ISSN 0097-8078, Water Resources, 2018, Vol. 45, Suppl. 1, pp. S18–S28. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd., 2018. Information Support Technology in Managing the Volga–Kama Cascade of Reservoirs S. E. Bednaruka, * and Yu. G. Motovilovb, ** aRussian State Agrarian University, Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy, Moscow, 127550 Russia bWater Problems Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119333 Russia *e-mail: [email protected] **e-mail: [email protected] Received June 27, 2018 Abstract—The paper presents the structure of information support technology and algorithms of the deci- sion-making process in managing the Volga–Kama cascade of reservoirs, as well as the results of implement- ing into the operational practice of a technology for regulating reservoirs and the prospects of its use for solv- ing water problems. Keywords: the Volga–Kama cascade, regulation of reservoirs, computer technology, hydrological data sup- port DOI: 10.1134/S0097807818050287 INTRODUCTION and agencies, executive bodies of the members of the Over the past 15 years, with the support of the Rus- Russian Federation, as well as the biggest water user sian Ministry of Natural Resources and the Federal companies. Water Resources Agency, an economically sound and The leader of the Interdepartmental Working ecologically safe methodology was developed and improved for the management of water resources in Group is one of the officials of the Federal Water river basins with multipurpose reservoir cascades. This Resources Agency senior staff. After discussing sug- methodology had been implemented in the form of a gestions at the meetings of the Interdepartmental computer technology, which was used for the informa- Working Group, basing on the recommendations tion support of making optimal managerial decisions drawn up by the group, the Leader (DMP-the deci- on regulating the regimes of reservoir cascades in the sion-making person) makes a decision on the work operational practice of the Federal Water Resources regime of each reservoir of the cascade. These are Agency [3]. brought to the System Operator (former Central Dis- patching Office) of the Unified Power System in the THE ALGORITHM OF MAKING DECISIONS form of orders and then sent at the facilities of the ON MANAGING THE VOLGA–KAMA Hydroelectric Power Stations in the form of directives. CASCADE OF RESERVOIRS Structurally, the information support computer The algorithm of making decisions with the help of technology consists of the four basic interconnected the developed technology could be summarized as fol- components (Fig. 1): (1) the program complex of river lows (Fig. 1). At the initial stage, suggestions on reser- runoff modelling ECOMAG; (2) the program com- voir regimes are made with the help of computer tech- plex of water systems with reservoir cascades model- nology using all available operational information ling VOLPOW; (3) the databases of cartographic, about the state of water objects and hydroengineering meteorological, hydrological, agrometeorological, structures, archival and prognostic hydrometeorolog- ical information, normative instruments regulating and water-related information and the corresponding reservoir regimes, and the current requirements of managing systems of these bases, and (4) the subsys- water users. These suggestions are considered and dis- tem of visualization and representation of the basic cussed at the meetings of the Interdepartmental Work- information and the results of scenario and simulation ing Group (former Interdepartmental Operational calculations of water reservoir regimes (the GIS portal Group) on regulating reservoir regimes, with the par- of the Register and Cadaster Center-http://gis.vod- ticipation of representatives of interested ministries info.ru/). S18 INFORMATION SUPPORT TECHNOLOGY S19 Fig. 1. The decision-making scheme for the management of the Volga−Kama water reservoirs cascade. THE PROGRAM MODELLING COMPLEX soil, infiltration of snowmelt water into the frozen OF RIVER RUNOFF FORMATION-ECOMAG soil). One of the key components of the information sup- In the modelling of the river basin, its surface is port technology when managing cascades of reservoirs divided into elementary catchments (model elements) is the program complex (PC) for mathematical mod- elling of river runoff formation ECOMAG (ECOlogi- by an irregular mesh, taking into account the nature of cal Model for Applied Geophysics) [12]. The PC the terrain, the river network structure, the distribu- includes: the mathematical model ECOMAG, a spe- tion of soil types, vegetation, land use, etc. Modelling cialized geographical information system (GIS), hydrological processes in every model element is per- archival and operational hydrometeorological data- formed at four levels: in the surface soil layer (A hori- bases and information about the territory characteris- zon), the underlying deeper layer (B horizon), the tics, as well as a managing shell (Fig. 2). groundwater storage, and the storage of surface runoff formation. In the cold season, the snow cover storage The Model of Runoff Formation in River Basins is added. The scheme ends by considering runoff transformation processes in the river network. The runoff formation model ECOMAG is designed to implement the following scheme of the The main equations of the ECOMAG model processes involved [9, 13]. In the warm season, precip- describing hydrological cycle processes by ordinary itation in the form of rain partially penetrates the soil. differential equations are obtained by integrating the Excessive water not absorbed by the soil moves to the corresponding equations in partial derivatives of the river network along the slope in the form of surface detailed physically based models [7] over space with runoff after filling depression storages on the surface some assumptions. Such simplified semi-distributed of the basin. Part of water infiltrates into the soil and models retain the main traits and advantages of the can move along the slope through temporary and rel- atively impermeable aquicludes (subsurface and spatially distributed physically based models and, at groundwater runoff). The water that does not reach the same time, they are more effective in solving sci- the river network is spent on evaporation. During the entific and applied problems, since they are less cold season, this scheme is complemented by hydro- demanding to the contents and completeness of the thermal processes in the snow cover and soil (snow background information, and also less sensitive to cover formation and melting, freezing and thawing of errors in this information. WATER RESOURCES Vol. 45 Suppl. 1 2018 S20 BEDNARUK, MOTOVILOV Base GIS information Vertical structure of ECOMAG Digital elevation model Simulation Soil Discharges in river network Vegetation Layer of runoff Hydrographs Modelled area Data base GIS-analysis of simulated results Climate Layer of runoff Soil moisture Pollution Evapotranspiration Vegetation Soil Fig. 2. Structure of a software package for modeling of river runoff formation ECOMAG. The Methodology and Technology of Schematizing lation form a model channel network. After that there the River Network and the Catchment Area is a procedure of “splitting” the basin into elementary on the Basis of the DEM catchments, representing separated catchment areas among the junctions of the river network, which are In order to model the processes of the hydrological model spatial elements. cycle and water flowing along the catchment slopes and in the channel network, it is necessary to carry out the schematization of the river basin and the river net- The ECOMAG Data Bases work. The information about their tree-like structure The ECOMAG data bases contain information (which river flows into which one; the length of a trib- about river basins, soil parameters and landscape utary; the adjacent slopes, from which the water types, meteorological, hydrological, and water-related reaches the given part of a river; the types of soil and characteristics. land use in these areas; etc.) is programmed into the model. To automate the process of river basin schema- The data bases of river basin characteristics, mete- tization, the program module Ecomag Extension was orological, hydrological, and water-related blocks of developed, which, basing on the digital elevation information mainly include the description of objects model (DEM), allows one to automatically single out and ways of access to the volume boot records for the model river network with the necessary spatial res- objects (the structure of model river network and ele- olution, outline catchment areas of tributaries and mentary catchments, the spatial distribution of soil parts of the channel network, carry out the structural– types and vegetation in the river basin, the network of hydrographical analysis of river networks, implement monitoring stations, etc.) and to the electronic overlapping of different fields, calculate statistical archives of observation data sets when estimating cor- characteristics of spatial fields and carry out other responding river basins. mathematical operations with them that are necessary From the thematic data bases, the data on the char- for solving hydrological and water-related problems. acteristics of soils and land use are taken. The database The methodology of automated highlighting elemen- Soil contains hydrophysical characteristics of soil tary catchments and the model river network consists types on the territory of the former USSR, which are in drawing