How economically and environmentally viable are multiple dams in the upper Cauvery Basin, India? A hydro-economic analysis using a landscape-based hydrological model
Anjana Ekka,Yong Jiang,Saket Pande,and Pieter van der Zaag
Anjana Ekka
Department of Water Management, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands
ICAR – Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Barrackpore, Kolkata, India
Yong Jiang
Water Resources and Ecosystems, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Delft, the Netherlands
For the first time, we analyse the economic and ecological performance of existing multiple big reservoirs on a daily timescale for a major river basin (upper Cauvery) in India, where pre-intervention data were not available but where there are increasing calls for such assessments. Results show that smaller reservoirs on smaller streams that maximize the economic value of stored water are better for the basin economy and the environment. The approach can help to prioritize dam removals.
For the first time, we analyse the economic and ecological performance of existing multiple big...