An Alternative Approach to the Operation of Multinational Reservoir Systems: Application to the Amistad & Falcon Reservoir System (Lower Rio Grande/Rio Bravo)

Abstract

An optimization approach for the operation of international multi-reservoir systems is presented. The approach uses Stochastic Dynamic Programming (SDP) algorithms — both steady-state and real-time. — to develop two models. In the first model, the reservoirs and flows of the system were aggregated to yield an equivalent reservoir, and the obtained operating policies were disaggregated using a non-linear optimization procedure for each reservoir and for each nation's water balance. In the second model a multi-reservoir approach was followed, disaggregating the releases for each country's water share in each reservoir. The non-linear disaggregation algorithm uses the SDP derived operating policies as boundary conditions for a local time-step optimization. These models were applied to the Amistad-Falcon International Reservoir System as part of a dynamic modeling project between the US and Mexico for a better management of the water resources in the Lower Rio Grande Basin, currently enduring a severe drought.