Overview

The course focuses on听water resources planning and management, taking a systems view where simulation modeling, optimization, statistics, and uncertainty analysis come together to provide a more sustainable and holistic management of this important resource. 听Here is an introductory video of the water resources context in Colorado:

Course objectives:

  • Learn how to听analyze water reservoir systems听under multiple objectives using simulation modeling, stochastic hydrology, and scenario analysis.
  • Master techniques of听classical and evolutionary-algorithm based optimization.
  • Consider听uncertainties听such as socioeconomic factors, climate change, and regulatory constraints and their impact on water resources planning and management.
  • Use RiverWare as well as other听computational techniques听including spreadsheets and computer programming to solve water resources planning and management problems.

Topics:

  • Reservoir analysis, rule curves, and sizing
  • Reservoir simulation using RiverWare
  • Water uses (e.g. hydropower, recreational and domestic uses)
  • Stochastic streamflow generation, uncertainty analysis, and climate change
  • Performance metric analysis including reliability, resilience, and vulnerability
  • Simulation-based optimization using evolutionary algorithms
  • Linear programming, stochastic programming, and robust optimization
  • Multicriteria Decision Analysis
  • Bottom-up decision analysis (many-objective robust decision making)

Online Section and Eligibility

The course was offered online in Spring 2020 through CU's Distance Education program. Although the course is not offered in AY 2020-2021 due to Prof. Kasprzyk's sabbatical, it is likely to be offered online in Spring 2022.

At CU Boulder, this graduate听course is open to CVEN and EVEN students, as well as students from other relevant majors听at CU Boulder. 听I teach the course in Spring semesters. There are no formal prerequisites for this course, but I assume that you have familiarity with matrix algebra, calculus, probability, statistics, and basic computer skills (including the ability to apply or learn Python and R programming). Because the course focuses on water resources planning and management, some knowledge of fluid mechanics and hydrology is also assumed. However, students that come from different disciplinary backgrounds should be able to learn enough about water resources to do well in the course.

Free Online Course Textbook

One of the best ways to become familiar with the core material from the course is to peruse the free textbook that we use in the course,听听

Teaching Elements

I use a series of听in-class discussions听to engage students within the course. 听For example, one important method within water resources systems analysis is optimization, which can dictate storages, flows, and releases of water from a reservoir system given assumptions about plausible hydrologic and societal conditions within the optimization problem formulation. 听However, there is a great deal of uncertainty within different aspects of the planning problem. 听Students work in small groups to identify which parts of the problem must consider uncertainty (e.g., not knowing the marginal cost of providing water within the optimization objective). 听I co-authored听听several years ago. We also cover听quantitative techniques听used both in water resources systems analysis and the management of environmental problems in general. 听The main methods include听, linear and non-linear optimization, and optimization using evolutionary algorithms.

Syllabus and Sample Lecture

Please find links below to documents relevant to the course, from Spring 2016. 听Since this graduate class covers recent cutting-edge topics in research, this schedule is subject to change.

CVEN 5393 Sample Syllabus (Spring 2020)

Sample Lecture: Statistical Approaches for Simulation Modeling and Streamflow Generation