Modeling river/reservoir system management, water allocation, and supply reliability

The state of Texas has implemented a modeling system for assessing the availability and reliability of water resources that consists of a generalized simulation model called the Water Rights Analysis Package (WRAP) and input datasets for the state's 23 river basins. Reservoir/river system management and water allocation practices are simulated using historical naturalized monthly streamflow sequences to represent basin hydrology. Institutional systems for allocating streamflow and reservoir storage resources among numerous water users are considered in detail in evaluating basinwide impacts of water management decisions. The generalized WRAP model is a flexible tool that may be applied to river basins anywhere. The Texas experience in implementing a statewide modeling system illustrates issues that are relevant to water management in many other regions of the world.