Indicators for the Assessment of the Impact of Hydropeaking on Aquifers

Abstract The operation of hydropower plants leads to sudden changes in river stage and to a flow regime known as hydropeaking. Hydropeaking alters the morphology of the riverbed and water quality, and ultimately poses a risk to riverine ecosystems. While many indicators are available to quantitative...

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Main Authors: M. Basilio Hazas, G. Marcolini, B. Wohlmuth, G. Chiogna
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-06-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL107611
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author M. Basilio Hazas
G. Marcolini
B. Wohlmuth
G. Chiogna
author_facet M. Basilio Hazas
G. Marcolini
B. Wohlmuth
G. Chiogna
author_sort M. Basilio Hazas
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The operation of hydropower plants leads to sudden changes in river stage and to a flow regime known as hydropeaking. Hydropeaking alters the morphology of the riverbed and water quality, and ultimately poses a risk to riverine ecosystems. While many indicators are available to quantitatively assess this problem in rivers, the impact of hydropeaking on aquifers is largely unknown and lacks of quantitative indicators. We analyze with wavelet techniques the spatial and temporal dynamics of surface water‐groundwater interaction in an aquifer impacted by two differently regulated rivers. We propose four indicators to study the aquifer stress produced by hydropeaking and classify the observed groundwater head time series into weakly, moderately and highly impacted. This study opens the possibility for a quantitative assessment of the impact of hydropeaking on the groundwater ecosystem.
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institution Kabale University
issn 0094-8276
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language English
publishDate 2024-06-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-b250a83cb4a7451a945a177f2bb485db2025-08-20T03:49:37ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072024-06-015112n/an/a10.1029/2023GL107611Indicators for the Assessment of the Impact of Hydropeaking on AquifersM. Basilio Hazas0G. Marcolini1B. Wohlmuth2G. Chiogna3School of Engineering and Design Technical University of Munich Munich GermanySchool of Computation Information and Technology Technical University of Munich Garching GermanySchool of Computation Information and Technology Technical University of Munich Garching GermanySchool of Engineering and Design Technical University of Munich Munich GermanyAbstract The operation of hydropower plants leads to sudden changes in river stage and to a flow regime known as hydropeaking. Hydropeaking alters the morphology of the riverbed and water quality, and ultimately poses a risk to riverine ecosystems. While many indicators are available to quantitatively assess this problem in rivers, the impact of hydropeaking on aquifers is largely unknown and lacks of quantitative indicators. We analyze with wavelet techniques the spatial and temporal dynamics of surface water‐groundwater interaction in an aquifer impacted by two differently regulated rivers. We propose four indicators to study the aquifer stress produced by hydropeaking and classify the observed groundwater head time series into weakly, moderately and highly impacted. This study opens the possibility for a quantitative assessment of the impact of hydropeaking on the groundwater ecosystem.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL107611hydropeakingsurface water‐groundwater interactionhydropeaking indicatorswavelet analysisgroundwater
spellingShingle M. Basilio Hazas
G. Marcolini
B. Wohlmuth
G. Chiogna
Indicators for the Assessment of the Impact of Hydropeaking on Aquifers
Geophysical Research Letters
hydropeaking
surface water‐groundwater interaction
hydropeaking indicators
wavelet analysis
groundwater
title Indicators for the Assessment of the Impact of Hydropeaking on Aquifers
title_full Indicators for the Assessment of the Impact of Hydropeaking on Aquifers
title_fullStr Indicators for the Assessment of the Impact of Hydropeaking on Aquifers
title_full_unstemmed Indicators for the Assessment of the Impact of Hydropeaking on Aquifers
title_short Indicators for the Assessment of the Impact of Hydropeaking on Aquifers
title_sort indicators for the assessment of the impact of hydropeaking on aquifers
topic hydropeaking
surface water‐groundwater interaction
hydropeaking indicators
wavelet analysis
groundwater
url https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL107611
work_keys_str_mv AT mbasiliohazas indicatorsfortheassessmentoftheimpactofhydropeakingonaquifers
AT gmarcolini indicatorsfortheassessmentoftheimpactofhydropeakingonaquifers
AT bwohlmuth indicatorsfortheassessmentoftheimpactofhydropeakingonaquifers
AT gchiogna indicatorsfortheassessmentoftheimpactofhydropeakingonaquifers