TY - JOUR

T1 - The Chilean Laja Lake

T2 - multi-objective analysis of conflicting water demands and the added value of optimization strategies

AU - Bovermann, Zoë Erna

AU - Fallah-Mehdipour, Elahe

AU - Arumí, José Luis

AU - Dietrich, Jörg

N1 - Funding Information: We would like to thank the CRHIAM Water Research Centre (ANID/FONDAP/15130015 and ANID/FONDAP/ 1523A0001) of the Universidad de Concepción, Chile, for their continued support of the collaboration and for supporting the first author’s research stay in Chile. We acknowledge further financial support from the Deutscher Akademischer Aus-tauschdienst DAAD for the first author’s research visit to Chile.

PY - 2024/3/1

Y1 - 2024/3/1

N2 - Water scarcity leads to conflicts over water allocation. Laja Lake in Chile is a natural lake, which was formed by a volcanic barrier. Outflow from the lake is created by seepage through the barrier and via a controllable artificial outlet, which adds reservoir characteristics to the lake. Hydroelectric power stations have been built at both outlets. Downstream, water is diverted into irrigation canals, and the Laja River forms the Laja Falls, a popular tourist attraction. The previous operating policy preferred the most upstream water user and was found to be inadequate because the lake level decreased over long term. The current reservoir operation policy was established through stakeholder negotiations. This study investigated whether optimization (using Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II) can further improve the operation of Laja Lake while maintaining a fair balance between stakeholder groups. The results were compared with the stakeholder agreement and the previous policy. The main difference is in the spring, when Laja Lake fills up before the irrigation season starts. The optimization strategy prioritizes hydropower generation during this period, resulting in reduced storage. Ultimately, optimization proves to be a valuable tool for identifying trade-offs and exploring different scenarios in water management.

AB - Water scarcity leads to conflicts over water allocation. Laja Lake in Chile is a natural lake, which was formed by a volcanic barrier. Outflow from the lake is created by seepage through the barrier and via a controllable artificial outlet, which adds reservoir characteristics to the lake. Hydroelectric power stations have been built at both outlets. Downstream, water is diverted into irrigation canals, and the Laja River forms the Laja Falls, a popular tourist attraction. The previous operating policy preferred the most upstream water user and was found to be inadequate because the lake level decreased over long term. The current reservoir operation policy was established through stakeholder negotiations. This study investigated whether optimization (using Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II) can further improve the operation of Laja Lake while maintaining a fair balance between stakeholder groups. The results were compared with the stakeholder agreement and the previous policy. The main difference is in the spring, when Laja Lake fills up before the irrigation season starts. The optimization strategy prioritizes hydropower generation during this period, resulting in reduced storage. Ultimately, optimization proves to be a valuable tool for identifying trade-offs and exploring different scenarios in water management.

KW - hydropower

KW - irrigation

KW - NSGA-II

KW - reservoir operation

KW - stakeholder negotiation

KW - water-energy-food nexus

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85188860600&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.2166/aqua.2024.165

DO - 10.2166/aqua.2024.165

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85188860600

VL - 73

SP - 369

EP - 379

JO - Aqua Water Infrastructure, Ecosystems and Society

JF - Aqua Water Infrastructure, Ecosystems and Society

SN - 2709-8028

IS - 3

ER -