Assessment of Sustainable Sediment Management Strategies using RESCON 2 Model: A Case Study of Budhi Gandaki Hydroelectric Project

Sujata Adhikari, Umesh Singh, Ishwar Joshi, Bhola Nath Ghimire

BudhiGandaki Reservoir, Life cycle management approach, RESCON 2 model, Reservoir Sedimentation.

Reservoir sedimentation is one of the main challenges faced by storage hydroelectric projects all over the world. Particularly for a country like Nepal which lies in the center of “Himalaya Arc”, a region with one of the highest sediment yields in the world, reservoir sedimentation can be one of the biggest issues for storage type projects. It may result in the loss of huge capital investment and revenues. Thus to minimize the reservoir sedimentation problem and to ensure the sustainability of the existing as well as upcoming future storage projects, timely measures for sediment management strategy are required. RESCON 2 model sponsored by Word Bank is the tool for the rapid assessment of sustainable sediment management strategies. The model is based on the Life Cycle Management approach which focuses on managing the reservoir by economical and technical evaluation of different sediment management alternatives to extend the life of the reservoir for an almost indefinite lifetime. Thus this study is carried out for the assessment of sustainable sediment management technique for proposed Budhi Gandaki Hydroelectric project (BGHEP) using the RESCON 2 model. One of the important parameters for the assessment of sustainable sediment strategies is specific sediment yield. So in this study 9 sediment management techniques incorporated in RESCON 2 model have been evaluated based on two specific sediment yield, 1) estimated from BQART empirical method, 2) data from the BGHEP study report. From the calculation it was found that the BQART model overestimated the sediment yield than presented in BGHEP report and the result indicated Sluicing as the best sediment management technique for both the cases having the highest Aggregate net present value. From sensitivity analysis, Aggregate Net present value and reservoir capacity were found sensitive to unit benefit of reservoir yield, coefficient of variation and annual runoff.

https://dx.doi.org/10.31873/IJEAS.7.06.01