Simulation modelling for water resources planning in Bangladesh

摘要

Water resources planning is a key development issue in Bangladesh. In recent years attention has focused on the flood problem, which also has a significant impact on the ability to sustain growth in agricultural production. This paper presents a case study of approaches developed for use in planning water resources development at the national level in Bangladesh. Much of the water resource system in Bangladesh is interlinked by an intricate network of river channels. The impacts of development can ripple through the system and modelling was required to assess these. The nature of the terrain, and of predominant hydrological and hydraulic processes, generally precluded the use of packaged models. Models were developed which gave appropriate weight to particularly important features of the hydrological system encountered, and which suited the availability of hydrometric data. The models developed were important to the planning process, and integrated hydrometric, agricultural and water-use data, on a scale that would not otherwise have been possible.