Central Water and Power Research Station, Pune
Online published on 20 January, 2014.
The rapid altitudinal variations with swift flowing perennial rivers have made Himalayan region a natural haven for large-scale hydro power production. Because of fragile geology and steep Slopes, soil erosion rate is high during snowmelt and monsoon. Special type of spillways are required for the dual purpose of passing the floods as well as for flushing of the sediment deposited in the reservoir. During last two decades, CWPRS has made significant contributions to number of projects in evolving hydraulically safe and efficient designs of spillways in Himalayan region. The present paper describes various hydraulic design considerations while selecting type of spillway and energy dissipater for run-of-the river projects in Himalayan region. It is also emphasized that although no design procedures are readily available for such such type of spillways, experience from the hydraulic model studies and prototype to evolve suitable layout of spillways, energy dissipators and power intakes provide useful guidelines.
