Reservoir Sedimentation and Upstream Sediment Sources: Perspectives and Future Research Needs on Streambank and Gully Erosion

The future reliance on water supply and flood control reservoirs across the globe will continue to expand, especially under a variable climate. As the inventory of new potential dam sites is shrinking, construction of additional reservoirs is less likely compared to simultaneous flow and sediment management in existing reservoirs. One aspect of this sediment management is related to the control of upstream sediment sources. However, key research questions remain regarding upstream sediment loading rates. Highlighted in this article are research needs relative to measuring and predicting sediment transport rates and loading due to streambank and gully erosion within a watershed. For example, additional instream sediment transport and reservoir sedimentation rate measurements are needed across a range of watershed conditions, reservoir sizes, and geographical locations. More research is needed to understand the intricate linkage between upland practices and instream response. A need still exists to clarify the benefit of restoration or stabilization of a small reach within a channel system or maturing gully on total watershed sediment load. We need to better understand the intricate interactions between hydrological and erosion processes to improve prediction, location, and timing of streambank erosion and failure and gully formation. Also, improved process-based measurement and prediction techniques are needed that balance data requirements regarding cohesive soil erodibility and stability as compared to simpler topographic indices for gullies or stream classification systems. Such techniques will allow the research community to address the benefit of various conservation and/or stabilization practices at targeted locations within watersheds.

[1]  P. Allen,et al.  Multifrequency Acoustic Profiling for Water Reservoir Sedimentation Studies , 1999 .

[2]  P. Barnes,et al.  Impact of precipitation and runoff on ephemeral gully development in cultivated croplands , 2015 .

[3]  P. Allen,et al.  Effect of multiyear drought on upland sediment yield and subsequent impacts on flood control reservoir storage , 2010 .

[4]  Gregory J. Hanson,et al.  Erodibility of cohesive streambeds in the loess area of the midwestern USA , 2001 .

[5]  M. Locke,et al.  The challenge of documenting water quality benefits of conservation practices: a review of USDA-ARS's conservation effects assessment project watershed studies. , 2011, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[6]  G. H. Holliday,et al.  Glossary of Soil Science Terms , 1965, Soil Science Society of America Journal.

[7]  G. J. Hanson,et al.  Measuring Soil Erodibility Using a Laboratory “Mini” JET , 2013 .

[8]  Gregory J. Hanson,et al.  A look at the engineering challenges of the USDA small watershed program. , 2007 .

[10]  J. Garbrecht.  CLIMATE VARIATIONS, SOIL CONSERVATION, AND RESERVOIR SEDIMENTATION , 2010 .

[11]  Robert H. Kennedy,et al.  Reservoir Sedimentation and Water Quality-An Heuristic Model , 1981 .

[12]  J. Guyot,et al.  The use of Doppler technology for suspended sediment discharge determination in the River Amazon / L’utilisation des techniques Doppler pour la détermination du transport solide de l’Amazone , 2004 .

[13]  V. Smith,et al.  Eutrophication: impacts of excess nutrient inputs on freshwater, marine, and terrestrial ecosystems. , 1999, Environmental pollution.

[14]  Sayjro K. Nouwakpo,et al.  Understanding ephemeral gully erosion: Relation to the apparent soil erodibility concept , 2012 .

[15]  G. R. Foster,et al.  closed-form soil erosion equation for upland areas , 1972 .

[16]  Kevin A. Oberg,et al.  Quality-assurance plan for discharge measurements using acoustic Doppler current profilers , 2005 .

[17]  Garey A. Fox,et al.  USING RAPID GEOMORPHIC ASSESSMENTS TO ASSESS STREAMBANK STABILITY IN OKLAHOMA OZARK STREAMS , 2012 .

[18]  W. Hargrove,et al.  From Dust Bowl to Mud Bowl: Sedimentation, conservation measures, and the future of reservoirs , 2010, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.

[19]  G. Voulgaris,et al.  ESTIMATION OF SUSPENDED SEDIMENT CONCENTRATION IN ESTUARINE ENVIRONMENTS USING ACOUSTIC BACKSCATTER FROM AN ADCP , 2022 .

[20]  R. Jacobson,et al.  Field Assessment of Alternative Bed-Load Transport Estimators , 2007 .

[21]  C. Gibson,et al.  Sediment loads and sources in heavily modified Irish catchments: A move towards informed management strategies , 2006 .

[22]  Marcelo Horacio Garcia,et al.  Sedimentation engineering : processes, measurements, modeling, and practice , 2008 .

[23]  C. Penn,et al.  Estimating sediment and phosphorus loads from streambanks with and without riparian protection , 2014 .

[24]  F. Zheng,et al.  Effects of erosion patterns on nutrient loss following deforestation on the Loess Plateau of China , 2005 .

[25]  Garey A. Fox,et al.  The Role of Subsurface Flow in Hillslope and Stream Bank Erosion: A Review , 2010 .

[26]  Garey A. Fox,et al.  Seepage-Induced Streambank Erosion and Instability: In Situ Constant-Head Experiments , 2013 .

[27]  A. Simon,et al.  Relative magnitudes and sources of sediment in benchmark watersheds of the Conservation Effects Assessment Project , 2008, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.

[28]  A. Simon,et al.  Disturbance, stream incision, and channel evolution: The roles of excess transport capacity and boundary materials in controlling channel response , 2006 .

[29]  Garey A. Fox,et al.  A Scour Depth Approach for Deriving Erodibility Parameters from Jet Erosion Tests , 2013 .

[30]  Garey A. Fox,et al.  Evaluation of the bank stability and toe erosion model (BSTEM) for predicting lateral retreat on composite streambanks , 2012 .

[31]  Gary R. Wall,et al.  Use of an ADCP to compute suspended-sediment discharge in the tidal Hudson River, New York , 2006 .

[32]  Garey A. Fox,et al.  Modeling streambank erosion and failure along protected and unprotected composite streambanks , 2015 .

[33]  T. Melis.  Effects of three high-flow experiments on the Colorado River ecosystem downstream from Glen Canyon Dam, Arizona , 2011 .

[34]  S. C. Mcintyre.  Reservoir sedimentation rates linked to long-term changes in agricultural land use , 1993 .

[35]  G. J. Hanson,et al.  SURFACE ERODIBILITY OF EARTHEN CHANNELS AT HIGH STRESSES PART II - DEVELOPING AN IN SITU TESTING DEVICE , 1990 .

[36]  K. Deines,et al.  Backscatter estimation using Broadband acoustic Doppler current profilers , 1999, Proceedings of the IEEE Sixth Working Conference on Current Measurement (Cat. No.99CH36331).

[37]  D. Mulla,et al.  Streambank slumping and its contribution to the phosphorus and suspended sediment loads of the blue earth river, minnesota , 2002 .

[38]  Martin W. Doyle,et al.  Reservoir Sedimentation and Storage Capacity in the United States: Management Needs for the 21st Century , 2015 .

[39]  Anton Schleiss,et al.  Control of Turbidity Currents in Reservoirs by Solid and Permeable Obstacles , 2007 .

[40]  Ronald L. Bingner,et al.  AGNPS GIS-Based Tool for Watershed-Scale Identification and Mapping of Cropland Potential Ephemeral Gullies , 2012 .

[41]  John L. Nieber,et al.  Internal Erosion during Soil Pipeflow: State of the Science for Experimental and Numerical Analysis , 2013 .

[42]  Kyle R. Douglas-Mankin,et al.  Evaluating ephemeral gullies with a process-based topographic index model , 2014 .

[43]  Kyle E. Juracek,et al.  The Aging of America's Reservoirs: In‐Reservoir and Downstream Physical Changes and Habitat Implications , 2015 .

[44]  Colin D. Rennie,et al.  Measurement of bed load velocity using an acoustic Doppler current profiler , 2002 .

[45]  J. Poesen,et al.  Gully Erosion: Procedures to Adopt When Modelling Soil Erosion in Landscapes Affected by Gullying , 2011 .

[46]  A. B. Hald,et al.  Hydromorphological and biological factors influencing sediment and phosphorus loss via bank erosion in small lowland rural streams in Denmark , 2003 .

[47]  C. M. Cooper,et al.  ASSESSING SEDIMENTATION ISSUES WITHIN AGING FLOOD CONTROL RESERVOIRS IN OKLAHOMA 1 , 2002 .

[48]  Michael A. Stevens,et al.  Reservoir Sedimentation Handbook—Design and Management of Dams, Reservoirs, and Watershed for Sustainable Use , 2000 .

[49]  Mark D. Tomer,et al.  Quantifying relative contributions from sediment sources in Conservation Effects Assessment Project watersheds , 2008, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation.

[50]  J. Best,et al.  Measuring flow velocity and sediment transport with an acoustic Doppler current profiler , 2005 .

[51]  Emmanuel Partheniades,et al.  Erosion and Deposition of Cohesive Soils , 1965 .

[52]  S. Larsen,et al.  Phosphorus load to surface water from bank erosion in a Danish lowland river basin. , 2012, Journal of environmental quality.

[53]  David S. Mueller,et al.  Measuring Discharge with Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers from a Moving Boat , 2014 .

[54]  J. Poesen,et al.  Sediment yield variability in Spain: a quantitative and semiqualitative analysis using reservoir sedimentation rates , 2003 .

[55]  Gerard Govers,et al.  Transporting capacity of overland flow on plane and on irregular beds , 1986 .