Examination of Minimum and Specified Release Rules in HEC-ResSim

This post will demonstrate the behavior of HEC-ResSim with minimum and specified rules in the rule set.

For this example, a simple model with one reservoir was developed.  The model is shown below.



In this example, there is a constant 1,000 cfs of inflow entering the reservoir.  In the first example, a minimum release rule of 700 cfs is the highest priority rule.  The specified and maximum rules with values of lower magnitudes than the minimum rule are found in the rule set at a lower priority.  The rule set is shown in the figure below.


In this rule set, since the minimum release is the highest priority, the release will be 700 cfs.  In other words, the specified releases cannot be satisfied since that would violate the minimum release, and the maximum release will not control since it is a lower magnitude of release than the minimum release, and it is a lower priority.  The results are shown in the figure below.  The release is shown by the green line in the bottom plot.



In the next example, the minimum release rule of 700 cfs is lowered in priority, and an additional minimum release rule of 400 cfs is placed as the top priority.  The rule set is shown below.



For this rule set, a release of 550 cfs will be made since it is the highest priority specified release rule and does not violate the minimum release of 400 cfs.  The 550 cfs release will be made until the top of the flood pool is reached.  The results of the simulation are shown below.





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