How does the daily regulation hydropower station reduce the hydrological regime impact? A case study in upper Yellow River

Abstract

ABSTRACT Human activities, particularly the regulation of hydropower stations, have profoundly altered river flow patterns. While studies have extensively assessed the impact of large or multi-year regulated hydropower stations on hydrological regimes using indicators of hydrological alteration (IHA) and range of variability approach (RVA), the impact of daily regulation hydropower stations has received comparatively less attention. This study aims to evaluate the influence of daily regulation hydropower stations on hydrological regime changes, focusing on the upper Yellow River region in China. Using daily runoff data from 1954 to 2020 at the Guide station, the study compares the impacts of multi-year regulated (Longyangxia) and daily regulation (Laxiwa and Nina) hydropower stations. The Mann-Kendall test showed that 27 out of 32 Indicators of Hydrological Alteration (IHAs) had significant trends under Longyangxia operation, which reduced to 18 IHAs with the inclusion of daily regulation stations. The Range of Variability Approach (RVA) revealed that only 46.87% of IHAs exhibited high alteration from the natural regime when daily regulation was considered, down from 75.00% with Longyangxia alone. This suggests that daily regulation can mitigate the negative impacts of multi-year regulation, potentially enhancing the river's eco-hydrological health.