Assessment of Environmental Water Requirement Allocation in Anthropogenic Rivers with a Hydropower Dam Using Hydrologically Based Methods—Case Study
Anthropogenic activities such as damming have caused an alteration in the natural flow regime in many rivers around the world. In this study, the role of constructing a hydroelectric dam on the natural flow regime of the Kor River, Iran, is investigated. Nine different methods, which fall into the c...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/6/893 |
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| author | Hossein Hamidifar Farzaneh Akbari Paweł M. Rowiński |
| author_facet | Hossein Hamidifar Farzaneh Akbari Paweł M. Rowiński |
| author_sort | Hossein Hamidifar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Anthropogenic activities such as damming have caused an alteration in the natural flow regime in many rivers around the world. In this study, the role of constructing a hydroelectric dam on the natural flow regime of the Kor River, Iran, is investigated. Nine different methods, which fall into the category of hydrological methods, were used to determine the environmental water requirement (EWR) of the Kor River. In addition, two indices are introduced to evaluate the environmental flow allocation in anthropogenic rivers. The results show that although the supply of environmental flow in some months is in relatively acceptable conditions on average, there is a deficiency in the allocation of EWR in the range of 1.92–30.2% in the spawning period of the dominant fish species. The proposed indicators can provide a general picture of the status of environmental flow allocation in rivers where little ecological data is available and the hydrological regime has changed due to human activities, particularly in rivers with hydropower plants. Moreover, after the construction of the dam, no major floods have occurred in the river, which has led to the loss of the morpho-ecological balance in the river and disruption of the natural state of habitats. Therefore, the negative impact of dam construction on the environmental conditions of the river should be considered in the active management of the dam outlets. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:14:04Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a1423e4f204d40ccb7649ac50b1b0d61 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:14:04Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-a1423e4f204d40ccb7649ac50b1b0d612023-11-30T22:48:50ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412022-03-0114689310.3390/w14060893Assessment of Environmental Water Requirement Allocation in Anthropogenic Rivers with a Hydropower Dam Using Hydrologically Based Methods—Case StudyHossein Hamidifar0Farzaneh Akbari1Paweł M. Rowiński2Water Engineering Department, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71441, IranWater Engineering Department, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71441, IranInstitute of Geophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, 01-452 Warsaw, PolandAnthropogenic activities such as damming have caused an alteration in the natural flow regime in many rivers around the world. In this study, the role of constructing a hydroelectric dam on the natural flow regime of the Kor River, Iran, is investigated. Nine different methods, which fall into the category of hydrological methods, were used to determine the environmental water requirement (EWR) of the Kor River. In addition, two indices are introduced to evaluate the environmental flow allocation in anthropogenic rivers. The results show that although the supply of environmental flow in some months is in relatively acceptable conditions on average, there is a deficiency in the allocation of EWR in the range of 1.92–30.2% in the spawning period of the dominant fish species. The proposed indicators can provide a general picture of the status of environmental flow allocation in rivers where little ecological data is available and the hydrological regime has changed due to human activities, particularly in rivers with hydropower plants. Moreover, after the construction of the dam, no major floods have occurred in the river, which has led to the loss of the morpho-ecological balance in the river and disruption of the natural state of habitats. Therefore, the negative impact of dam construction on the environmental conditions of the river should be considered in the active management of the dam outlets.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/6/893environmental flowhydroelectric damsnatural rivershydrological impactsecosystem resilience |
| spellingShingle | Hossein Hamidifar Farzaneh Akbari Paweł M. Rowiński Assessment of Environmental Water Requirement Allocation in Anthropogenic Rivers with a Hydropower Dam Using Hydrologically Based Methods—Case Study Water environmental flow hydroelectric dams natural rivers hydrological impacts ecosystem resilience |
| title | Assessment of Environmental Water Requirement Allocation in Anthropogenic Rivers with a Hydropower Dam Using Hydrologically Based Methods—Case Study |
| title_full | Assessment of Environmental Water Requirement Allocation in Anthropogenic Rivers with a Hydropower Dam Using Hydrologically Based Methods—Case Study |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of Environmental Water Requirement Allocation in Anthropogenic Rivers with a Hydropower Dam Using Hydrologically Based Methods—Case Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of Environmental Water Requirement Allocation in Anthropogenic Rivers with a Hydropower Dam Using Hydrologically Based Methods—Case Study |
| title_short | Assessment of Environmental Water Requirement Allocation in Anthropogenic Rivers with a Hydropower Dam Using Hydrologically Based Methods—Case Study |
| title_sort | assessment of environmental water requirement allocation in anthropogenic rivers with a hydropower dam using hydrologically based methods case study |
| topic | environmental flow hydroelectric dams natural rivers hydrological impacts ecosystem resilience |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/14/6/893 |
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