Real time reservoir operation information system displaying elevation — Storage curve using hydrographic survey data

Elevation-storage curve is a technical illustration of the reservoir volumes at corresponding reservoir levels. It is an important element for any reservoir operation in order to provide the knowledge of water availability to engineers, managers, and regulators. This curve usually prepared by dam consultants where the values are estimated by analyzing available topographic maps and pre-impoundment surveys. Many reservoirs in Malaysia have not been resurveyed in the decades since their construction. Hence, as sediment deposits gradually reduce reservoir capacity over time, and because the original reservoir volume were limited by the accuracy of the existing topographic maps, estimates of the current storage plotted in the elevation-storage curve for reservoirs not re-surveyed since their construction are subject to error. This study put forward the positioning data acquisition through hydrographic survey in order to determine accurate reservoir volumes. The positioning data are then processed in Terramodel software to get the volumes at corresponding reservoir levels. An information system called as ReTISRO is developed in this study for generating the elevation-storage curve using the volumes data produced by Terramodel, receiving real time tidal data from the tide gauge via radio link, and displaying the real time elevation and storage of the reservoir on its interface. The outcome of the study contributes a fully digital high accuracy information system that can be applied by any reservoir operation. It offers a reservoir storage monitoring with continuous data displaying and recording that can be very useful for further water management analyses.