For monitoring flood-like situation, the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has now set up Real Time Decision Support System (RTDSS) Centre using latest equipment and sensors for the purpose. It was set up on Friday. Besides, it would also assist in providing accurate inflow forecast at the dam’s reservoirs, level of reservoirs in the region, forecast likely rainfall and temperature in the dam’s catchment, among other things.
The system is based on a network of 85 Data Acquisition System Stations comprising automatic rain gauge stations, automatic full climate stations, water level recorders in the catchment areas of Sutlej and Beas falling in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir to provide data on real time basis. Many of these observatories or weather stations have been remotely operated and situated in border areas like Kalpa, Pandoh dam, Chumar (southern ladakh), etc, which are accessible only during summer season.
The data would be received at a central control centre where it is decoded and analysed by engineers who then project the real-time situation. The real time data is processed using rainfall runoff model, hydro dynamic model, flood model and water allocation model with latest software. The outcome or scenario generation would be further shared with the workstations, set up at Nangal, Sundernagar, Talwara and Pandoh. “It would help us in monitoring the situation effectively and warning the state authorities of Punjab to take measures and avert human and property loss with the release of excess water,” said BBMB chairman AB Agrawal, after launching the RTDSS Centre.
“There is always a danger of flooding in downstream areas (of Sutlej river) as we did not have any system to forecast how much water will flow in or how much rain or snow melting will be there. With the help of RTDSS, we will now be able to issue warning to the state government in advance to take measures in downstream areas when (excess) water is released,” said Agarwal. He said: “We will be able to give forecast for next 24 hours at present under the RTDSS system. Gradually, this forecast for rainfall and temperature will also be available with us for next seven days but it will take time.”
Besides allowing advance flood warning, RTDSS will also help BBMB to take decisions pertaining to scheduling of water release from Bhakra and Pong reservoirs, operation of spillway gates and running of hydropower turbines. People living in downstream areas of Sutlej and Beas rivers in Punjab used to complain about flooding as and when BBMB releases “excess” water in the wake of heavy rains or heavy snow melting in its catchment areas.
Contrarily, the BBMB authorities have blamed the Punjab Government for its failure to check encroachments in the riverbeds which has reduced the water carrying capacity of the rivers. It claimed that in Satluj river alone, the water carrying capacity is down to one-third due to encroachments — from two lakh cusecs to around 50,000 to 60,000 cusecs (cubic foot per second). Funded by the World Bank, RTDSS is a part of the Union Ministry of Water Resources hydrology project involving a total of 13 States and eight central agencies to study and fine tune various aspects of water management in accordance with regional requirements.
The project was expected to be completed by June 2012 according to the agreement for the hydrology phase-II, signed between Central Government and the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) in January 2006, giving six years duration. “The short term forecast of inflow into reservoir for three days based on rainfall and temperature input from Indian Meteorological Department is communicated through email or SMS to decision makes or the stakeholders,” said BBMB’s Director (Security) GS Wason, also the director of Hydrology Project. “The system would be fine-tuned or calibrated on real time basis during the two consecutive monsoons in 2015 and 2016,” said Wason.