Reservoir operation in the context of inter-basin water transfer

Abstract

Inter-basin water-transfer projects are used as a possible solution to increasing water scarcity in many regions, but these projects are often expensive and require large infrastructures, so their benefits need to be maximised and their costs reduced. In this context, this study’s objective was to define technical criteria to operate water reservoirs in the context of water transfer between river basins by using Brazil’s Armando Ribeiro Gonçalves (ARG) reservoir in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, one of the reservoirs receiving water from the São Francisco River Integration Project (PISF), as a case study. The results demonstrate that using hydrological conditions to define when and how much water to transfer is extremely important for water resource management, as it increases reservoir efficiency and reduces transferred volumes, thereby cutting costs.