Extending the Life of Reservoirs ― Sustainable Sediment Management for Run-of-river Hydropower and Dams

Written by two of the world’s leading experts on sediment management, 'Extending the Life of Reservoirs' provides guidance on adopting sediment management practices for hydropower and water supply dam projects. It explains how ensuring long-term resilience of critical infrastructure requires early and constant attention to reservoir sedimentation processes, which can reduce the storage capacity of reservoirs and damage hydro mechanical equipment. The report provides concrete guidance on safeguarding against these effects and preserving the many important services of hydropower and dam projects, including water supply, irrigation, and renewable electricity. In particular, it stresses the importance of integrating sediment management into the early planning phases of projects. 'Extending the Life of Reservoirs' is designed to assist those evaluating dam and hydropower proposals. While for the primary audience includes policy makers, lending agencies, and general practitioners, the level of detail provided in the report should appeal to a wide array of stakeholder groups. The content is neither overly technical nor overly simplistic, and aims to provide practical and useful information. Importantly, this report provides a new perspective on the importance of sediment management that is not found in prior work. It stresses the value of sediment management measures as a robust adaptation measure to support sustainable hydropower. The techniques described in the report make sense regardless of future climate changes, but in many cases have even more value when uncertainty over future hydrological patterns is taken into account.