A Programming Model for Analysis of the Reliability, Resilience, and Vulnerability of a Water Supply Reservoir

Reliability in water supply reservoir operation is commonly thought of as the probability of failing to achieve some target release. Here we explore two additional proposed descriptions of reservoir performance: the maximum shortfall from the target (system vulnerability) and the maximum number of consecutive periods of deficit during a record (system resilience). The larger the maximum shortfall, the greater the vulnerability. The shorter the maximum length of deficits, the more resilient the system. Using multiobjective mixed‐integer, linear programming, the tradeoffs between reliability, vulnerability, and resilience are examined. It is found that as reliability is increased or as the maximum length of consecutive shortfalls decreases (resilience increases), the vulnerability of the water system to larger deficits increases.