Some Factors Influencing Required Reservoir Storage

Abstract

The impact of streamflow variability and correlation and demand patterns on the required capacity of a water supply reservoir were studied. Inflow traces were generated by simple Markov models; demand was treated as time variables. The relative advantages of annual and monthly models, the influence of initial reservoir contents on required storage, and errors resulting from use of insufficient inflow traces to estimate storage requirements, are shown. Required storage is described by the extreme value probability distribution.