Life of Maithon Reservoir on Ground of Sedimentation: Case Study in India

This case study discusses the life of the Maithon Reservoir studied based upon the past reservoir sedimentation trends and downstream demands for which the reservoir was built, where increased or projected demands were not considered during the study. Various studies have been done to observe declining storage in different zones of the reservoir, including reliability of the conservation storage, rise of reservoir bed level, reduction of reservoir trap efficiency, etc., at different projected years. An attempt has also been made to discuss the full life of the reservoir and to provide a short discussion of different strategies for its prolonged life because sediment is filling the reservoir much faster than its designed life. An additional life of 58years for the Maithon Reservoir may be obtained if the Balpahari Reservoir is constructed as a siltation trap at just the upstream of the Maithon Reservoir within the year 2005. Actually, this case study provides a guideline for dealing with a practical sedimentation problem along with the serviceability of a reservoir based upon Murthy’s recommendations.