I hve read in The Hindu, Saturday, September 25, 2004 in the column Factfinder that a

blog is a short for an on-line web-log. It is an on-line diary where one can put down
his/her thoughts and write about the experiences ; on anything and whenever and can be
shared with the world at large.
For a long time I have been thinking to share my thoughts with others, perhaps it can be
useful for anyone of the readers who is working on similar project. To start with I want to
put in my first Blog, a copy of my lecture presentation at the Indian Institute of
Technology, Madras long ago when I was working as Executive Engineer (Hydrology),
Institute of water studies, Taramani, Chennai – 600 113. In future I would like to present
my comments on News Paper articles or news in the form of letters or my Random
thoughts.

Copy of the lecture delivered at the Indian Institute of Technology (Department of Civil
Engineering) on 6.12.1989 for the Short Term Course on Computer Aided Statistical
Analysis in Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering.

Simulation Model ; An Approach to River Basin Management

S.N.Mahalingam,
Executive Engineer PWD
Water Resources Management Studies,
Institute for Water Studies
Taramani – 600 113.

Simulation model
1. Simulation models must be selected or developed for a specific application to
represent the simulated system in relevant detail, without requiring excessive
or unavailable data. The data base which has been prepared for the three study
basins is basically a monthly base for the years 1945- 1986. For this period
only data on rainfall and surface water flows have been prepared. Data on
historic land and water use is limited to that for a base year, 1985/86, and
groundwater data have been examined for the eight years upto 1986.
2. Simulating the water balance in the study basins involves representing the
unique patterns of the irrigation systems, which include system and non-
system tanks, direct gravity supply, and pumping from dug wells and bore
wells in the coastal belt.
3. The simulation model system developed for te project consists of three
interlinked modules:

1. The tanks and irrigation module (GWMAIN)

2. The river and reservoir module (GENSIM)
3. The regional groundwater module (RGWMAIN).
The modules, GWMAIN and RGWMAIN, were programmed in FORTRAN by the water
management consultant for this project. The GENSIM module, which is copyrighted by
Binnie & Partners, was modified for usre on the project, but may also be used elsewhere
in India subject to conditions agreed between the United Nations and the copyright
holder. GENSIM is also a FORTRAN program. All modules operate on IBM compatible
computers.
Each river basin is represented in the overall simulation model system as consisting of a
series of hydrologic zones which divide the basin into logical units for estimating river
flow. Ideally surface water flow records would be available for the downstream river
point in each zone. This is usually the case at an anicut where flow records are kept.
Where such records are not available, it is not possible to make a direct calibration of the
modules. Within each zone, its hydrologic characteristics are each lumped into a single
value representing an average or a total for the zone as appropriate. The simulation was
carried out using a monthly time interval, but could equally well be run with a shorter
time interval if suitable data were available.
All three modules require the input of data files that define the configuration of the
system and other important parameters. In addition GWMAIN requires data on monthly
rainfalls, and GENSIM requires data on inflows at the main reservoirs and other
important points in the system.
4. The main features modeled are :
Tanks and irrigation module – GWMAIN
4.1.1- The irrigation zone comprises of catchment and irrigation fields which
subdivides into those supplied with river water via “system tanks” and those
supplied from “non-system tanks”. Necessary slots hae been provided for
their representation in the module. Provision has also been made to indicate
the proportionate irrigable area.
4.1.2- Inflow from non-irrigated land to non-system tanks and rainfall on the
irrigated fields have been compiled from the land use map using actual
registered ayacut details.
4.1.3- The crop water requirement on irrigated fields: this data is fed in the form of
weighted Evapotranspiration (ETo) for each zone for the non-system as well
as system area. This is computed using FAO paper No. 24.
4.1.4- Infiltration into groundwater and pumping from groundwater to supplement
surface water supplies: Both the field infiltration rate and tank bed infiltration
rate have been fed as 60mm and 45mm per month respectively. The rate of
pumping is to be worked out assuming that 30 to 40 per cent of available
groundwater is utilized for irrigation.
4.1.5- The demand for water at canal intakes at anicuts on the main river: The urban
water supply (Municipal as well as industrial requirements) are given as input
in Mm3 per month. Surface supplies for urban and industrial use which are
added to the demands on the rivers at irrigation anicuts.
4.1.6- Groundwater transfer to regional groundwater: the unutilized groundwater
after meeting the irrigation and rural water supply will be transferred to
RGWMAIN modules as an output of GWMAIN module.
4.1.7- Village supplies drawn from local groundwater: This is the actual
consumption of rural water supply from groundwater in Mm3 per month.
4.1.8- The feature of computing inflow to non-system tanks based on the
incident of rainfall has been provided. The slots are provided for feeding
 thefollowing data.

Factor A Factor B
For November 0.3 28
For other months 0.22 8
The inflow calculated as i = (rainfall in mm x A) - B) x area/1000
The unit will in Mm3
4.1.9 - There is also an additional feature to compute effective rainfall for which
necessary slots have been provided to accommodate the relation:
If the rainfall is greater than c, then
The effective rainfall = (c - rainfall in mm) X D
The adopted values for c = 0.80 and for D = 0.5
4.1.10 – In non-system as well as system area the total lumped capacity (maximum
volume) and water spread area (at FTL) are incorporated in this module to
supply water for irrigation. The tank evaporation losses also will be calculated
and accounted for. The monthly open water evaporation ET values have to be
furnished for this computation. This ET is computed from the modified
penmen method by multiplying the monthly values by 1.2.
4.1.11 –the features, field application and canal losses have been incorporated in this
modules and the values have to be furnished based on the local investigation.
The field application losses generally vary from 5 to 7.5 per cent whereas the
canal losses for canals of Tambaraparni river simulation model studies the
figures, 5 and 10 per cent respectively are adopted.
4.2 - River and reservoir modules - GENSIM
4.2.1 - The main rivers and their principal tributaries-physiography of basin
4.2.2 - the principal storage reservoirs: The maximum reservoir volumes in
Megalitres unit (that is Mm3x 1000) are given in this model. Average monthly
reservoir evaporation in Megalitres are required as input to this. Provision is
given in this model for direct irrigation demands from the reservoir
4.2.3 –the principal anicuts where water is diverted from the main rivers through
canals to irrigated areas: Fixed demand for each month at each anicut point
can be given as input. Calculated demands using GWMAIN modules for both
reservoirs and anicuts – i.e., output of GWMAIN, can be used as input to this
module.
4.2.4 - Inflows to reservoirs and at other points on the main rivers: recorded inflow to
reservoir and to other points in Mm3 are used as inputs. For certain points
where inflow records are not available, the inflows are derived either using
Runoff-Rainfall factors as explained in 4.1.8 or suitable standard hydrological
methods like regression, correlation etc.
4.3 Regional groundwater modules – RGWMAIN
4.3.1- groundwater flow throughout the river basin towards thesea: the basin is
divided into ground water zones based on the geological conditions and
groundwater flow. Area of each zone is necessary as an input to this module
4.3.2 - the distance between zone centre points calculated in Km is required as an
input data to this.
4.3.3 - the width of flow front in Km over which the groundwater flow takes place
 from upstream zone to downstream zone is used in this module.
4.3.4 - Average Tranmissivity in Mm3 per month of each zone.

5- The irrigation module (GWMAIN)

5.1.1 - The program GWMAIN was written to simulate the operation of local
irrigation tanks and water supplied yo the fields fromtanks, canals, and wells.
This module of the overall simulation system calculates the demand for water
at the main river anicuts by zone in sequence from upstream. These demands
become inputs to the river module GENSIM. GWMAIN also accounts for net
withdrawal or recharge of the groundwater in the irrigated areas and passes
these results on to the regional groundwater module RGWMAIN. The inter-
relation between the modules is illustrated in Fig VI-1.
5.1.2 - within GWMAIN, tanks in each zone are combined into a single composite
system and a single composite non-system tank. The non-system tank is the
upstream point which receives inflow of runoff from non-irrigated land. A
composite system irrigation field lies downstream of the non-system field and
receives any surplus flows from the non-system field.
5.1.3 - The water requirement on the composite non-system field is calculate from
the crop evapotranspiration (chapter 5) plus the industrial to groundwater
minus the rainfall on the field. The requirement is then met by release from
the non-system tank as long as water is available. If the requirement is
negative, because of surplus rainfall, the surplus is added to any surplus from
the tank and is passed downstream to the system tank. If tank storage and
rainfall are insufficient to meet the requirements, local groundwater is
pumped subject to a maximum pumping rate and the groundwater storage.
Local groundwater is recharged in the model by infiltration from the irrigated
fields, beds of tanks, and irrigation channels. Should the requirements still
not met, the program records a deficit for the time period.
5.1.4 - Releases from reservoirs to meet the demands at the anicuts may be
determined in any of the following ways :
- a figure fixed for each month of the year (12) values)
- as above, but curtailed if the inflow to the reservoir is less than a specified
critical value
- by automatic adjustment to equal the sum of the demands at specified
anicuts
- as above, but curtailed if the volume of water in storage falls below
specified critical levels.
5.1.5 - Evaporation from the water surface of reservoirs can also be taken into
account.
5.1.6 - The module is made up of a number of nodes, which can be reservoirs or
demand points. Their configuration and rules for reservoir releases are
specified in the data input.
5.1.7 - The principal data required to run the module are the inflows to the upstream
reservoirs and runoff inflows from non-irrigated areas. These are entered as
arrays for the period of months over which the run is being made. Other data
include :
5.1.8 - the following outputs are printed for each run:
- reservoir storage at the end of each month
- release, plus any surplus, from each reservoir during each month
- residual flow downstream of each anicut during each month ( a negative
figure represents a deficit).
5.1.9 - If the release from a reservoir would result in a negative storage at the end
of a month, a negative storage is printed out, but calculations for the next
month are started assuming that storage is zero.
5.2 - The reservoir and river module (GENSIM)

5.2.1 - the general simulation model GENSIM has been modified to represent the
systems in Tamilnadu when operated together with the modules prepared for
Tamilnadu irrigation and groundwater conditions, GWMAIN and
RGWMAIN.
5.2.2 - The inflows to this module represent the inflows to upstream reservoirs and
ruoff from other catchments without major irrigation. Flows arising within
irrigated zones are allowed for in the GWMAIN module
5.2.3 - For each time period (month), the GENSIM Programme calculates the
balance of water in the reservoirs and the residual flow downstream of each
anicut after demands from GWMAIN have been met. A negative residual flow
indicates deficit.
5.2.4 - Releases from reservoirs to meet the demands at the anicuts may be
determined in any of the following ways:
- a figure fixed for each month of the year (12 values)
- as above, but curtailed if the inflow to the reservoir is less than a specified
critical value.
- by automatic adjustment to equal the sum of the demands at specified
anicuts
- as above, but curtailed if the volume of water in storage falls below a
specified critical levels.
5.2.5 - Evaporation from the water surface of reservoirs can also be taken into
account.
5.2.6 - The module is made up of a number of nodes, which can be reservoirs or
demand points. Their configuration and rules for reservoir releases are
specified in the data input.
5.2.7 - The principal data required to run the module are the inflows to the upstream
reservoirs and runoff inflows from non-irrigated areas. These are entered as
arrays for the period of months over which the run is being made.
5.2.8 - The following outputs are printed out for each run :

- reservoir storage at the end of each month

- release, plus any surplus, from each reservoir during each month
- residual flow downstream of each anicut during each month (a negative
figure represents a deficit)
5.2.9 - If the release from a reservoir would result in a negative storage at theend of a
month, a negative storage is printed out, but calculations for the next month
 are started assuming that storage is zero.
5.3 - The regional groundwater module (RGWMAIN)
5.3.1 - The zones for the RGWMAIN module can be either the same as the irrigation
zones used in the other module or fewer combined zones. Each zone is
assumed to represent a groundwater reservoir. The input to the reservoir is
taken as the transfer from local groundwater storage at the end of each
hydrological year (March) distributed ahead equally by month, infiltration
from the main canals and rivers in the zone, and any groundwater flow from
upstream zones. The outflow from the last downstream zone is assumed to be
to the sea at zero.
5.3.2 - The groundwater flow between zones is calculated according to the estimated
hydraulic gradient between centers of the zones, the transmissivity, and the
width of the flow front.
5.3.3 - The output gives the changing elevation of the groundwater level in the zones
and the flow between the zones

6.- Results

The simulation model was run for a period of 8 years from 1978 – 1985 for
the calibration of the model The average flow estimated by the model at the
Srivaikuntam anicut was 409 Mm3 and the recorded average flow at
Murappanadu CWC gauge was 452 Mm3 and this is considered to be close
enough and acceptable calibration. The process of calibration enabled a better
understanding to be obtained of the basin-wide groundwater regime, with the
conclusion that the underground flow of water to the sea is not appreciable
and may be in the order of about 1 Mm3

The simulation model was again run for a period of 30 years from 1957 to
1985, for a historical flow sequence. The estimated average flow at
Srivaikuntam anicut was 444 Mm3 whereas the recorded average flow flow at
Srivaikuntam anicut was 451 Mm3

The simulation model was used to examine the performance of certain

strategies for the 30 year historical flow sequence. They were compared on
the basis of the deficits recorded over the above period. First, a base run was
carried out for existing conditions, and the number of deficits recorded. The
strategies were compared with this and the extent to which they increased or
decreased the number of deficits was noted The deficits given by the model
results are the total deficits in the area being considered and do not distinguish
particular ayacut, urban and industrial water supplies. As the latter will get
priority in drought, it is assumed that the deficit relates to the agricultural
supply and demand and represents a loss of agricultural production.

The simulation model has shown the following average annual deficits for different
scenarios in the main river.
 Sl. Description Average
No. annual
in Mm3
1 existing condition 21
2. With rural, urban & industrial demand at 2011 D. 34
3. As 2 with increase in storages, Papanasam/Servalar,
Manimuthar, Gatana/Ramanadhi, 50 Mm3 each 22
4. As 2 but with 10 per cent increase in ayacut 52
5. As 4 but with increase in storage of Papanasam
and Manimuthar each
at 50 Mm3 35
at 100 Mm3 25
at 150 Mm3 18

PACHAIYAR

1. existing condition 19
2. With, rural, urban & industrial demand at 2011 AD 20
3. As 2 but with reservoir across Pachaiyar with a
capacity of 10 Mm3 10
capacity of 20 Mm 3 3
capacity of 30 Mm3 0.5
Chittar river basin has not been considered for this study as it is a dry basin.

The simulation model indicated that little water is lost to the sea by underground
flow. In this basin there is an excess of recharge over abstraction but the excess leaves
each particular area as surface flow rather than underground flow. Increased pumping in
those areas would create additional capacity underground in which the present excess
could be stored.

.
I would like to inform the readers of my blogs that I had the opportunity to work in the
Water Resources Management project as Executive Engineer (Hydrology), at the Institute
of water studies, Taramani, Chennai – 600 113. This was a World Bank assisted project of
the Tamilnadu Water Supply and Drainage Board and executed by the Ground Water
Wing of the Tamilnadu Public Works Department. The engineers and staff of both PWD
and TWAD Board participated in the project. As it is a project assisted by the World
Bank, United Nations Organisation’s UNDTCD deputed its consultants for technical
guidance and a dozen consultants from Europe and US participated in addition to one
resident technical expert. The project was headed by a project director an IAS of the
Tamilnadu Cadre. I had to play an important role in the administration as well as
technical side to interact with the technical experts and to take them on tour throughout
Tamilnadu for their site visits and interaction with the engineers, agricultural scientists of
PWD, Agriculture Department, Tamilnadu Agricultural University. Naturally I had the
opportunity to get myself exposed to various water consuming disciplines. In one of the
review meetings of the project the chief technical advisor has stated that ‘even though
Mr. Mahalingam is not a trained hydrologist, he has done a yeoman service to the
project’. I am writing this not to blow my own trumpet but to impress upon the readers, if
any, my competence to comment on events taking place. In this blog I have included
some of my letters published in various issues of Down to Earth, a Science and
Environment fortnightly for the benefit of the readers, if any. I wish to have the readers’
comments.