Incorporating climate change scenarios into new operating rules for large reservoirs: a transnational assessment in the Meuse basin

Opportunities for updating and optimizing current operating rules are being evaluated for the Vesdre reservoirs in Belgium (50 M m³) and the Rur complex in Germany (300 M m³). This assessment is conducted transnationally at the scale of the Meuse river basin. Common methodological approaches are followed in both countries and operating rules are analyzed in light of common climate change scenarios, recently defined for the whole Meuse basin. Similar risk-based approaches are used consistently in both countries to evaluate the performance of new operating rules in terms of risk reduction for floods and low flows.