Knowledge of instream flow is of paramount importance to determine water availability for water resources management. This study estimated instream flow and evaluated water availability in the stretch of the Rio das Pedras, which supplies water to Guarapuava, a town in the mid-southern region of the state of Paraná, Brazil. Several different methods were employed to obtain instream flow, a reference discharge for water consumption permit, and the river regime. Methods comprised 7-day mean minimum with a 10-year return period, discharges associated to 95% and 90% permanence, yearly 7-day mean minimum discharge and basic water discharge. Discharge data were obtained from the meteorological station at the Water Station of Guarapuava (ETA). Results show that yearly river debit between 1985 and 2009 had a daily mean of 9.12 m³ s-1 and a median discharge of 9.16 m³ s-1. Estimated instream flow, measured by methods used for the Rio das Pedras stretch, ranged from 1.72 to 2.74 m³ s-1, with an average of 2.20 m³ s-1 and a coefficient of variation of 19.5%. Discharge for the stretch was estimated as 0.91 m³ s-1, following criteria used in the state of Paraná. The relationship of the evaluated stretch between daily flow and the intake volume granted by the government revealed the inefficiency of the applied methods for instream flow assessment. In fact, they failed to warrant a minimum water volume required for the conservation of the river ecosystem.
instream flow; river regime; hydrographic basin; river ecosystem