Flow regime aspects in determining environmental flows and maximising energy production at run-of-river hydropower plants

Kuriqi, Alban; Pinheiro, António N.; Sordo‐Ward, Álvaro; Garrote, Luís

doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.113980

Cited by 223 publications

(72 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…but not yet assessed in the Ebro delta Hydropower generation Declining river flows negatively affect hydropower generation Kuriqi et al [73] Literature points to economic impacts,…”

Section: Water Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Environmental Flows in the Lower Ebro River and Delta: Current Status and Guidelines for a Holistic Approach

Ibáñez¹,

Caiola²,

Belmar³

2020

Water

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Deltas are a particular type of estuarine system in which the dependence on river flow (water, sediments and nutrients) is very strong, especially in river-dominated deltas such as the Mediterranean ones, but environmental flow (e-flow) proposals for deltaic systems are scarce. The Ebro Delta is one of the largest wetland areas in the western Mediterranean and one of the most important estuarine systems in Europe. The aim of this paper is to review the state of the art regarding e-flows and to carry out a critical analysis of the proposals for the lower Ebro River and Delta, in order to highlight the possible environmental and socioeconomic impacts arising from the e-flow regime currently approved. Additionally, based on existing scientific information, methods to establish an e-flow regime that allows the maintenance of the main socio-ecological functions and values are discussed; including those functions and values for which not enough information is available. The study concludes that the currently approved e-flows are not suitable for maintaining most functions and values, as they would not prevent the proliferation of alien fish species and macrophytes in the river, the intrusion of the salt wedge in the estuary, the deficit of sediment/nutrient transport and the degradation of riparian habitats or the decline of coastal fisheries. Socioeconomic consequences on coastal fisheries, river navigation, salt water intrusion, sediment deficit, biodiversity, water quality, aquaculture and hydropower are also considered. Other e-flow proposals such as the proposed by the Catalan government would be more suitable to maintain the main socioecological functions and values of the lower Ebro River and Delta. Nevertheless, additional studies are needed to validate e-flows in some relevant aspects such as the capacity of the river to transport sediments to the delta to avoid coastal regression and mitigate the effects of sea level rise and subsidence, as well as the capacity of floods to control the spread of macrophytes. The lower Ebro River and delta is among the case studies where more quantitative and qualitative criteria to set e-flows with a holistic approach have been established.

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“…but not yet assessed in the Ebro delta Hydropower generation Declining river flows negatively affect hydropower generation Kuriqi et al [73] Literature points to economic impacts,…”

Section: Water Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The impacts on industrial activities must also be considered, especially on the hydropower production [73] and cooling needs of the Ascó nuclear power plant, but no quantification has been done yet.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Flows in the Lower Ebro River and Delta: Current Status and Guidelines for a Holistic Approach

Ibáñez¹,

Caiola²,

Belmar³

2020

Water

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“…The evaluation and implementation of environmental flows is a complex problem that needs to consider not only the rationality of scientific research, but also the feasibility of engineering [9,34]. As it involves economic benefits, it also needs to consider social and economic benefits.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comment on Chinese Policies to Avoid Negative Impacts on River Ecosystems by Hydropower Projects

Chen

Zhang

et al. 2020

Water

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The rapid economic development of river basins depends on the excessive use of water resources. China experienced a rapid development of hydropower projects in the last two decades and thus faces many ecological and environmental issues, especially in ecologically sensitive areas. Environmental flow is an important management tool that requires attention in the environmental impact assessment of hydropower projects. Environmental flows are of great significance for maintaining river structures and protecting the health of both aquatic ecosystems and human sustainable livelihoods. Although the government authorities have done much work in this area and attempted to consider technical requirements to address the negative externalities of hydropower projects, there are still defects in the basic procedures, calculation methods, and ultimately implementation process from policy to operationalization in terms of environmental flows. The official standards for environmental flows assessment mainly appear in two documents: 1. specification for calculation of environmental flow in rivers and lakes; and 2. code for calculation ecological flow of hydropower projects. This paper reviewed the overarching framework of the two documents and then summarized their fitness in terms of environmental flows implementation in hydropower projects. The research status of environmental flows and future directions for China were also proposed in this paper.

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“…The hydrological methods are the most simple, straightforward, and data-friendly methods that have been used extensively for the preliminary study of the e-flows allocation [48]. So, when there are several available solutions for the same problem, there is no guarantee of the best solution from both fixed and scientific perspectives.…”

Section: Limitations Of the Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Disrupt cues for fish: (spawning, egg hatching, migration) [54]. Evolution of the life history and behaviour mechanism of the aquatic organisms [48]. The five essential components of flow, namely: low flows, extreme low flows, high flow pulses, small floods, and large floods, have been identified ecologically essential and have been incorporated in IHA software as "environmental flow components" [51].…”

Section: Indicators Of Hydrological Alteration (Iha) and Global Indexesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental Flows Assessment in Nepal: The Case of Kaligandaki River

et al. 2020

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Environmental flow assessments (e-flows) are relatively new practices, especially in developing countries such as Nepal. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the influence of hydrologically based e-flow methods in the natural flow regime. The study used different hydrological-based methods, namely, the Global Environmental Flow Calculator, the Tennant method, the flow duration curve method, the dynamic method, the mean annual flow method, and the annual distribution method to allocate e-flows in the Kaligandaki River. The most common practice for setting e-flows consists of allocating a specific percentage of mean annual flow or portion of flow derived from specific percentiles of the flow duration curve. However, e-flow releases should mimic the river’s intra-annual variability to meet the specific ecological function at different river trophic levels and in different periods over a year covering biotas life stages. The suitability of the methods was analyzed using the Indicators of Hydrological Alterations and e-flows components. The annual distribution method and the 30%Q-D (30% of daily discharge) methods showed a low alteration at the five global indexes for each group of Indicators of Hydrological Alterations and e-flows components, which allowed us to conclude that these methods are superior to the other methods. Hence, the study results concluded that 30%Q-D and annual distribution methods are more suitable for the e-flows implementation to meet the riverine ecosystem’s annual dynamic demand to maintain the river’s health. This case study can be used as a guideline to allocate e-flows in the Kaligandaki River, particularly for small hydropower plants.

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Flow regime aspects in determining environmental flows and maximising energy production at run-of-river hydropower plants

Cited by 223 publications

References 47 publications

Environmental Flows in the Lower Ebro River and Delta: Current Status and Guidelines for a Holistic Approach

Environmental Flows in the Lower Ebro River and Delta: Current Status and Guidelines for a Holistic Approach

A Comment on Chinese Policies to Avoid Negative Impacts on River Ecosystems by Hydropower Projects

Environmental Flows Assessment in Nepal: The Case of Kaligandaki River

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