ABSTRACT
While much attention focuses on climate change, the most pressing challenge for water managers throughout the world is managing the year-to-year, month-to-month and even daily changes in the availability of water. For large-volume water users, reservoirs have provided the storage to reduce much of the variability in the supply from water sources. Growing demand for water that accompanies population growth and economic development, and the rise of minimum flow requirements for the environment, have made managing climate variability increasingly difficult. In addition, the recognition of the non-stationary nature of climate and the influence of anthropogenic global change on water resources raises concerns regarding the assumptions that were used to design and operate water infrastructure. As a result, there is a need for adapting the current practices of reservoir management to the current challenges of a changing climate, competing demands and finite water resources.
