IntegTa – Integrative Management of Multipurpose Drinking Water Reservoirs

Raw water reservoirs for drinking water production guarantee long-term storage for drinking water supply. However, additional demands are gaining more and more importance. In particular, the ecological state of the rivers downstream the reservoir will be given more attention. And often there are demands with respect to energy production, nature conservation and recreational uses as well.

Managing multipurpose reservoirs results in numerous potential conflicts of interest. This is due to the fact that an optimum management for one purpose is possibly suboptimal for another. Thus, for example, an as large as possible flood detention space might conflict with the demand to supply raw water of high quality for drinking water production. Also, the discharge from the reservoir affects the environmental quality in the lower reaches. This in turn can result in conflicts with the requirements and objectives of the EU Water Framework Directive. The main difficulty in the management of drinking water reservoirs is therefore to find management strategies that will harmonize all demands.