| Title: | Assessment of flow regulation effects by dams in the Han River, Korea on the downstream flow regimes using SWAT |
| Authors: | Kim, N.W., J.E. Lee and J.T. Kim |
| Year: | 2012 |
| Journal: | Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management |
| Volume (Issue): | 138(1) |
| Pages: | 24-35 |
| Article ID: | |
| DOI: | 10.1061/(ASCE)WR.1943-5452.0000148 |
| URL (non-DOI journals): | |
| Model: | SWAT |
| Broad Application Category: | hydrologic only |
| Primary Application Category: | reservoirs, ponds, lakes and/or other impoundment effects |
| Secondary Application Category: | hydrologic assessment |
| Watershed Description: | 26,919 km^2 Han River, which drains a large portion of north central South Korea and a part of southern North Korea. |
| Calibration Summary: | |
| Validation Summary: | |
| General Comments: | It is not totally clear if the authors simulated the entire Han River system, based on their description of the study region in the article. It should also be noted that other studies included in the literature database describe the Han River basin as draining an area > 34,000 km^2. |
| Abstract: | A method for the precise assessment of the effects of flow regulation by dams on the
downstream flow regimes, using daily runoff simulation model, has been suggested in this
study. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to evaluate the effects of flow
regulation of the upstream Soyanggang and Chungju multi-purpose dams on the downstream
flow regimes at the inlet of the Paldang Dam, a major water supply source of the Seoul
metropolitan area, in the Han River basin, Korea. The model was calibrated using the
observed regulated inflows to the Paldang Dam. The flow duration curves for the inflows and
outflows of the Soyanggang and Chungju Dams were used to evaluate the effects of storage
of the two dams. The Soyanggang Dam was simulated as storing 0.74 billion m3 of water
during a 46 day high flow period, with this volume then released during the 319 days of the
low flow period. Similarly, the Chungju Dam was evaluated as storing 1.03 billion m3 of
water during a 19 day period, with this stored water then released during a 346 day period. To
evaluate the effects of regulation by the two dams on the downstream flow regimes, regulated
and unregulated flow duration curves were constructed and analyzed. At the inlet of the
Paldang Dam, the regulated volumes, the surplus water due to the regulation of the dam, by
the Soyanggang, Chungju and both dams were 0.91, 1.25 and 2.16 billion m3, respectively,
with regulation durations of 302, 337 and 311 days, respectively. This method was revealed to
be able to accurately reconstruct the flow duration curves, and then successfully evaluate the
effects of regulation by the dams on the downstream flow regimes. The method proposed in
this study is the first to accurately reconstruct the natural flow regime, and it is anticipated
that the results of this study will be useful in the evaluation of the effects of flow regulation,
as well as water resources planning and management. |
| Language: | English |
| Keywords: | flow regulation effects; daily runoff simulation; SWAT; flow duration curves; natural flow regime |