Interface between Hydropower Generation and Other Water Uses in the Piabanha River Basin in Brazil

Abstract

There is an increasing need in the field of water resource management to study ways to harmonise multiple user demands. This study investigates the interface among various users of the Piabanha River basin in the state of Rio de Janeiro, in particular the implications for the electricity sector of increasing upstream consumption by other water users. To estimate future losses of generation capacity as a function of growing use of water resources, we applied a mathematical model called Simulation System for Power Plants with Consumptive Water Uses (SisUCA in the Portuguese abbreviation), considering both the existing power plant cascade and the likely future configuration with the inclusion of new projects under construction and in the planning phase, along with projections for future water demand by other users. There was some difficulty in obtaining data about the basin, but this did not impair validation of the model, which converged to results that provide support for shared management of multiple water uses. Among the results attained, it is possible to state that 75% of the maximum usable water is already being utilised, thus leading to the conclusion that water conflicts are likely in the near future.