ZANCO Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences

The official scientific journal of Salahaddin University-Erbil

ZJPAS (2016), 28 (2); 92-98

Simulation Model for Mosul Dam Reservoir Using HEC-ResSim 3.0 Package
Baraa E. A. Jebbo and Taymoor A. Awchi

Dams and Water Resources Department, College of Engineering, Mosul University

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT

Article History:
Received: 01/06/2015
Accepted: 03/02/2016
Published:26/05/2016
Keywords:
Simulation,
Reservoir Operation,
Mosul Dam Reservoir,
HEC-ResSim 3.0
*Corresponding Author:
Baraa E. A. Jebbo
Email:baraa_gebo@yahoo.com
The present research aims to build a simulation model for Mosul dam reservoir
using HEC-ResSim 3.0 package to study the operation behavior of the reservoir
and the program capability to represent and simulate the real system. The study
based on monthly data for the period 1988 to 2006. The current study results
were compared with the results of previous studies which have considered the
same reservoir. The results showed that the program is very convenient in
simulating the real system through testing and comparing model results with
historical recorded data. The results showed that the control rule curve of real
reservoir operation does not match with the design operating curve (Original
Rule Curve); due to the fact that Mosul reservoir has a problem with its
foundation which contains large quantities of gypsum thus requires decreasing
water storage to prevent its collapse. The comparison of current study results
with the previous studies showed that the current simulation model results are
the closest to the actual observed operation data, This is because the HEC-
ResSim 3.0 is a specialized software to simulate water resources systems, and
considering many variables which are not taken into account in previous
studies.

1.INTRODUCTION

2003 by US Army Corps of Engineers

The evolution in the field of systems
analysis had a major role in motivating
researchers to apply a simulation technique and
storage systems operation. Loucks et al. (1981)
showed the necessary basis for planning and
analyzing complex water resources systems
with an explanation of some of the
mathematical model techniques that are
suitable for application to storage systems in
general, including the simulation models. The
researcher Yeh (1985) showed some of the
systems analysis techniques, including the
simulation models, and characteristics and
applications of each of them for the purpose of
accessing the optimal management for storage
systems by deriving the operational policies
under different operational conditions.
HEC-ResSim is specialized software to
simulate water resources systems released in
(USACE) instead of (HEC-5) package, and the
modified version release (HEC-ResSim 3.0)
was in April 2007. This package has a large
capability of simulating reservoirs systems and
supports the practical decisions making to
operate and supply different requirements, like
flood mitigation, hydroelectric power
generation, irrigation, water supply and
protecting the environment through the use
different operational policies. This package
includes three separate sets of functions called
(Modules), and through each set a collection of
system data is entered, and each set includes a
list of tools and special commands (HEC, 2007).
McKinny (2005) used (HEC-ResSim 2.0)
package to simulate reservoirs system located
in Arges river basin in Romania, and the aim
was to enhance the understanding of the
system’s work, and to select the best
93 Jebbo B and Awchi T./ ZJPAS: 2016, 28(2): 92-98
alternatives for the management of floods that
could be invested in the production of
hydroelectric power. Wondye (2009) studied the
Blue Nile River Basin (Abay) in Ethiopia, and
built a simulation model using (HEC-ResSim
3.0) package to simulate the distribution of
water and make use of it for irrigation and
hydroelectric power generation. Fagot et al.
(2011) built a simulation model using (HEC-
ResSim 3.0) package for West Point dam
reservoir on a river in Georgia, they explained
how to use the package in data analysis to get
the results and its flexibility in entering and
include the operational rules. Mariam (2012)
built a simulation model for Tekeze dam
reservoir in Ethiopia, and the aim of the study
was to find out the optimal operation policy for
the production of hydroelectric power and for
the fulfillment of the requirements at the
downstream of the dam using (HEC-ResSim
3.0) package. Olsen and Gilroy (2013) built a
simulation model for Dniester river basin
reservoir using HEC-ResSim 3.0 package to
develop a risk assessment of the performance
of water resources management under the
threat of future climate changes and variability
using a ‘bottom-up’ approach. A bottom-up
approach is a stakeholder driven process to
assess vulnerability rather than a reliance on
predictive models of the future. Three critical
water resources sectors were selected for
evaluation: flood risk management,
ecosystems, and agriculture. Role of Dniester
river reservoirs: balance need for storing flood
waters with the need for water supply during
dry periods. Kleinschmidt (2014) provides a
detailed outline of the process proposed to
complete a Hydrologic and Project Operations
Model as part of the Parr and Fairfield
relicensing project. These models used for
assess ability to provide potential changes to
project operations, and the resulting effects of
potential modifications to operations of the
projects. Lara et al. (2014) present a
straightforward case study employing the
HEC-ResSim model of the Tucurui Dam's
reservoir, located in the state of Para, Brazil.
The hydrological analysis was performed to
understand the operational constraints of the
reservoir. The operational rules were evaluated
according to the characteristics of the reservoir
storage, the flow capacity of the spillways and
the flow capacity of the river drainage
downstream of the Tucurui Dam. In addition,
there was discussion how to integrate the tool
in a real-time forecast system
The study aims to build a simulation model
for Mosul dam reservoir to study the operation
behavior of the reservoir and the hydropower
generation using HEC-ResSim 3.0 package. As
the package is relatively new and rarely used
by researchers in Iraq, it is aimed to compare
the results obtained using this package with
those of the other research works which have
been carried out on the same reservoir.
2. STUDY LOCATION
The current study included applying the
suggested model on Mosul dam reservoir
which is located on river Tigris about (50Km)
north of Mosul city. The catchment area of
reservoir is about (50200 Km2), and the dam
has a spillway that is controlled by five radial
gates, and four tunnels are connected to the
hydroelectric station to supply water needed for
energy generation with a maximum capacity of
(772MW), while the dam is provided with two
bottom outlets with segment floodgates. Mosul
Dam Reservoir is a multi-purpose reservoir that
is used for floods mitigation, generating
hydroelectric power, irrigation, developing the
fish resources and developing the touristic field
in the country (Al-Gazzal, 2002). Figure (1)
shows the study location.
Figure (1): The location of Mosul dam reservoir.
3.SIMULATION MODEL FORMULATION
A simulation model was built based on
the observed monthly data of inflows of the
Tigris River to the reservoir, depth of rainfall
on the surface area of the lake and depth of
evaporation from the surface area of the lake,
94 Jebbo B and Awchi T./ ZJPAS: 2016, 28(2): 92-98

to fulfill the water requirements in the

downstream with the constraints of the highest
and lowest release from the reservoir that have
been taken from previous studies. In addition,
several important additional variables were
included in the input data to improve the model
performance which were obtained from Mosul
Dam Directorate, such as the use of gates
capacity curves, entering the actual values for
power plant efficiency, and taking the
hydraulic losses and the variation of tail water
into account. Figure (2) shows the elevation -
area-storage curves of the reservoir, figure (3)
shows the average monthly depths of rainfall
and evaporation from the reservoir’s surface
area and figure (4) shows the hydraulic losses
of hydroelectric power plant for the reservoir.
Figure (4): Hydraulic losses of hydroelectric power
plant for Mosul dam reservoir.
A Simulation process has done for (228)
months for the period of January 1988 to
December 2006 on the monthly basis.
Simulation model that is illustrated in figure
(5) was operated and its performance was
tested by comparison its results with the
observed data. The observed monthly data
included the reservoir releases and
hydroelectric energy generated for the entire
simulation period. In addition, the observed
monthly of reservoir elevation were obtained
for the period of December 1988 to June 1989.
The convergences of simulated values to the
observed values were studied using three
statistical methods:

a. Correlation Coefficient (r): which is a

Figure (2): Elevation-area-storage curves of Mosul
dam reservoir.
measure of the degree of linear correlation
between two independent variables, and its
value lies between (1) and (-1). It can be
estimated using the following equation (Johnson
and Bhattacharyya, 2006):
n _ _

∑ (oi − o) ⋅ (ei − e) ……… (1)

r= i =1
n _ n _

∑ (o − o ) ⋅ ∑ (e − e)
i =1
i
2

i =1
i
2

Figure (3): Average monthly depths of rainfall and
evaporation from the reservoir’s surface area
(mm/month)
Where:
oi …………. Observed values in the period i .
ei …………. Simulated values in the period i .
_
o ………….. Average of observed values.
_
e ………….. Average of simulated values.
n ………….. Number of values.
95 Jebbo B and Awchi T./ ZJPAS: 2016, 28(2): 92-98

b. Coefficient of Efficiency (eff): this operation of the reservoir. On the other hand,
method is used to describe the predictive the parameters of generated hydroelectric
accuracy of the model when there are observed power and reservoir operation during the
data. Its value can be estimated through the model simulation period are shown in table (1).
equation below (Nash and Sutcliffe, 1970): It is noticed that the average generated
 n 2 
hydroelectric power from the simulation model
 ∑ (oi − ei )  is equal to (272.5 MW) and this is close to the
eff = 1 −  i =n1  ……..…… (2) average generated hydroelectric power due to
 _
2 
 ∑ (oi − o)  the actual operation of the reservoir which is
i =1  (270 MW).

c. Index of Agreement (ioa): this index

has been suggested by Willmott (1981) to
compare the results of the simulation model
with the observed historical data as mentioned
by Krause et al. (2005). Its value varies between
(0) and (1). This index can be determined
through the following equation:
n

∑ (o i − ei ) 2
ioa = 1 − n
i =1
_ _
… (3)
∑ (| o
i =1
i − o | + | ei − e |) 2

Figure (6): Elevation - area- storage curves of

Mosul reservoir during the simulation period.

Figure (5): simulation model of Mosul Dam

Reservoir in HEC-ResSim 3.0 package.

4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Through the simulation process, the
storage volume, surface area and elevation Figure (7): releases from bottom outlets, power
were calculated as shown in figure (6). Also, units, spillway gates during the simulation period.
the releases from hydroelectric power units,
bottom outlets and spillway were calculated, as
shown in figure (7). It can be noticed that the
spillway has operated for only one time in
April 1988, and this matches with the actual
96 Jebbo B and Awchi T./ ZJPAS: 2016, 28(2): 92-98

Table (1): parameters of reservoir operation and within its foundations. Therefore, it is not
hydroelectric power generation during the possible now to fill the reservoir to its designed
simulation period. capacity to prevent its collapse which would
cause a great disaster (Paley, 2007).

Figure (8): Simulation of Mosul dam reservoir

releases.
The convergence of current model results
with the observed data for the actual operation
of the reservoir for releases, hydroelectric
power and elevation were tested, as shown in
figures (8), (9) and (10). The results showed
that the model has high efficiency in
representing the real system. It is noticed that
the simulated and observed parameters curves
are very closed to each other, this is due to
considering many variables which are not taken
into account in previous studies such as the use
of gates capacity curves, entering the real
values of power plant efficiencies, taking Figure (9): Simulation of hydroelectric power
hydraulic losses, changing in tail water generated from Mosul reservoir
elevation, and seepage from reservoir into
consideration.
The terms rule curve or guide curve are
typically used to denote operating rules which
define ideal or target storage levels and provide
a mechanism for release rules to be specified as
a function of storage content. Rule curves may
be expressed in various formats such as water
surface elevation or storage volume versus time
of the year (Wurbs, 1993)
Through the model simulation, the control
rule curve of the reservoir was derived, and
through the comparison of this curve with the Figure (10): Simulation of elevations of Mosul
original rule curve of the reservoir, an obvious reservoir
difference in the operation has been noticed.
Therefore, the original rule curve of the
reservoir was ignored, as shown in figure (11).
This is due to the fact that Mosul Dam suffers
from the existence of large amounts of gypsum
97 Jebbo B and Awchi T./ ZJPAS: 2016, 28(2): 92-98
Figure (11): The control rule curve and original rule
curve of Mosul dam reservoir.
Several studies on Mosul reservoir were
conducted to find out the optimal operation
policy using different system analyses
techniques. Their objective function was to
operate the reservoir to maximize the generated
hydroelectric power. Al-Gazzal (2002) used the
discrete differential dynamic programming
(DDDP) to find out the optimum operation
policy of the reservoir, while the researcher Al-
Zubaidy (2005) used the genetic algorithms
technique for the purpose of determine the
optimal operation policy of the reservoir. Al-
Okaily (2009) built a simulation model for the
reservoir using Simulink technique which is
provided by MATLAB program.
Table (2) shows the annual average of
generated hydroelectric power from the
reservoir for the current and previous studies
including the actual operation of the reservoir.
The results showed that the simulation model
results of the current study are the closest to the
actual operation of the reservoir. This can be
attributed of the use of (HEC-ResSim 3.0)
package, which is specialized software to
simulate water resources systems. in addition,
many variables are considered which were not
taken into account in previous studies, such as
the use of gates capacity curves, entering
values of power plant efficiency, hydraulic
losses and the variation of tail water elevation.
Table (2): Average annual generated energy
(MW.h) from the reservoir.
5. CONCLUSIONS
1. The (HEC-ResSim 3.0) package, which is
provided by the Hydrologic Engineering
Center-US Army Corps of Engineers (HEC-
USACE) is one of the modern techniques that
used successfully in simulating water resources
systems, performed well and very effectively in
simulating Mosul dam reservoir through
examining the performance of the model by
comparing its results with the observed data.
The data matching was very good, and this
proved that the model is very efficient in
representing the real system very effectively.
2. It was revealed that the control rule curve of
the reservoir didn’t match with the original rule
curve. So the control rule elevations were less
than the original rule elevations. This is due to
the presence of gypsum in the foundation of the
reservoir, and this requires decreasing water
storage to prevent its collapse.
3. The comparison of the current model results
with the results of previous studies considered
the same reservoir showed that the current
simulation model results are the closest to the
actual operation of the reservoir. This is due to
the use of (HEC-ResSim 3.0) package which is
specialized in simulating water resources
systems, in addition of considering many
variables which are not taken into account in
previous studies, which led to get a simulation
model that the ability to simulate the real
system very effectively.
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