CE 55

Water Resources Engineering

RESERVOIRS
Pronunciation
Pronunciation
 What are they?

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reservoir noun
– 1: a place where something is kept in store: such as
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a: an artificial lake where water is collected and kept in
quantity for use
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b: a part of an apparatus in which a liquid is held
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c: SUPPLY, STORE
e.g. a large reservoir of educated people
 What are they?

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reservoir noun
– 2: an extra supply : RESERVE
– 3: an organism in which a parasite that is
pathogenic for some other species lives and
multiplies usually without damaging its host
 What are they?
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c: SUPPLY, STORE
 What are they?
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c: SUPPLY, STORE
 What are they?
●
c: SUPPLY, STORE
 What are they?
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c: SUPPLY, STORE
 What are they?
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c: SUPPLY, STORE
 What are they?
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b: a part of an
apparatus in which
a liquid is held
an artificial lake where water is collected
an artificial lake where water is collected
an artificial lake where water is collected
an artificial lake where water is collected
an artificial lake where water is collected
an artificial lake where water is collected
an artificial lake where water is collected
an artificial lake where water is collected
an artificial lake where water is collected
an artificial lake where water is collected
an artificial lake where water is collected
an artificial lake where water is collected
an artificial lake where water is collected
 Why build dams and reservoirs?

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Water storage
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Hydroelectric generation
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Controlling watersources
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Flow balancing
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Recreation
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Waste containment
 Why build dams and reservoirs?

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Water storage
– provide the raw water feed to a water treatment
plant which delivers drinking water
– for irrigation purposes
for irrigation purposes
for irrigation purposes
for irrigation purposes
for irrigation purposes
for irrigation purposes
 Why build dams and reservoirs?

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Controlling watersources
– Downstream water supply
– Irrigation
– Flood control
– Canals
– Recreation
Canals
 Why build dams and reservoirs?

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Flow balancing
– taking in water during high flows and releasing it
again during low flows
– careful control of water levels using spillways
spillways
spillways
spillways
spillways
spillways
spillways
 Why build dams and reservoirs?

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Waste containment
– contain mine tailings
Tailings Dam
Tailings Dam
 Reservoir Operation

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A certain quantity of water needs to be released
from a reservoir to maintain good water quality
and a healthy aquatic habitat
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plants and animals are sensitive to changes in
their environment and require a minimum
amount of water to survive
 Reservoir Operation

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Factors that inform operators on how much
water to release:
– meeting aquatic ecosystem needs
– amount of water lost to evaporation
– amount of water trapped in the spongey riparian
zone
– water license holders that divert water from the river
Riparian Zone
Riparian Zone
 Reservoir Maintenance

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Sedimentation...