Reservoir Life in relation to climate and land use changes

The dams and reservoirs are one of the largest sources to store surface water. The escalating water crisis in the new millennium has made it very important to preserve available water and in turn to preserve the storage capacity of dams and reservoirs. Dams and reservoirs lose their capacity due to sedimentation. Climate change and land-use changes have the potential to generate more sediment load hence accelerating this depleting process. An example is the Mangla Dam in Pakistan - the second largest dam in the country. Due to sedimentation the Mangla Reservoir has already lost 20% of its original storage capacity and an accelerated capacity loss is expected due to climate and land-use changes in the future. The main aim of this research is to develop an integrated framework incorporates hydrological and sediment models with climate and land-use components to assess the impacts on the Mangla Reservoir sedimentation and reservoir life. Economic analysis is incorporated to identify adaptation options in relation to climate change and land-use planning and management for flow and sediment discharge.