Vízügyi Közlemények, 1970 (52. évfolyam)

4. füzet - Rövidebb közlemények és beszámolók

Before attempting to summarize the hydrological, hydraulic and morphological aspects of river regulation, it is considered advisable to view river regulation in the light of objectives and economic efficiency as a branch of general water management. Arising from the integrity of planned national economy, every social activity presents ramified yet at the same time interrelated complex problems. River regulation belongs obviously to this category and must therefore be co-ordinated with social objectives. It should be clear furthermore that river regulation, together with its basic principles and methods, must be adopted so as to obtain the greatest possible benefit from the changes brought about thereby for the complete set of social objectives. The evaluation of the consequences of river regulation and the changes ensuing therefrom presents a difficult and as yet unsolved problem. Nevertheless, in selecting a particular method of river regulation it is felt necessary to remember these considerations and to attempt an at least tentative estimation according to them. Closely interrelated with the problem of social efficiency of river regulation is that of economic efficiency. Investigations into the economic effects of river regulation have been started recently in several research institutions and several endeavours have been made to apply the principle of minimum outlay and maximum benefit to the regulation of individual streams. In the course of these investigations praxeology has been applied to river regulation methods. Owing to the close dependence on phenomena of Nature, and the uncertainty in the effects accruing from interference, the consequences manifest themselves in greatly different ways and mostly in an obscure form in the economic decisions related to river regulation. The determination of input and output, as well as the application of decision models in river regulation is thus concerned substantially with the economic consequences and results of decisions taken in not clearly defined problems. Still it is deemed necessary to pursue and intensify investigations along these lines, this appearing as the only potential way for the economic evaluation of river regulation measures. As far as the hydrological, hydraulic and morphological aspects of the basic principles and methods in river regulation are concerned, it may be concluded that the general principles of river regulation should be taken into consideration in the first stages of planning already. A visual demonstration of these general principles is presented by the complex regulation of rivers, where natural conditions, primarily the characteristics of the catchments, the volume and distribution of precipitation, the erosion of the watershed as well as various agricultural, industrial and communal uses of water are taken into consideration in shaping the stream channel. The application of parameters characterizing the stability of the stream channel may also be classified among the general principles. Since first introduced by Lohtin, several of these indices characterizing the 9