Derivation of monthly reservoir release policies

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Abstract
A single multiple‐purpose reservoir is analyzed using a backward looking dynamic program algorithm to obtain optimal releases. The dynamic program is solved for both one‐sided and two‐sided quadratic loss functions. Monthly policies are derived by regressing the optimal set of releases on the input and state variables. Linear and nonlinear release policies are developed, then verified and compared through simulation. For a two‐sided quadratic loss function, linear policies are as good or better than nonlinear policies. However, for a one‐sided quadratic loss function, nonlinear policies give improved performance over linear policies. It is also illustrated that the maximum R2 criterion for selecting release policies may not always be appropriate. Hoover Reservoir, located on Big Walnut Creek in central Ohio, is used as a case example.