Effects of small hydropower plants in cascade arrangement on the discharge cyclic patterns

ABSTRACT Because it is assumed that the impacts in the natural streamflow regime promoted by Small Hydropower Plants (SHP) are negligible, environmental licensing for such facilities is usually easier. Nonetheless, recent studies have shown that the operation of SHPs may disturb the natural flow con...

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Main Authors: Rafael Pedrollo de Paes, Veber Afonso Figueiredo Costa, Wilson dos Santos Fernandes
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Associação Brasileira de Recursos Hídricos 2019-07-01
Series:Revista Brasileira de Recursos Hídricos
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2318-03312019000100231&tlng=en
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author Rafael Pedrollo de Paes
Veber Afonso Figueiredo Costa
Wilson dos Santos Fernandes
author_facet Rafael Pedrollo de Paes
Veber Afonso Figueiredo Costa
Wilson dos Santos Fernandes
author_sort Rafael Pedrollo de Paes
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Because it is assumed that the impacts in the natural streamflow regime promoted by Small Hydropower Plants (SHP) are negligible, environmental licensing for such facilities is usually easier. Nonetheless, recent studies have shown that the operation of SHPs may disturb the natural flow conditions, mainly when the plants are placed in a cascade arrangement. In this context, the main objective of this study is investigating the alterations in flows periodic behavior in a system of six hydropower plants, being five of them SHPs. Daily discharge time series were extracted from eight streamflow gauging stations located in the Jauru River catchment, Brazil, whose period-of-record spans from May/2016 to Aug/2017. By using the wavelet transform, dominant cycles along the time series were identified and their coherence in nearby stations was compared. Among the results, one may observe that, from upstream to downstream, the high frequency cycles became more important whereas the low frequency ones have weakened. Additional analyses indicate that such alterations are not directly related to meteorological factors or to the gradual increasing in the catchment’s drainage area in the downstream direction, which suggests that the operation of SHPs may affect the streamflow natural cycles.
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spelling doaj.art-e457a05cc5b842e4968e540a3cae4a152022-12-22T04:16:14ZengAssociação Brasileira de Recursos HídricosRevista Brasileira de Recursos Hídricos2318-03312019-07-012410.1590/2318-0331.241920180140Effects of small hydropower plants in cascade arrangement on the discharge cyclic patternsRafael Pedrollo de Paeshttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3216-8951Veber Afonso Figueiredo Costahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3848-2098Wilson dos Santos Fernandeshttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9731-2320ABSTRACT Because it is assumed that the impacts in the natural streamflow regime promoted by Small Hydropower Plants (SHP) are negligible, environmental licensing for such facilities is usually easier. Nonetheless, recent studies have shown that the operation of SHPs may disturb the natural flow conditions, mainly when the plants are placed in a cascade arrangement. In this context, the main objective of this study is investigating the alterations in flows periodic behavior in a system of six hydropower plants, being five of them SHPs. Daily discharge time series were extracted from eight streamflow gauging stations located in the Jauru River catchment, Brazil, whose period-of-record spans from May/2016 to Aug/2017. By using the wavelet transform, dominant cycles along the time series were identified and their coherence in nearby stations was compared. Among the results, one may observe that, from upstream to downstream, the high frequency cycles became more important whereas the low frequency ones have weakened. Additional analyses indicate that such alterations are not directly related to meteorological factors or to the gradual increasing in the catchment’s drainage area in the downstream direction, which suggests that the operation of SHPs may affect the streamflow natural cycles.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2318-03312019000100231&tlng=enStreamflow periodicityWavelet transformSmall dam impactsRun-of-river power plantTime series analysis
spellingShingle Rafael Pedrollo de Paes
Veber Afonso Figueiredo Costa
Wilson dos Santos Fernandes
Effects of small hydropower plants in cascade arrangement on the discharge cyclic patterns
Revista Brasileira de Recursos Hídricos
Streamflow periodicity
Wavelet transform
Small dam impacts
Run-of-river power plant
Time series analysis
title Effects of small hydropower plants in cascade arrangement on the discharge cyclic patterns
title_full Effects of small hydropower plants in cascade arrangement on the discharge cyclic patterns
title_fullStr Effects of small hydropower plants in cascade arrangement on the discharge cyclic patterns
title_full_unstemmed Effects of small hydropower plants in cascade arrangement on the discharge cyclic patterns
title_short Effects of small hydropower plants in cascade arrangement on the discharge cyclic patterns
title_sort effects of small hydropower plants in cascade arrangement on the discharge cyclic patterns
topic Streamflow periodicity
Wavelet transform
Small dam impacts
Run-of-river power plant
Time series analysis
url http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S2318-03312019000100231&tlng=en
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