‘IWRM can reduce floods in downstream areas of hydel dams’

Guwahati: For mitigating floods in the downstream areas of hydel dams in the North East region, a river science expert has suggested adoption of an Integrated Water Resources Manage-ment (IWRM) approach in the area.
River science expert and former IIT-Roorkee Professor Nayan Sharma suggested that the existing or planned hydel dams of NEEPCO, Assam Power General Corporation (APGCL) and NHPC be overhauled to incorporate necessary flood cushion in the reservoir along with evolving optimal reservoir operation rule curves.
Integrated Water Resources Manage-ment is a Water Resources Planning process which “promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and related resources in order to maximise the resultant economic and social welfare in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems”, Sharma said.
He suggested using recent advance technology for mitigation of the flood devastations wrecked in downstream areas of hydel dams. The recent advance technologies include Piano Key Weir (PKW) for achieving enhanced discharging capacity and increased reservoir storage, river restoration scheme for maintaining required channel flood conveyance capacity, he said.
“Implementation of the suggested solutions will turn around these mono-purpose run-of-the-river hydel projects into multi-purpose projects which will be able to accrue multiple benefits for flood moderation, stable river restoration and sustaining ecology, besides generating cheaper and eco-friendly clean hydro power,” the professor said. (PTI)