The Hydro Configuration Modeling System: Its Application on the Ottawa River

This paper describes the specific application of a generalized mathematical programming system called the Hydro Configuration Modeling System (HCMS) to the evaluation of alternative regulation policies on the Ottawa River System, one of the two major river systems upstream of Montreal. During 1976, HCMS was used to evaluate long-term hydroelectric energy production and flood damages resulting from each of eight major proposed variations from the current configuration of reservoirs and operating policies. As a result of these studies, several major recommendations were made and accepted by the federal-provincial committee responsible for the operation of the Ottawa River System.