OPTIMAL OPERATION OF OPA DAM – RESERVOIR WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM
Abstract
Dynamic programming technique was used in the simulation of Obafemi Awolowo University Campus water supply system to generate the maximum cumulative returns from sales of water to the people around for a seasonal planning period of a year. Major parameters necessary in the optimization of the reservoir system viz: reservoir size: rates of evaporation, siltation and seepage; streamflow characteristics and scheduled release of water, were considered as constraints. The cost functions expressed in Monetary Unit (MU) were derived for the sales of water. The objective function was optimized taking into consideration the probabilistic inflow of water into the reservoir. The maximum cumulative returns for the various combinations of: the state of the reservoir at the beginning of the planning period (SI); the inflow into the reservoir during the rainy season (11) and the inflow into the reservoir during the dry season (12), were computed and analyzed, with the optimal policies for the various possible combinations obtained.
The maximum cumulative return from sales of water from the computer simulation result was found to be 8,868,570MU. This occurred when there was peak seasonal inflow into the reservoir and a decision to release 3,878,935 m3 of water, made during the planning period.
