3.1. Exploratory analysis of inflow and outflows
Figure 3 shows the variation of the daily inflow (Fig. 3A) and outflows (Fig. 3B), considering each of the years of study adopted here (2005 to 2019), which are represented by the blue dots. Thus, for the same day of a given month, 14 flow values are represented.
On the other hand, the red dots represent the daily average values obtained between the years, that is, for a given day of the month, a single flow value is represented, calculated from the average of the 14 years analyzed.
It is possible to note in Fig. 3A that the inflows have an evident seasonal behavior, with higher flows between the months of November and April, representative of the rainy season of the region, and lower flows between May and October, months characterized by the reduced incidence of rainfall.
It is also clear that the inflows, especially for the rainy season, show high amplitude, as in February, when the daily flows ranged from 13.6 to 280 m3.s− 1 throughout the historical series considered. For the dry season, the variability amplitude is smaller, for instance in July, when the flows varied between 3.5 and 51 m3.s− 1.
Figure 3B, which represents the behavior of outflows, shows that in a few moments, from the rainy season, especially in December, the magnitude of the flows exceeded the value of the inflows, which is not normally expected. These values, however, were recorded between 2005 and 2006, a period marked by the beginning of the reservoir’s activities, which may mean that adjustments were still being made for its correct operation.
In general, for the outflows, the flow behavior shows a higher constancy throughout the year, evidencing the regularization of flows promoted by the reservoir. Nevertheless, there are still differences in outflows for different years, considering the same day, although in much smaller proportions than the inflows.
Figure 4 represents the mass diagram, as proposed by Rippl (1883), constructed from the historical series of inflows and outflows of the reservoir, where it is possible to observe less abrupt changes in the slope of the diagram for the outflows, compared to the observed changes for the inflows.
The analysis of flow behavior shows that the inflow has greater variability due to the seasonality of the rainfall regime, which is why there is a more marked growth of the accumulated flows in some periods of the year (November to April). On the other hand, the outflow shows a more regularized behavior overall years within the period, influenced precisely by the operation of the Queimado HPP reservoir, which balances the flows along the hydrography, minimizing drought and flood events throughout the dry and rainy seasons, respectively.
The results found in the analysis of correlation between the inflows and outflows are presented in Fig. 5, both for the yearly scale and for the quarterly scale.
The correlation between the outflows and inflows considering all months of the year, over the period considered, was equal to 0.74, classified by Bozzoni (2020) as a strong correlation. Therefore, it is a satisfactory result, demonstrating that the values of the inflows are determinant for the operationalization of the reservoir.
When analyzing the data on a quarterly scale, even higher correlations are obtained, especially for the first (0.82), second (0.86) and third (0.88) quarters, highlighting the greater dependence of the outflows regarding the seasonal pattern’s characteristic of the inflows, hence interfering in the Queimado HPP reservoir’s operating conditions.
For the fourth quarter, the correlation value found was 0.73, close to the value estimated for the yearly correlation. The reduction of this correlation probably occurs due to the greater reservoir regularization activity in this period, which should meet the downstream demands even if the inflows show significant reductions.
Analyses of this nature are corroborated in studies such as that of Passaia and Paiva (2019), who evaluated which variables (inflows, water level, volume and day of the year) govern the behavior of the outflow of 150 reservoirs located in Brazil and controlled by the ONS. According to the authors, the variable that best explained the behavior of the outflow was the inflow, and an average correlation value of 0.79 was found, which demonstrates the explanatory importance that the inflow represents in determining the process of operationalization of reservoirs.
Thus, the results of this study show that understanding the behavior of inflows becomes essential for the management and operational planning applied to the Queimado HPP reservoir. The existence of climatic and/or anthropic variability may cause interference in the availability and storage of water in the reservoir, impacting both the generation of electricity and the other activities implemented in the basin, downstream of the reservoir, which are users of water.
This concern is more evident in Fig. 4, which shows a change of slope for the two lines representative of the behavior of outflows and inflows, at the end of the studied period, especially from the year 2016, which means that the accumulated flows over the years, in these positions of hydrography, is reducing and resulting in lower water availability in the basin.
Table 2 presents the results of the correlation analysis between the average outflows and the average flows obtained from conventional streamflow gauge stations Q1, Q2 and Q3.
Table 2
Correlations obtained between the outflows of the Queimado HPP reservoir and the conventional streamflow gauge stations Q1, Q2 and Q3 on yearly and quarterly scales, throughout the study period
Period
|
Correlation Coefficient (r)
|
Qout and Q1
|
Qout and Q2
|
Qout and Q3
|
Yearly
|
0.97
|
0.90
|
0.62
|
1st Quarter
|
0.92
|
0.90
|
0.67
|
2nd Quarter
|
0.99
|
0.96
|
0.74
|
3rd Quarter
|
0.98
|
0.91
|
0.88
|
4th Quarter
|
0.99
|
0.98
|
0.84
|
The results show that the correlations between the outflows and the flows in station Q1, for all periods analyzed, were characterized as very strong, indicating a high degree of association between the flow data of the conventional streamflow gauge station downstream and the outflows.
Although all correlations found were very strong (r > 0.90), the best coefficients were observed in the second (r = 0.99), third (r = 0.98) and fourth (r = 0.99) quarters. However, the worst coefficient was observed for the first quarter (r = 0.92), even when compared to the yearly period (r = 0.97).
The correlations found between the outflows and the conventional streamflow gauge station Q2 showed, as expected, slightly lower values, compared to the correlations found for Q1, although very strong relationships were also obtained in all periods, indicating that the average values of outflows also showed a high degree of association with the flow data of the conventional downstream streamflow gauge station. For this situation, the best fits found were obtained for the second (r = 0.96) and fourth (r = 0.98) quarters and the lowest fits for the first (r = 0.90) and third (r = 0.91) quarters, being close or equal to that found for the yearly period (r = 0.90).
These analyses reinforce the selection of the base period for the studies (2005 to 2019) and the indication that the Q1 and Q2 data before the Queimado HPP reservoir started operating would not be adequately used, since disregarding the changes made in the flow regime due to interference caused by the construction of the dam may lead to low-quality water availability estimates, especially due to the proximity between the analyzed points.
On the other hand, the correlations found between the outflows and the conventional streamflow gauge station Q3 were significantly lower when compared with Q1 and Q2, particularly when considering the yearly period (r = 0.62), being a moderate correlation according to the classification of Bozzoni (2020).
The reduction observed between the degree of association of the outflows and the flows in Q3 demonstrates the loss of influence of the Queimado HPP reservoir’s operation on the regime of variation of the average flows in this station, justified by the increase in the distance between the analyzed points. The largest reductions in correlation with Qout occurred for the first (r = 0.67) and second (r = 0.74) quarters, periods characterized by the increase in rainfall regime in the region, indicating greater influences of contributions from the drainage areas downstream of the reservoir, than effectively from its operation.
However, for the dry season, in which the contribution of surface runoff is greatly reduced, the values of correlations for the third (r = 0.88) and fourth (r = 0.84) quarters, between the average outflows and Q3 increased, although it cannot be said that the relationship between these variables is as strong as those found for the other stations.
Thus, based on the reduction observed in the correlations between Qout and Q3, the correlation between the average inflows and Q3 was also evaluated. The correlations obtained for the yearly period, 1st, 2nd and 4th quarters were equal to 0.85, 0.80, 0.88 and 0.84, respectively, being classified as strong. For the 3rd quarter, the classification was even better, with r equal to 0.94 (very strong).
In this evaluation, it is evident that the correlations observed between the flows of Q3 and inflow to the reservoir are significantly better (strong or very strong) than those observed with the outflows.
Therefore, these results indicate that the variability of the flows in this position of hydrography is influenced much more by the hydrological characteristics and land use and occupation of the basin than by the reservoir activity itself.
3.2. Trend analysis
Figure 6 shows the values of the minimum annual 7-day flow (Q7), average annual flow (Qavg) and maximum annual flow (Qmax) obtained over the hydrological years from 2005/2006 to 2018/2019, for the inflow and outflows of the Queimado HPP reservoir.
According to Fig. 6, it can be observed that, in general, the magnitude of the maximum inflows is greater than that of the maximum outflows. On the other hand, the minimum inflows have a lower magnitude compared to the minimum outflows, which is justified by the reservoir’s regulatory activity.
It is also possible to note that the flows, especially for the last years, both inflows and outflows, have lower values for all variables when compared to the initial years of the series. This behavior could be confirmed after trend tests were applied to each series, which pointed to a decreasing trend in all flows (Table 3).
Table 3
Mann-Kendall (MK)/Modified Mann-Kendall (MMK) and Sen’s Slope trend test results for the inflow and outflow Q7, Qavg and Qmax of the Queimado HPP reservoir
Historical Series
|
Variables
|
Mann-Kendall / Modified Mann-Kendall (5%)
|
Sen’s Slope (5%)
(m3.s− 1.year1)
|
p-value
|
Z-value
|
Kendall’s Tau
|
Trend*
|
Slope
|
Upper CI
|
Lower CI
|
|
Q7
|
0.001
|
-3.235
|
-0.516
|
↓
|
-1.009
|
-1.569
|
-0.431
|
Inflow
|
Qavg
|
0.002
|
3.062
|
-0.626
|
↓
|
-2.993
|
-4.249
|
-1.7738
|
|
Qmax
|
0.012
|
2.518
|
-0.517
|
↓
|
-7.125
|
-11.533
|
-1.866
|
|
Q7
|
0.015
|
2.442
|
-0.508
|
↓
|
-1.321
|
-2.314
|
-0.333
|
Outflow
|
Qavg
|
0.001
|
3.389
|
-0.692
|
↓
|
-2.976
|
-4.132
|
-1.837
|
|
Qmax
|
0.003
|
3.058
|
-0.604
|
↓
|
-10.286
|
-14.200
|
-3.400
|
* (↓) decreasing trend; (↑) increasing trend and (-) no trend. |
The results presented in Table 3 show the significant reduction for all inflows to the reservoir, confirming the trend observed in Fig. 6. This decreasing trend is indicative of problems for electricity generation in the Queimado HPP as well as for the other downstream uses of the dam. For this reason, it is important to quantify the proportion of these reductions over the years, aiming to contribute to the management of current and future water availability.
The application of the Sen’s Slope estimator provided the magnitude of these decreases over the years for all variables considered (Fig. 7). For the minimum flow, represented by Q7, there have been reductions of 1.009 m3.s− 1 per year for inflows and 1.321 m3.s− 1 per year for the outflows.
These results indicate that, although the reservoir regularized the flows downstream of the dam, the values of outflows are directly influenced by the characteristics of the inflows, so the most significant reductions found in the outflows may be associated with greater need for water conservation in the reservoir in order to ensure supply in the dry season.
For the average flows, there were very similar annual reductions, around 2.993 m3.s− 1 and 2.976 m3.s− 1 for inflows and outflows, respectively, indicating that the water availability of the basin, as well as its potential for electricity generation, is being reduced over time.
When analyzing the maximum flows, the results indicated that the decreases recorded for the outflows over the years are higher than those found for the inflows, so that, downstream of the reservoir, the flows decrease by 10.286 m3.s− 1 per year, while the inflows showed annual reductions of 7.125 m3.s− 1.
The difference between these results is expected due to the regularization promoted by the reservoir, retaining the flows of greater magnitudes in the rainy season and then releasing them in the dry season. Thus, the maximum flows passing through the dam are subject to the operational control of the plant, in such a way that part is retained and part is made available downstream.
Table 4 shows the results of trend analyses for conventional ANA stations located downstream of the Queimado HPP reservoir.
Table 4
Mann-Kendall (MK)/Modified Mann-Kendall (MMK) and Sen’s Slope trend test results for Q7, Qavg and Qmax flows of stations Q1, Q2 and Q3 located downstream of the Queimado HPP reservoir
Historical Series
|
Variables
|
Mann-Kendall / Modified Mann-Kendall (5%)
|
Sen’s Slope (5%)
(m3.s− 1.year1)
|
p-value
|
Z-value
|
Kendall’s Tau
|
Trend*
|
Slope
|
Confidence Interval
|
Upper
|
Lower
|
Q1
|
Q7
|
0.028
|
2.197
|
-0.451
|
↓
|
-1.111
|
-1.928
|
-0.112
|
Qavg
|
0.000
|
3.504
|
-0.714
|
↓
|
-3.072
|
-4.384
|
-1.983
|
Qmax
|
0.004
|
2.847
|
-0.582
|
↓
|
-11.129
|
-17.496
|
-4.286
|
Q2
|
Q7
|
0.021
|
2.299
|
-0.472
|
↓
|
-1.490
|
-3.201
|
-0.267
|
Qavg
|
0.000
|
3.832
|
-0.780
|
↓
|
-4.270
|
-5.958
|
-2.668
|
Qmax
|
0.000
|
4.911
|
-0.648
|
↓
|
-17.825
|
-27.670
|
-11.098
|
Q3
|
Q7
|
0.012
|
2.518
|
-0.516
|
↓
|
-2.917
|
-4.266
|
-1.028
|
Qavg
|
0.000
|
3.504
|
-0.714
|
↓
|
-8.689
|
-10.514
|
-5.410
|
Qmax
|
0.324
|
0.985
|
-0.209
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
* (↓) decreasing trend; (↑) increasing trend and (-) no trend. |
The series of minimum, average and maximum flows for stations Q1 and Q2 also showed decreasing trends, which demonstrates the influence of reservoir operation in these monitoring sections. The minimum flows in Q1 and Q2 showed reductions of -1.111 and − 1.490 m3.s− 1.year− 1, respectively, close to those verified for the inflows and outflows of the Queimado HPP reservoir. For the average and maximum flows of stations Q1 and Q2, the magnitudes of the annual reductions found increased as the drainage area of the stations increased, so the decreases found for Q2 were higher, with average flows reducing by 4.270 m3.s− 1.year− 1 and maximum flows reducing by 17.825 m3.s− 1.year− 1.
In Q3, the farthest station from the reservoir, the minimum flows showed reductions of 2.917 m3.s− 1.year− 1 and the average flows showed reductions of 8.689 m3.s− 1.year− 1. This station has an increase in the drainage area of about 60% in relation to the position of the reservoir. This may probably explain the greater reduction of minimum and average flows in this station compared to Q1 and Q2, since there will be greater variability regarding soil type, geomorphology and, also, water demand for irrigation. However, for the maximum flows, no trend was identified, thus characterizing them as stationary throughout the analyzed period.
Given the reductions in the flows (minimum, average and maximum) observed in the present study, statistical trend analyses were also applied for the rainfall series of the stations used in the study (Table 5) to evaluate whether the reductions were being influenced by the climatic behavior of the region.
Table 5
Mann-Kendall (MK)/Modified Mann-Kendall (MMK) trend test results for rainfall data series of the selected stations in the Preto River Basin
Stations
(Code)
|
|
Total Annual Rainfall
|
p-value
|
Z-value
|
Kendall’s Tau
|
Trend
|
01546005**
|
0.721
|
0.358
|
-0.111
|
-
|
01547003
|
0.228
|
1.204
|
-0.253
|
-
|
01547004**
|
0.381
|
0.876
|
-0.187
|
-
|
01547009**
|
0.858
|
0.179
|
-0.067
|
-
|
01547013**
|
0.428
|
0.793
|
-0.179
|
-
|
01547014**
|
0.246
|
1.159
|
-0.256
|
-
|
01547017**
|
0.721
|
0.358
|
-0.111
|
-
|
01547018**
|
1.000
|
0.000
|
0.011
|
-
|
01547021
|
0.324
|
0.985
|
-0.209
|
-
|
01547022
|
0.742
|
0.328
|
-0.077
|
-
|
01645019**
|
0.047
|
1.989
|
-0.455
|
↓
|
01646000
|
0.742
|
0.328
|
-0.077
|
-
|
01646001
|
0.079
|
1.752
|
-0.362
|
-
|
01646003
|
0.661
|
0.438
|
-0.099
|
-
|
01646004
|
0.127
|
1.525
|
-0.333
|
-
|
01647008
|
0.194
|
1.556
|
-0.382
|
-
|
01746001**
|
0.101
|
1.642
|
-0.341
|
-
|
01746002**
|
0.033
|
2.135
|
-0.461
|
↓
|
01746017**
|
0.033
|
2.135
|
-0.461
|
↓
|
* (↓) decreasing trend; (↑) increasing trend and (-) no trend. |
** Stations located around the Preto River Basin |
Rainfall variability within the period considered, in general, was stationary for the annual period, indicating that the rain did not show significant changes over the years. Only three stations indicated significant changes in total annual rainfall, the codes of which are 01645019, 01746002 and 01746017. All these stations are located near the mouth, outside the boundaries of the basin, which indicates that the reductions in flows in the upstream positions of the basin do not have considerable influence of the rainfall behavior and, therefore, it is not possible to affirm that the behavior of rainfall in these positions is responsible for reducing the inflow and outflows of the Queimado HPP reservoir and in the Q1 and Q2 stations.
Thus, the results show that the reduction of flows cannot be associated with the variation of the annual rainfall regime, opening precedents for a possible preponderance of anthropic activities over climatic conditions, since the Preto River Basin is a frontier of agricultural expansion with marked use of irrigation.
These findings corroborate those obtained by Xue et al. (2017), who observed that human activities played a dominant role in reducing the flows of the Tarim River, when compared with the climatic variables, as well as those obtained by Gao et al. (2011), who also identified that the contributions of human activities were significantly stronger for the reductions in flow than rainfall in the Yellow River Basin in China.
Machado and Netto (2010) mentioned that in the Preto River Basin, located within the territory of the Federal District, there was a dominance of agricultural activities with pronounced use of center pivots for irrigation, which already contributed to the reduction of water availability, especially in the dry season. In their study, the authors identified that by 2007 there were 207 center pivots, representing 17,620 hectares of irrigated land along the entire length of the basin, with higher concentrations in the northwest region.
ANA, in partnership with Embrapa, mapped the number of center pivot irrigation equipment in Brazil between 1985 and 2019. Based on the period considered by this study (2005 to 2019), in the Preto River Basin, the number of pivots showed a very significant growth. In 2010, the number of center pivots recorded was 370 units, with an irrigated area of 28,539.9 hectares, increasing in 2014 to 556 units, which represented an increase of 33.6% in the irrigated area (42,979.8 hectares). In 2017, the mapping identified the presence of 682 center pivots distributed throughout the basin, whose implementation increased the irrigated area to 49,087.3 hectares. In 2019, the total number of pivots recorded became 786 units, 53% more than in 2010, and 488 of these were concentrated in the northwest region of the basin (ANA, 2021).
Thus, despite the noticeable growth of center pivot irrigation activity in the Preto River Basin, Fig. 8 shows that these equipments are more markedly concentrated in the source regions, upstream of the Queimado HPP reservoir.
The sharp increase in the number of center pivots in the Preto River Basin may represent a significant portion of the reductions of flows over the years, especially for those that flow into the Queimado HPP reservoir, thus impacting all other activities influenced by it.
Associated with the increase in the number of pivots in the basin, conflicts over water use have been taking on greater proportions over the years, especially in the dry season, requiring mediation by the management bodies. According to Maniçoba (2019), the area of the Preto River Basin Committee of the Federal District (Comitê de Bacia Hidrográfica do Preto do Distrito Federal - CBH Preto - DF) is irrigated for grain production and has water conflicts that have been dealt with in negotiated allocation meetings.
In 2016, ANA, through Resolution No. 934, authorized the reduction of the minimum discharge of the Queimado HPP reservoir, considering the importance of preserving the available water stock and also mentioning the unfavorable hydrometeorological situation for the upstream section of the reservoir. The reduction of the minimum outflow went from 17 m3.s− 1 to 10 m3.s− 1, being allowed only between August and October of that year.
Although the resolution mentions the hydrometeorological crisis at that time, it is important to remember that the irrigated area almost tripled from 2007 to 2017 and still remains constantly expanding, so management difficulties have already become a reality of the basin.
It is also interesting to mention that small reservoirs play an important role in supporting the local economy and are mainly used for supplying of water for irrigation and cattle watering (Althoff et al. 2019). In the Preto River Basin, a survey conducted by Rodrigues et al. (2012) identified the presence of 147 of these small dams, with a surface area between 1 and 50 ha. According to the authors, the portions of the Federal District and Goiás located within the Preto River Basin, considered in this study as the most representative for the area upstream of the Queimado HPP reservoir, had the capacity to store, respectively, 14% (one every 30 km2 − 44 reservoirs) and 29% (one every 70 km² − 32 reservoirs) of the water of the basin in these structures. Nevertheless, records of grants were found, between 2011 and 2019, for only 30 of these units considering the analysis of the same region, according to information available on the platform of the Water, Energy and Sanitation Regulatory Agency of the Federal District (Agência Reguladora de Águas, Energia e Saneamento do Distrito Federal - ADASA).
This information draws attention to the fact that the presence of these small dams, aimed at increasing water availability in certain segments of the basin, may also be contributing to the reduction of inflows to the Queimado HPP reservoir, especially with regard to maximum flows.