INTERACTIVE EXPERIMENT / STOCKS & FLOWS
The reservoir buffer lab
Can stored water bridge a dry spell? Find out what a larger buffer buys—and what it costs.
Teaching simulation · not a forecastSTRUCTURE / WEEK 0
UNDER THE SURFACE
The rules are part
of the result.
Change the settings, inspect the trajectory, and export the values to examine them yourself.
Model & assumptions
Next stock = current stock + inflow − supplied demand − actual losses − spill100 weeks, computed in 0.25-week steps. Demand is fixed at 40 ML/week. Inflow has a 52-week sinusoidal season with 25% amplitude. The drought subtracts 40 ML/week during weeks 20–28; inflow cannot fall below zero. Desired capacity-related loss is loss-rate × capacity. Available water is allocated to that loss first, then demand; any remainder above capacity spills. Unmet demand and spill are explicitly counted. Loss is a simplified capacity cost, not a physical evaporation model. Larger capacity starts with more water at the same fill percentage.