Multipurpose Water Use in a System of Reservoirs

In the upper Tiber River basin there is a complex network of artificial and natural reservoirs that can be considered a laboratory in which reservoirs tools and policies can be easily tested. In this context, a model at the basin scale has been developed for surface water resource management. This model has many features that allow the user to easily sketch the river network, to set up the management policies for each water use, and to retrieve the output. The model is based on three fundamental algorithms: the first models the river network in terms of the various uses within the river basin; the second calculates a water budget, understood as the difference between the total demand and the available water amount; and the third calculates the water resources in the basin. This last algorithm can also take into consideration the many political and administrative constraints that may limit the management criteria.