Reservoir Operation and Multi-Attribute Decision-Making – Web-based Tool

Reservoir operation plays a significant role in effectively managing water resources, especially mitigating future droughts. Several simulation, and optimization models are used to obtain optimal reservoir operation solutions based on hedging rules. These solutions are usually in the form of Pareto front and are derived to satisfy multiple objectives related to water supply measures. However, it is challenging to achieve a single solution when various performance indices such as reliability, resilience and vulnerability are considered in evaluation. Therefore, this study proposes a web-based application for reservoir operation with Multi-Attribute Decision Making (MADM) methods to evaluate and provide rankings for reservoir operation solutions. It includes two components: (i) reservoir operation module based on simulation-optimization framework with hedging policies; and (ii) decision-making module that includes evaluation and ranking of solutions obtained from first module and comparison of rankings obtained from various MADM methods. Overall the tool provides a set of solutions for different water supply reduction measures/hedging policies and ranking the solutions for performance indices which would help reservoir operators, practitioners, and researchers for optimal water allocation and decision-making.