Can Reservoir Storage Be Uneconomically Large?
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 132, Issue 6
Abstract
The effect of reservoir losses on the economically optimal use of reservoir storage capacity is explored theoretically and numerically. We demonstrate that reservoir seepage and evaporation losses lead to a trade-off between the reliability and mean level of water deliveries, and that as the price elasticity of demand increases and variability of inflows decreases, the optimal reservoir storage decreases. Corresponding reductions in the optimal maximum use of reservoir storage capacity as price elasticity of demand increases, variability of inflows decreases, and losses increase are illustrated. The approach helps clarify the role of storage in maximizing economic benefits from consumptive uses.
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Acknowledgments
The writers would like to thank the reviewers and coeditors for their thorough and important contributions to this note, and we appreciate the helpful comments on previous versions of the manuscript by James Roumasset, Robert A. Young, and John Rowse. All errors remain the responsibility of the writers.
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Information
Published In
Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 132 • Issue 6 • November 2006
Pages: 520 - 523
Copyright
© 2006 ASCE.
History
Received: Nov 23, 2004
Accepted: Nov 17, 2005
Published online: Nov 1, 2006
Published in print: Nov 2006
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