Analysis of lake and river flow regime alteration to assess impacts of hydraulic structures

A key challenge in Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is determination of environmental flow (EF). This is relevant in all water use scenarios and river regulation work. Water use and management alter water availability for ecosystems and the timing and distribution of runoff. Increased water consumption and allocation of water to different types of consumption impose pressures on aquatic ecosystems, affecting their status and ability to deliver important services, well–known examples being the Aral Sea in Asia and Lake Chad in Africa. This thesis presents new methods to determine the impacts of hydraulic structures on the flow regime of lakes and rivers. Methods to quantify different characteristics of flow in a non–dimensionless way are also presented. These tools allow more environment–based regulation of flow regimes. By using three main flow characteristics of river regime (magnitude, timing and intra–annual), three impact factors, MIF (magnitude impact factor), TIF (timing impact factor) and VIF (variation impact factor), were developed. Combining these impact factors produced a new river impact (RI) index to assess the impacts of hydraulic structure using monthly flow data. Based on RI variations, a classification was developed rating impacts along a scale from ‘Low’ to ‘Drastic’. The importance of climate patterns and river flow regime in controlling lake levels was examined. The lake simulation results were compared using a new index, Degree of Lake Wetness (DLW) and lake response time to changes in hydrology or climate was evaluated. Environmental flow allocation and optimisation of annual EF distribution are critical for ecosystem health. Flow release from reservoirs can be partly supplemented or compensated for by natural runoff from downstream (residual) catchment areas. In a new hydrological approach, optimal intra–annual flow regime for EF can be estimated while considering water inflow from the downstream residual sub-catchment. This thesis provides methods and indices to help ...