Problem of Improving the Environmental and Socio-Economic System of the Volga-Akhtuba Floodplain: Position Examination of Large Dam in the Volga River Based on Computational Fluid Dynamics

The system of hydroelectric power stations on the Volga River, built in the 20th century, completely changed the hydrological regime of the Volga River. The current over-regulation of the water flow is the cause of the accelerating degradation of the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain. Modern analysis of water availability indicates a critical point associated with the spring filling of the Akhtuba binnacle. Various projects suggest a solution to this problem. This study is aims at identifying the most optimal location of a large dam below the Volzhsky hydroelectric power stations. We use a new model of hydraulic resistance based on the combined effect of both the friction force in the Manning model and the turbulent viscosity. Our study involves varying of the dam’s location in a numerical shallow water model. We calculate the hydrological relationship between the release of water through the Volzhsky dam and the source of the Akhtuba, as a target function for analyzing the effectiveness of the project to construction such a dam.