Water Resource Associates
A network of consultants in water resources, water quality, hydrology, hydrogeology and flooding.
Internal Russian Waterways and River-Sea Transport
A mathematical model of two reservoirs on the River Volga in Russia was developed to improve water management for navigation.
River port on the Volga at Nizhny Novgorod
Background
In a series of major engineering projects from the 1940's to the 1970's, the Volga and the Don river systems were joined by a canal and locks and developed for navigation by sea-going vessels. The EU set up a study to examine access to these rivers from the European sea-river transport system. During the study it became apparent the weak link in the chain was the stretch of the river from Nizhny Novgorod to the Gorodetz lock where, unlike the rest of the river, water levels were not artificially controlled. For environmental reasons it was impossible to raise the downstream dam and construction of a new intermediate lock was unlikely to be economically justified.
Scope of work by Water Resource Associates Ltd
As part of the overall project the Nizhny Novgorod State Academy of Water Transort was commissioned to examine the possibility of using existing upstream reservoirs (which are also used for hydro-power) to improve water management and increase the flow available at the times of year when the river is ice-free and navigation is possible. WRA provided a senior hydrologist to review their work. As that study used sensitive data, which was not made available for the review, he also undertook a parallel study using independently derived data. This took the form of a mathematical model of the principal reservoirs, their inflows and operating constraints.
The Volga River Basin
Results
Within the limits imposed, the review concluded that the study by the Academy of Water Transport had correctly concluded that improved management could increase the flow available for navigation. What the parallel model study showed, which the other one did not, was the way such management could work to the detriment of hydro-power generation and that further studies would needed to optimise the operation for both navigation and hydro-power.