Peer-reviewed articles 17,970 +



Title: SPECIFICS IN DETERMINATION AND PROVISION OF ECOLOGICAL FLOW IN THE RIVERBEDS AFTER COMPLEX AND SIGNIFICANT DAMS IN BULGARIA

SPECIFICS IN DETERMINATION AND PROVISION OF ECOLOGICAL FLOW IN THE RIVERBEDS AFTER COMPLEX AND SIGNIFICANT DAMS IN BULGARIA
Irena Ilcheva; Anna Yordanova; Plamen Ninov; Krassimira Ljubenova; Kamelia Krumova
10.5593/sgem2023/3.1
1314-2704
English
23
3.1
•    Prof. DSc. Oleksandr Trofymchuk, UKRAINE 
•    Prof. Dr. hab. oec. Baiba Rivza, LATVIA
Water resource of a given river basin is the main component of the ecosystem and water resources management system as well. Ecological flows are considered within the context of the Water Framework Directive (WFD) as “a hydrological regime consistent with the achievement of the environmental objectives of the WFD in natural surface water bodies as mentioned in Article 4(1). The so-called Heavily Modified Water Bodies (HMWB) or “regulated rivers” have modified flow, which is influenced by reservoir compensation releases and management. National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (NIMH) has responsibility and contributed to the implementation of the Eflow concept in Bulgaria. For the needs of the Ministry of Environment and Water (MoEW), a hydrological regionalization and a calculation scheme for the minimum acceptable flow in the rivers on the territory of Bulgaria are developed. In this report are represented the following researches: up-to-date assessment of the minimum acceptable flow (MAF) in the riverbeds after the complex dams, according to the Water Law (WL), a comparative analysis with the current state and definition of recommendations in support of the MoEW and the Basin Directorates (BD). The specificity of each reservoir in determining the MAF, the change during drought, etc. are highlighted. In the regulated rivers, the MAF is for the purpose of water ecosystems, groundwater and drinking water supply, wetlands, etc. The NIMH approach is applied and an up-to-date assessment of the MAF from the 52 complex and significant dams from Appendix 1 of the WL is carried out. The assessment is based on the results of hydrological development for the evaluation of the annual average flow and minimum monthly flows with 95% probability of exceedance of the own water catchment of dams. A comparative analysis was carried out between up-to-data assessed minimum acceptable flow (determined by NIMH) and current released MAF (by MoEW). The risks for ensuring the ecological flow are identified. Recommendations are given regarding the determination of ecological flow, definition of a minimum lower threshold, the specifics of reservoirs along the Black Sea or those for drinking water supply, etc. The research supports the MoEW and BD in determining the ecological flow in the riverbeds after the complex reservois, implementation of the Program of measures and the Eflow concept in Bulgaria.
[1] Acreman, M., J. Aldrick, C. Binnie, A. Black, I. Cowx, H. Dawson, M. Dunbar, , C. Extence, J. Hannaford, A. Harby, N. Holmes, N. Jarritt, G. Old, G. Peirson, J. Webb, P. Wood, Environmental flow from dams: the water framework directive, Engineering Sustainability, Volume 162, Issue 1, 2009
[2] Approach to eflows in Bulgaria, Draft Report, Wood Group UK Limited, 2022
[3] Artinyan, E., F. Habets, J. Noilhan, E. Ledoux, D. Dimitrov, E. Martin, P. Le Moigne, Modelling the water budget and the riverflows of the Maritsa basin in Bulgaria, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 12, pp 21–37, 2008
[4] Bojilova, Е., Estimation of minimum average monthly river discharge - Yantra river, north Bulgaria, XXVIIІ Conference of the Danubian Countries, Kyiv, Ukraine, November 6-8, pp 62-65, 2019
[5] Determination of the minimum acceptable flow in the river beds after the complex dams according to the current Water Law, MoEW, 2022, Project manager I.Ilcheva
[6] Droumeva-Antonova, G., Groundwater and protected areas of dense forests along Tundzha River, Science & Technologies, Volume VI, Number 2: Nautical and environmental studies, pp 37 – 43, 2016
[7] Guidance No. 31, Ecological flows in the implementation of the WFD, 2015
[8] Hydrological development for determining the average multi-year water quantity and Qp = 0.95% of the own catchment of the dams of Appendix №1, Ministry of Environment and Water, 2022, Project manager N. Todorova
[9] Ilcheva, I., A.Yordanova, V. Rainova, Water resource balance for Vitosha Nature Park and adaptive management under conditions of climate change, European Journal of Geography, Volume 10, Number 3:56-72, ISSN 1792-1341, pp 56-72, 2019
[10] Ninov, Pl., Tz. Karagiozova, M. Rankova, Determination of water resources in rivers in the Bulgarian basins of the lower Danube, J. Geogr. Inst. Cvijic. 67(1) (11–25), 2017
[11] Yordanova V., S. Balabanova, V. Stoyanova, Application of the TOPKAPI model on the Ogosta river basin. In 17th Conference of the Danubian countries on Hydrological Forecasting and Hydrological bases of Water Management, Bulgaria, pp. 357–364, 2017
[12] Zaharieva, V., Environmental Runoff Assessment Approach EFLOW, ISBN 978- 619-188-371-4, 2020
The study is part of a scientific project implemented with the support of the Agreement with the Ministry of Environment and Wate. Thanks to the MoEW for the support and to the experts from NIMH, we work with to assess minimum acceptable flow.
conference
Proceedings of 23rd International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2023
23rd International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM 2023, 03 - 09 July, 2023
Proceedings Paper
STEF92 Technology
International Multidisciplinary Scientific GeoConference SGEM
SWS Scholarly Society; Acad Sci Czech Republ; Latvian Acad Sci; Polish Acad Sci; Russian Acad Sci; Serbian Acad Sci and Arts; Natl Acad Sci Ukraine; Natl Acad Sci Armenia; Sci Council Japan; European Acad Sci, Arts and Letters; Acad Fine Arts Zagreb Croatia; Croatian Acad Sci and Arts; Acad Sci Moldova; Montenegrin Acad Sci and Arts; Georgian Acad Sci; Acad Fine Arts and Design Bratislava; Russian Acad Arts; Turkish Acad Sci.
159-166
03 - 09 July, 2023
website
9142
ecological flow, minimum acceptable flow, WFD, HMWB, reservoir