Anthropogenic Interventions in Watersheds on River Flow Health: Assessment Using Bootstrapped Principal Component Analysis
Publication: Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 148, Issue 1
Abstract
Comprehensive assessment of hydrological alteration due to anthropogenic interventions is a prerequisite for sustaining the native biological profile and integrity of river ecosystems. This paper proposes a novel strategy to measurably evaluate how the dams have modified the natural flow regime at a downstream site. The Bhagirathi Basin, a part of the Himalayan ranges of the Ganga River Basin in India, is studied to comprehend the impact of multiple dams on natural river flow at Devprayag. The methodology for estimating the River Flow Health Index (RFHI) consists of four steps: (1) segregation of the flow data based on preimpact and postimpact periods, (2) identification of important hydrological parameters, (3) assessment of the alterations, and (4) development of an index indicating the health of the river flow during the altered period on a 0–1 scale. Results show that the different components of the flow regime have changed due to construction of dams across the river, and the hydrological alterations could be seen at the downstream site, Devprayag. The RFHI increased after subsequent addition of dams, i.e., 0.328 after commissioning of Maneri Bhali I hydro-electric projects (HEP), 0.374 after Maneri Bhali I HEP, Maneri Bhali II HEP, and Tehri HEP were commissioned, and 0.411 after Koteshwar HEP was commissioned in 2011. Our results may help upgrade the design and implementation of reservoir operation policies that consider downstream hydrological alterations. Further studies can be made to consider the coordination of hydrological alterations with different river ecosystem services important for the sustainable management of water assets.
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Data Availability Statement
The river gauge and discharge data used in this study are classified government data and may only be provided with restrictions by the Central Water Commission (CWC), Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India.
Acknowledgments
The data and financial support for this study were received through the Centre for Ganga River Basin Management and Studies (cGanga) led by IIT Kanpur and supported by National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti, India. The preliminary efforts to initiate the work by Dr. Chiranjib Chaudhuri when working with cGanga (now Postdoctoral Fellow, Wilfrid Laurier University, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Waterloo, Canada) are duly acknowledged.
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Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management
Volume 148 • Issue 1 • January 2022
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© 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Oct 26, 2020
Accepted: Sep 22, 2021
Published online: Nov 1, 2021
Published in print: Jan 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Apr 1, 2022
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