Computer simulation of the Volga river hydrological regime: problem of water-retaining dam optimal location

We investigate of a special dam optimal location at the Volga river in the area of the Akhtuba left sleeve beginning (7 km to the south of the Volga Hydroelectric Power Station dam). We claim that a new water-retaining dam can resolve the key problem of the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain related to insufficient water amount during spring floodings due to the overregulation of the Lower Volga. Using a numerical integration of Saint-Vanant equations we study the water dynamics across the northern part of the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain taking into account its actual topography. As the result we found an amount of water VA passing to the Akhtuba during spring period for a given water flow through the Volga Hydroelectric Power Station (so-called hydrograph which characterises the water flow per unit of time). By varying the location of the water-retaining dam xd,yd we obtained various values of VA(xd,yd) as well as various flow spatial structure on the territory during the flood period. Gradient descent method provides the dam coordinated with the maximum value of VA. Such approach to the dam location choice let us find the best solution, that the value VA increases by a factor of 2. Our analysis demonstrates a good potential of the numerical simulations in the field of hydraulic works.