse T, Geerling G, Middlekoop H (2018) Combined effects of climate change and dam construction on riverine ecosystems. Ecol Eng 120:329–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2018.05.037

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Z, Hu C (2009) Strategies for managing reservoir sedimentation. Int J Sediment Res 24(4):369–384. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1001-6279(10)60011-X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White WR (2010) World water: resources, usage and the role of man-made reservoirs. Foundation for Water Research, Marlow

    Google Scholar 

  • Wisser D, Frolking S, Hagen S, Bierkens MFP (2013) Beyond peak reservoir storage? A global estimate of declining water storage capacity in large reservoirs. Water Resour Res 49(9):5732–5739. https://doi.org/10.1002/wrcr.20452

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zakaullah B, Ashraf M, Afzal M, Yaseen M, Khan K (2014) Appraisal of sediment load in rainfed areas of Pothwar region in Pakistan. Glob J Res Eng 14(6):25–33

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan for granting a scholarship to Muhammad Bilal Idrees to pursue his Ph.D. degree.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul, 04763, Republic of Korea

    Muhammad Bilal Idrees & Jin-Young Lee

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, Ansan, 15588, Republic of Korea

    Tae-Woong Kim

Authors
  1. Muhammad Bilal Idrees
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jin-Young Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Tae-Woong Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tae-Woong Kim.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Idrees, M.B., Lee, JY. & Kim, TW. Estimating RESCON model parameters for efficient sediment flushing in a dam reservoir. Environ Earth Sci 78, 224 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-019-8229-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-019-8229-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation