Climate Variability and Change—Hydrological Impacts (Proceedings of the Fifth FRIEND World
Conference held at Havana, Cuba, November 2006), IAHS Publ. 308, 2006, 558–562.
Estimation of minimum
acceptable (compensatory) flow for the rivers of Costa Rica
SADĺ LAPORTE, ALEXIA PACHECO &
CARLOS R. RODRIGUEZ
C.S. Estudios Básicos de Ingeniería. Instituto
Costarricense de Electricidad, PO Box 10032-1000, San José, Costa Rica
slaporte@ice.go.cr
Abstract A project for establishing
minimum acceptable flow (MAF) is presented. The approach synthesizes knowledge
about the natural river flow variability in space and time under low flow
conditions in terms of probabilities and relates these to ecological demands,
as well the demands of selected instream water uses. A hydraulic model linking
discharges to the extent of usable area for biological indicator species and
for socio-economic uses allows development of different hydropower regulation
schemes in search for the optimal one. Testing different water regulation scenarios
and their impact on natural runoff conditions, as well as ecological conditions
and selected water uses offers a basis for sustainable solutions, preserving
biodiversity and striving at equity in water use. The approach can be applied
in any river basin of the humid tropics adjusting the chosen biological and
socio-economic indicators to the characteristics of a particular basin.
Key words low flow; compensatory runoff; sustainability;
humid tropics