The wetted perimeter method(WPM) is used in hydrology and hydraulics to calculate instream flows.The WPM requires few data.It requires only the values of the wetted perimeter,flow and water level,which can be obtained from the hydrologic stations of the river in question.In addition,the WPM is not limited by the impacts of human activities on the river runoff.Therefore,this method is generally suitable for the current conditions in China.However,the process of applying the WPM involves two key aspects:how to plot the curve describing the relationship between the wetted perimeter and the discharge and how to confirm the breakpoint of the wetted perimeter-discharge curve.The traditional method is to calculate the curvature or the slope of the wetted perimeter-discharge curve to obtain the minimum flow.According to this method,the minimum flow corresponds to the point of maximum curvature or to the point at which the slope of the curve is equal to 1.The wetted perimeter-discharge curve of a natural river is only part of the complete curve.Thus,the instream flow calculated by the traditional method is the minimum or maximum discharge.The new criterion for defining the breakpoint of the wetted perimeter-discharge curve is that the slope at the breakpoint is a relative maximum,the second-largest slope.The discharges at the breakpoints corresponded to the minimum flow levels required to maintain the ecological function of the river.The minimum instream flow requirements(MIFRs) of four typical reaches,Zhuba,Daofu,Ganzi and Zumuzu hydrological stations on the West Course of the First Stage Project of the South-North Water Transfer Project(WCFSPSNWTP),are calculated using an improved wetted perimeter method(IWPM).The results show that the MIFRs of Zhuba,Daofu,Ganzi and Zumuzu are approximately 9.06-14.5 m 3 s-1,20.7-43.5 m3 s-1,38.8-77.2 m 3 s-1 and 40.4-59.5 m 3 s-1,corresponding to 11.7%-33.9%,14.2%-37.6%,12.4%-28.4% and 17.5%-30.2%,respectively of the annual average flow(AAF).These MIFRs can maintain good ecological fun
Transporting sediment is a natural function of the river. To maintain the normal evolution of the river certain amount of water flow is required, which is called the instream flow requirements for transporting sediment (IFRTS). We defined the permitting flow velocity by the conception of IFRTS, and also put forward the ecological hydraulic radius model (EHRM) to estimate IFRTS. The calculating process of EHRM is explained by the example of Daofu Hydrological Station on Xianshui branch of Yalong River in the west line first-stage construction of South-North Water Transfer Project. The result shows that the IFRTS occupied 29.7%―59.5% of annual mean discharge in flood season, the average of IFRTS was about 100.2 m3/s during 1966―1987, it is close to the IFRTS 90 m3/s calculated by IFRTS conception. Hence, it is feasible to use EHRM to calculate IFRTS.
MEN BaoHui1 & LIU ChangMing2 1 Renewable Energy Institute, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
