Application of geographical information systems and stochastic hydrology to the siting and design of water reservoirs

Abstract

A combination of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Stochastic Hydrology was applied to locate and size water reservoirs in the southern branch of Jucu watershed, in the Espirito Santo State, southeast of Brazil. Monthly water discharges for rivers in the watershed were fitted using Periodic Auto-Regressive Moving Average (PARMA) stochastic models. Reservoir storage capacities corresponding to defined water demands were computed by using the sequential peak algorithm. By computing and comparing forest, crops, urban and uncovered flooded areas, it was possible to select the sizes and sites for the reservoirs that would satisfy demands causing less environmental impacts.