Developing Operation Rules for Reservoirs in the Upper Da River Basin Using Multi-source Remote Sensing Data
Main Article Content
Abstract
In transnational river basins, upstream hydropower projects and multipurpose reservoirs have a strong impact on downstream flow regimes, directly affecting agricultural production, fisheries, waterway transport, water security. and environmental and ecological issues. The challenge is that most upstream countries do not fully disclose reservoir operation data. This paper presents the method and results of applying multi-source remote sensing data (Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, DEM) to restore and update reservoir parameters as well as reservoir operation parameters in the upper Da River basin. Integrating the parameters into the VIC-RES model has significantly improved the quality of simulated streamflow to Lai Chau Reservoir in Vietnam. Specifically, the NSE evaluation indicators increased from 0.59 to 0.83–0.84; Pbias decreased from 40% to 15–19%; KGE increased from 0.54 to 0.72–0.73. The proposed method not only improves the performance of the simulation model but also provides a feasible approach for transboundary water resources management and can be extended to many other basins.
Keywords:
Reservoir operating rule curves, Da River basin, data-scarce river basin.
References
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[8] T. A. Phuong, T. M. Cuong, N. V. Hoangn, P. N. Anh, N. A. Duc, and D. H. Son, Application of Remote Sensing Techniques for Analyzing Operation of Upstream Reservoirs in Transboundary River Basins of Vietnam, Vietnam J. Hydrometeorol., Vol. 5, No. 5, 2020, pp. 101-111, https://doi:10.36335/VNJHM.2020(5).101-111.
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[19] Minister of Industry and Trade Decision No. 2156/QD-BCT, On Approving the Operation Procedure of Lai Chau Hydropower Reservoir, 2018 (in Vietnamese).
[20] S. Feng, H. Chen, Y. Wang, C. Chen, J. Wang, Duality and Economic Methods to Reveal and Interpret Marginal Market Values Based on a Weekly Scheduling Model of Cascaded Hydropower Reservoirs, 2023, https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4388413.
[21] Hydro Power Plants Across the Globe (World Map) | Database.earth, https://database.earth/energy/power-plants/hydro-power (accessed on: July 5th, 2025).
[22] K. V. Hai, N. T. Giang, D. T. N. Bich, Applying the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) Model to Reconstructing Streamflow Data in the Da River Basin at Muong Te Hydrological Station, J. Hydro-meteorology, Vol. 09, No. 20, 2024, pp. 52-65, https://doi:10.36335/VNJHM.2024(20) (in Vietnamese).
[23] Q. Duan, S. Sorooshian, V. K. Gupta, Optimal Use of the SCE-UA Global Optimization Method for Calibrating Watershed Models, J. Hydrol., Vol. 158, No. 3–4, 1994, pp. 265-284, https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(94)90057-4.
[24] N. Hanasaki, S. Kanae, T. Oki, A Reservoir Operation Scheme for Global River Routing Models, J. Hydrol., Vol. 327, No. 1-2, 2006, pp. 22–41, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2005.11.011.
[25] C. T. E. Teunissen, An Satellite-Guided Derivation of Reservoir Dam... - Google Scholar, University of Twente, 2024, [Online]. Available: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=An+satellite-guided+derivation+of++reservoir+dam+operation+rules+in++ungauged+locations.++A+Case+study+in+Vietnam&btnG=(accessed on: July 5th, 2025).
[26] S. Feng, H. Chen, Y. Wang et al., Duality and Economic Methods to Reveal and Interpret Marginal Market Values Based on a Weekly Scheduling Model of Cascaded Hydropower Reservoirs, papers.ssrn.com, [Online]. Available: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4388413 (accessed on: July 5th, 2025).
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