THE USE OF WATER BALANCE APPROACH IN RESERVOIR MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE POWER GENERATION AT KAINJI HYDROPOWER DAM, NIGERIA

Abstract

ABSTRACT Understanding the mechanisms of climate variability which is reflected in rainfall on time scale of seasonal to several years is a prerequisite for any prediction and planning of power generation enterprise and also for run-off and flow regime of rivers and streams. The water balance of an area depends on the meteorological factors influencing precipitation and evaporative loss from plants and soils. This paper investigates power generation planning responses to water availability factors at Kainji hydropower dam. The watershed or catchment method where flow characteristics of the catchment basin are related to climatic variables is used. The result shows that availability of moisture follows the pattern of rainfall distribution over the basin, which is reflected in the power generation planning responses. It is therefore recommended that careful assessment of water needs for planning purpose and continuous monitoring of various hydrologic variables be made to ensure optimisation of water use for sustainable hydropower generation in the study area.