CENTRAL WATER AND POWER RESEARCH STATION PUNE
Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) was established in the year 1916 in Pune by the then “Bombay Presidency as a “Special Irrigation District”. CWPRS is an ISO 9001:2015 certified apex research and development institution in the field of hydraulics and allied research, delivering service as a subordinate office under Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. It has continued to serve the needs of the nation for more than 100 years through research and development for evolving safe and economical planning and design of water resources structures, river engineering, hydropower generation, and ports and waterways projects. CWPRS has offered services to a number of projects in the neighboring countries viz., Bangladesh, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Nepal, Singapore etc., as well as countries in Middle East. CWPRS has been recognized as Premier Hydraulic Research Laboratory under ESCAP region by United Nations.
VISION
- To be a world-class centre of excellence in hydraulic engineering research and allied areas; which is responsive to changing global scenario, and need for sustaining and enhancing excellence in providing technological solutions for optimal and safe design of water resources structures.
MISSION
- To meet the country’s need for basic & applied research in water resources, power sector and coastal engineering with world-class standards.
- To develop competence in deployment of latest technologies by networking with the top institutions globally and to meet the future needs for development of water resources projects in the country effectively.
- To disseminate information, build skills and knowledge for capacity-building and mass awareness for optimization of available water resources.
MAJOR FUNCTIONS
- Undertaking specific research studies relating to development of Water resources, Power and Coastal projects.
- Consultancy and Advisory services to Central and State Governments, Private sector and other countries.
- Disseminating research findings and promoting/assisting research activities in other organizations concerned with water resources projects.
- Carrying out basic and applied research to support the specific studies.
- Contribution towards advancements in technology through participation in various committees at National and State Levels.
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Areas of Expertise
CWPRS has been working and providing specialized services through physical and mathematical model studies, field and laboratory investigations in river training and flood control, hydraulic structures, ports and harbours, coastal protection, foundation engineering, construction materials, pumps and turbines, ship hydrodynamics, hydraulic design of bridges, environmental studies, earth sciences, cooling water intakes for thermal and nuclear power plants. Research activities at CWPRS are grouped into seven major disciplines.
River Engineering: Studies related to river training and bank protection works, hydraulic design of barrages and bridges, measuring water and sediment discharge etc., are carried out under this discipline.
River and Reservoir Systems Modelling: Studies related to flood estimation and forecasting, reservoir sedimentation and water quality are carried out under this discipline using mathematical models and field surveys.
Reservoir and Appurtenant Structures: Spillways and Energy Dissipaters are studied on physical models. Water conductor systems including head race and tail race channels/tunnels and surge shafts are studied on both physical and mathematical models. Studies are carried out on physical models for desilting basins, sedimentation and flushing through reservoirs, sediment exclusion devices. Sedimentation in reservoirs is also assessed through remote sensing.
Coastal and Offshore Engineering: Studies related to optimization of length and alignment of breakwaters, jetties, berths, approach channel, turning circle etc. for development of various ports/ harbors and estimation of siltation in harbours, their disposal are carried out under this discipline. Field data collection is being carried out for coastal parameters like water level, currents, wave-height etc. along with suggestions on coastal protection measures based on locally available materials.
Foundation and Structures: Laboratory and field test studies are carried out under this discipline to determine the soil, rock and concrete properties. The studies undertaken by this discipline pertain to dams, power plants etc. Also, Geotechnical studies using numerical modeling are conducted to assess safety and seepage aspects of earthen dams, tailings dams, ash dykes, barrages, hill slopes, embankments and coastal structures such as breakwaters, navigation channels, shore slopes, etc.
Applied Earth Sciences: Studies related to seismic surveillance of river-valley projects, controlled blasting studies for civil engineering projects, detection of seepage and engineering properties of structures using nuclear logging and geophysical methods for various dams, canals, nuclear and thermal power plants etc. are carried out under this discipline.
Instrumentation, Calibration and Testing Facilities: Studies related to installation and monitoring of instruments in dams, hydroelectric power plants etc., calibration of instruments and their testing are under this discipline. Services of dam instrumentation are provided at project sites. Hydraulic instrumentation is also being used for data acquisition on physical hydraulic models at CWPRS.
CWPRS has dealt with the National Hydrology Project (NHP) as a part of which various laboratories are established to accommodate for Testing, Calibration and Certification Facility (TCCF) for: Surface Water Level measurement, Ground Water Level measurement, Automatic Weather Station and Rain gauges, Water Quality Instrumentation, Calibration of ADCP, Current meter, Data logger and Telemetry etc. CWPRS is also actively involved in Projects of National Importance viz. Coastal Management Information System and Dam Rehabilitation & Improvement Project (DRIP).
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