Satellite observations reveal 13 years of reservoir filling strategies, operating rules, and hydrological alterations in the Upper Mekong River basin

Abstract

The current situation in the Lancang–Mekong River basin is emblematic of the issues faced by many transboundary basins around the world: riparian countries prioritize national water–energy policies and provide limited information on how major infrastructures are operated. In turn, such infrastructures and their management become a source of controversy. Here, we turn our attention to the Upper Mekong River, or Lancang, where a system of 11 mainstream dams controls about 55 % of the annual flow to Northern Thailand and Laos. Yet, assessing their actual impact is a challenging task because of the chronic lack of data on reservoir storage and dam release decisions. To overcome this challenge, we focus on the 10 largest reservoirs and leverage satellite observations to infer 13-year time series of monthly storage variations. Specifically, we use area–storage curves (derived from a digital elevation model) and time series of water surface area, which we estimate from Landsat images through a novel algorithm that removes the effects of clouds and other disturbances. We also use satellite radar altimetry water level data (Jason and Sentinel-3) to validate the results obtained from satellite imagery. Our results describe the evolution of the hydropower system and highlight the pivotal role played by Xiaowan and Nuozhadu reservoirs, which make up to ∼ 85 % of the total system's storage in the Lancang River basin. We show that these two reservoirs were filled in about 2 years and that their operations were marginally affected by the drought that occurred in the region in 2019–2020. Deciphering these operating strategies will help enrich existing monitoring tools and hydrological models, thereby supporting riparian countries in the design of more cooperative water–energy policies.