Zhang et al. (2026) Coupling reservoir supply potential with load allocation: A framework to enhance water supply security in multi-reservoir systems

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Hydrology
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-08-18
• Authors: Shuncai Zhang, Minglei Ren, Wei Xu, Te Zhang, Lanlan Zhao, Xiaoqin Hu, Zaichao Xie, Mi Zhou
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.136275

Research Groups

• College of River and Ocean Engineering, Chongqing Jiaotong University
• China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research
• College of River and Ocean Engineering, China Three Gorges University
• Ministry of Water Resources Information Center
• Chongqing Yufa Water Conservancy Science Research Institute Co., Ltd.

Short Summary

This study presents a framework that links reservoir water-supply potential (RWSP) with reservoir water-supply load allocation (RWSLA) in multi-reservoir systems, providing a pre-operational load-configuration complement to conventional operation simulation. The framework is applied to five medium and small reservoirs in northeastern Chongqing, China.

Objective

• Investigate the relationship between RWSP and RWSLA in multi-reservoir systems
• Develop an integrated regional decision-support framework that links RWSP with RWSLA

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Regional water-supply system in northeastern Chongqing, China
• Temporal Scale: Long-term joint operation simulations

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Monte Carlo sampling, reliability-resilience-vulnerability (RRV) metrics, Water Stress Index (WSI), Gini coefficient
• Data sources: Hydrological inputs, demand data, ecological-priority reservation rule, reservoir-operation model

Main Results

• RWSP exhibits a clear hierarchy shaped by active storage capacity, mean annual runoff, total available water volume, and dry-period runoff reliability
• System performance improves when loads are aligned with reservoir potential: overloading low-potential reservoirs increases vulnerability, whereas assigning higher loads to high-potential reservoirs improves reliability but may reduce equity
• Threshold-like responses are observed within the tested load-allocation ranges

Contributions

• The framework provides an interpretable procedure for assessing load-allocation options in heterogeneous multi-reservoir water-supply systems
• The study highlights the importance of considering RWSP when allocating loads among reservoirs

Funding

• This research was funded by the China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (Project No. 2019ZX02015001)

Citation

@article{Zhang2026Coupling,
  author = {Zhang, Shuncai and Ren, Minglei and Xu, Wei and Zhang, Te and Zhao, Lanlan and Hu, Xiaoqin and Xie, Zaichao and Zhou, Mi},
  title = {Coupling reservoir supply potential with load allocation: A framework to enhance water supply security in multi-reservoir systems},
  journal = {Journal of Hydrology},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.136275},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2026.136275}
}