Optimization Operation Model Coupled with Improving Water-Transfer Rules and Hedging Rules for Inter-Basin Water Transfer-Supply Systems

Due to the great complexity and the nonlinear and dynamic characteristics of joint optimization operations in inter-basin water transfer-supply systems (IBWTS), rational operating rules (water-transfer rules and hedging rules) are essential in water resources management at the planning stage. Currently, the water-transfer rules in optimization operation model are not reasonable as there is only one water-transfer rule curves for each recipient reservoir, so that they cannot reflect the refined water transfer especially when there is a small water shortage. Therefore, the purpose of this study is mainly to develop new water-transfer rules to improve the effectiveness of water transfer. That is, upper-and-lower water-transfer rule curves for each recipient reservoir and one water-transfer rule curve for one donor reservoir are developed to make water-transfer decisions. In the proposed rule, water transfer involves a combined decision-making process in consideration of water storages of both the recipient and donor reservoirs. Most importantly, when there is less water shortage in recipient reservoirs, the actual transferred water is no more than the water flow interpolated within the designed delivery capacity instead of only the designed delivery capacity in other existing rules. Because it is an interactive process of water transfer and water supply in the IBWTS operations, operation models coupled with the improving water-transfer rules and hedging rules are established for solving the operation problems. Finally, a North-line IBWTS located in Liaoning Province in China is employed as a case study. And a coarse-grained parallel PSO algorithm with a simulation model is employed for effectively deriving the operating rule curves (water-transfer and hedging rule curves). The operation results show that the proposed rule-based operation model are reasonable and can significantly reduce water transfer with less influence on the water-supply capability than other existing operating rules.