Optimal design of multi-reservoir systems for water supply

Several successful applications of optimal control theory based on the Pontryagin's minimum principle have been recorded in literature for optimizing the operating policy of multi-reservoir systems. However, the application of optimal control theory in sizing multi-reservoir systems resulted in sub-optimal solution. In this study, an optimization model based on a new composite algorithm is introduced. This model applies optimal control theory and penalty successive linear programming as two promising techniques to optimize large and complex water supply systems. The epsilon constraint approach was implemented in the model in order to consider the two non-commensurate objectives of minimizing cost and water deficit. The application of this model to a multi-reservoir system was compared to an existing dynamic programming model. The result of this study showed that the developed model is a very promising optimization method to design multi-reservoir systems regardless of their sizes. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.