Assessing the floodwater utilization potential in a reservoir-controlled watershed: A novel method considering engineering regulations and an empirical case from China

Floodwater utilization can greatly alleviate water resource shortages. Reservoirs and their optimal operation are the most widely used measures to implement floodwater utilization. Quantitatively evaluating the floodwater utilization potential and revealing the relationship between the potential and its influencing factors are pre-conditions to implementing floodwater utilization; however, few studies have focused on this problem. In this study, we identified the influencing factors via the analysis of reservoir regulation and proposed a floodwater utilization potential evaluation method that considers all influencing factors. The results indicate that reservoir regulation ability, water demand, and ecological water downstream are the main influencing factors of flood-water utilization potential. The flood-water utilization potential decreases as the water demand or reservoir regulation ability increases. Moreover, water demand and reservoir regulation ability are interdependent and interactive to a certain extent. Specifically, reservoir regulation ability can affect only the floodwater utilization potential when the water demand is extremely high. Based on a time-varying operation model, we also evaluated the floodwater utilization potentials of the Longjiaoshan Reservoir (China) under different floodwater utilization statuses. The average annual floodwater utilization potential of the Longjiaoshan Reservoir watershed is 43.06 million m3 under the current floodwater utilization status, and the optimal floodwater utilization strategy is increasing the water demand under the current reservoir regulation ability. This study may contribute to the improved management of flood utilization in such reservoirs.