ASSESSING THE THREAT TO LIFE FROM DAM FAILURE1

ABSTRACT: To facilitate decisions regarding the need for modification of potentially unsafe dams, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation developed procedures for assessing the threat to human lives posed by the failure of individual dams. The procedures provide a conceptual model of the variables influencing the loss of life from dam failure and a method for predicting loss of life based on the size of the population at risk from failure and the amount of warning time available for that population. The prediction equations are based on an analysis of 24 dam failures and major flash floods occurring since 1950. Adjustments to the predictions to reflect special local conditions are also discussed.     

RESERVOIR SEDIMENTATION AND ITS CAUSES IN ILLINOIS1

ABSTRACT: During the years 1930 to 1978 a research program has been carried out in Illinois dealing with reservoir sedimentation. Detailed surveys have been made on 107 lakes. A generalized graph allows annual reservoir capacity loss in percent to be estimated based on size of watershed, lake capacity, and watershed ratio. For the 258 square miles of land on the watershed of Lake Springfield, complete soil maps were measured using a graphic digitizer. A computer readable map was produced. The Universal Soil Loss Equation was solved to provide upland soil losses for each acre of the watershed. Average watershed soil loss was 3.96 tons per acre per year, and 24 percent of this was delivered to the lake.     

ESTIMATING THE SUSPENDED SEDIMENT LOAD IN RESERVOIRS1

ABSTRACT: The total suspended sediment loads of four north Mississippi reservoirs were determined from measurements of concentrations of suspended sediment in a vertical profile at several locations on each reservoir made during the year. These data were combined with the stage-height and known stage-volume relationships for each reservoir in a numerical integration to determine the total suspended sediment in the water body. Total suspended sediments were estimated using the product of the suspended sediment concentration in the surface water by the appropriate reservoir volume. The averaged ratios of the estimated to measured suspended sediment loads for each reservoir exceeded 0.90. Since the concentration of suspended sediments in surface waters of north Mississippi reservoirs has been shown as highly correlated with spectral reflectance, estimating the total suspended sediment of these reservoirs using remotely sensed spectral reflectance data is possible.     

Evaluation of a System to Automatically Sample Zooplankton From the Discharge of Dams1

ABSTRACT: Automatic plankton samplers installed at two dams on the Connecticut River Continuously monitored crustacean zooplankton from October 1977 through 1979 and allowed a significant reduction in man-hours involved in an extensive sampling program. Automatic samplers efficiently sampled most species and size classes of crustacean zooplankton in a similar, but not consistently identical manner as a commonly used towed-net plankton sampler. The smallest sized zooplankton were captured more efficiently than the largest. Mesh selection and sampler avoidance exerted different influences on automatic samplers and towed nets. Future use of the samplers and direct comparison of results to results obtained by other methods was supported.     

SOME SUSPENDED SEDIMENT YIELDS FROM SOUTH ISLAND CATCHMENTS,NEW ZEALAND1

: Estimates of specific annual suspended sediment yields, some of which rank among the highest reported in the world, are presented for 33 basins of South Island, New Zealand. Yield from each basin was determined by combining a suspended sediment concentration rating with the complete flow record of each catchment stream gaging station. A multiple regression analysis between sediment yields and climatic, hydrologic and physiographic parameters of each basin demonstrates that most of the variance in yields is explained by catchment mean rainfall. Geology apparently has little influence on sediment yield as suspended sediment concentration ratings, from rivers draining catchments of differing lithology, and regolith, are indistinguishable. Specific suspended sediment yield prediction equations are given for four defined regions covering in area almost all South Island; and except for one area, feature rainfall as the principle independent variable. Differences between regions may be due to variations in intensity, frequency, and duration patterns of storms. It is proposed that a simple power law relationship between yield and rainfall provides useful suspended sediment yield estimates in mountainous regions of temperate maritime climate, provided catchments have not been modified extensively by man.     

DELIVERY OF SUSPENDED SEDIMENT AND POLLUTANTS FROM NONPOINT SOURCES DURING OVERLAND FLOW1

ABSTRACT: Delivery of sediment and particulate pollutants from diffuse sources is shown to be related to the loss of sediment carrying energy of runoff during the overland flow phase. The loss is caused by the termination of rainfall and by reduction of flow energy during the recession phase of the overland flow hydrograph. It has been demonstrated both by theoretical analyses and experimental measurements that the saturated sediment concentration in overland flow is a function of rainfall erosivity and the runoff flow rate. The hypotheses were verified by field measurements from a small homogeneous watershed.     

SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL VARIABILITY IN SUSPENDED SEDIMENT YIELDS OF NORTH ISLAND BASINS,NEW ZEALAND1

ABSTRACT: Specific annual suspended sediment yields and their standard deviations are presented for 47 basins of North Island, New Zealand. Most of the variance in yields is explained by catchment mean rainfall. Rivers with similar flow range have similar suspended sediment concentration ratings, independent of differing watershed lithology and regolith, except for six basins having an abundance of soft fine sediments. Prediction equations for yield and its standard deviation are derived for four essentially arbitrary regions. AU feature rainfall as the independent variable. Differences between regions may owe to variations in intensity, frequency, and duration patterns of storms and, in one area, to bed material size as well. The temporal distribution of annual yields from a basin m be modeled by a two-parameter lognormal function: the prediction equations above may be used to evaluate this function at a site for which suspended sediment data are unavailable.     

SAGEBRUSH RANGELAND HYDROLOGY AND EVALUATION OF THE SPUR HYDROLOGY MODEL1

ABSTRACT: An excellent hydrologic record on sagebrush range-land has been developed at the Reynolds Creek Experimental Watershed in southwestern Idaho. The objectives of this paper were two-fold: (1) to analyze and describe the hydrologic record (8–18 years) from four sagebrush watersheds (1–83 ha); and (2) to evaluate the hydrology component of SPUR, a comprehensive rangeland model. The watersheds represent a gradient in elevation (1180–1658 m) and precipitation (240–350 mm/yr). Runoff was a small fraction (> 2 percent) of the total water budget for all of the watersheds. It occurred very infrequently at the three lower elevation watersheds: Summit, Flats, and Nancy Gulch. At Lower Sheep, the highest elevation watershed, runoff occurred most years for a period of 1 to 17 weeks in the winter. Frozen soil combined with rainfall or snowmelt was associated with most of the runoff from Flats and Nancy Gulch. At Summit summertime thunderstorms produced all of the runoff. The average annual sediment yield from all of the watersheds was low (17–950 kg/ha). It was highest from Summit, which had well developed alluvial channels and very steep slopes. SPUR was able to simulate runoff with reasonable accuracy only at Summit, where frozen soils were not a factor. There was poor correlation between predicted and actual annual 8ediment loss. The model tended to overpredict evapotranspiration early in the growing season and underpredict it in the late summer.     

MODELING THE EFFECTS OF URBANIZATION ON BASIN WATER YIELD AND RESERVOIR SEDIMENTATION1

ABSTRACT: The dam impounding White Rock Lake was completed in 1910 to provide water for the City of Dallas. Since then, land use on the watershed has changed from entirely rural to over 77 percent urban. A model called SWRRB (Simulator for Water Resources in Rural Basins) was utilized to determine the effect of urbanization on water and sediment entering the lake. The simulation results show that, if urbanization had not occurred, then the annual surface runoff would be 135 mm rather than 151 mm and the annual sediment yield would be 4.4 t/ha rather than 4.1 t/ha. Also, the effect of urbanization on delivery ratios was shown and a positive linear correlation was found. Finally, the weather generator in SWRRB was utilized to estimate the loss of reservoir capacity until 2050 for three different land use management scenarios.     

台湾地区固体废物进出口管理

台湾地区固体废物进出口管理工作起步较早,到现在已经形成了以《废弃物输入输出过境转口管理办法》为核心、台湾地区各级环境保护部门负责具体执行的较为完善的固体废物进出口管理体系。本文对台湾地区固体废物进出口管理目标、政策法规、管理模式,以及固体废物进出口现状等进行了详细介绍,并总结得出了值得大陆地区借鉴学习的经验。     

SUSPENDED SEDIMENT AND TURBIDITY FOLLOWING ROAD CONSTRUCTION AND LOGGING IN WESTERN MONTANA1

ABSTRACT: Forest management activities in a second order drainage basin increased suspended sediment yields 7.7 fold in the first year following road construction, and two-fold following logging in the second year. Sediment supply limitations resulted in poor correlations between sediment concentrations with discharge. Sediment transport was strongly hysteretic, with the highest sediment concentrations occurring on the rising limbs of snowmelt hydrographs and individual peaks. In addition to discharge, hydrograph characteristics such as limb, dQ/dt, and the product of dQ/dt and limb aided in explaining variability of observed sediment concentrations. Sediment-turbidity relationships were strongly discharge dependent, reflecting the changing composition of the suspended load with stream power and sediment supplies.