Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
Hydrology and Earth System Sciences
HESS
Articles | Volume 29, issue 13
Articles | Volume 29, issue 13
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2785-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2785-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 29, issue 13
Research article
 | Highlight paper
 | 
03 Jul 2025
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 03 Jul 2025

Is drought protection possible without compromising flood protection? Estimating the potential dual-use benefit of small flood reservoirs in southern Germany

Sarah Quỳnh-Giang Ho and Uwe Ehret

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Acheampong, D., Balana, B. B., Nimoh, F., and Abaidoo, R. C.: Asssesing the effectiveness and impact of agricultural water management interventions: the case of small reservoirs in northern Ghana, Agr. Water Manag., 209, 163–170, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2018.07.009, 2018. 
Adams, L. E., Lund, J. R., Moyle, P. B., Quiñones, R. M., Herman, J. D., and O'Rear, T. A.: Environmental hedging: A theory and method for reconciling reservoir operations for downstream ecology and water supply, Water Resour. Res., 53, 7816–7831, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016wr020128, 2017. 
Baden-Württemberg, H. R.: Strategie zur Minderung von Hochwasserrisiken in Baden-Württemberg, https://um.baden-wuerttemberg.de/fileadmin/redaktion/ (last access: 30 June 2025), 2014. 
Baden-Württemberg, L. f. U.: Regionalisierte Abfluss-Kennwerte Baden-Württemberg - Mittlere Abflüsse und mittlere Niedrigwasserabflüsse [data set], https://www.lubw.baden-wuerttemberg.de/wasser/regionalisierte-abflusskennwerte (last access: 30 June 2025), 2016. 
Baden-Württemberg, L. f. U.: NIZ Pegel Klassifizierung, https://www.hvz.baden-wuerttemberg.de/pdf/NIZ_Pegel_Klassifizierung.pdf (last access: 30 June 2025), 2024a. 
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Executive editor
This study addresses the highly relevant issue of dam operation around the central question if dam operation can help to alleviate both floods and droughts, and under what conditions. This study of dams in Germany is highly relevant to water management in a climate with increasing frequency and magnitude of weather extremes.
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In this paper, we use models to demonstrate that even small flood reservoirs – which capture water to avoid floods downstream – can be repurposed to release water in drier conditions without affecting their ability to protect against floods. By capturing water and releasing it once levels are low, we show that reservoirs can greatly increase the water available in drought. Having more water available to the reservoir, however, is not necessarily better for drought protection.
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