PERSISTING SEDIMENT YIELDS AND SEDIMENT DELWERY CHANGES1

ABSTRACT: The Buffalo River is a tributary to the Mississippi River in west-central Wisconsin that drains a watershed dominated by agricultural land uses. Since 1935, backwater from Lock and Dam 4 on the Mississippi River has inundated the mouth of the Buffalo's valley. Resurveys of a transect first surveyed across the lake in 1935 and cesium-137 dating of backwater sediments reveal that sedimentation rates at the Buffalo's mouth have remained unchanged since the mid-1940s. Study results indicate that sediment yields from the watershed have persisted at relatively high levels over a period of several decades despite pronounced trends toward less cultivated land and major efforts to control soil erosion from agricultural land. The maintenance of sediment yields is probably due to increased channel conveyance capacities resulting from incision along some tributary streams since the early 1950s. Post-1950 incision extended the network of historical incised tributary channels, enhancing the efficient delivery of sediment from upland sources to downstream sites.     

REELFOOT LAKE SEDIMENTATION RATES AND SOURCES1

ABSTRACT: The three basins of Reelfoot Lake, which is located in northwestern Tennessee, were investigated using the Cs-137 tracer technique to determine rates of sediment deposition and to estimate the time before the basins will fill with sediment. Blue Basin, the largest of the three basins with 2922 ha, had an average annual sedimentation rate of 0.9 cm/yr from 1984 to 1984. The basin will become too shallow for most boating and recreational activities in about 200 years. Buck Basin, the central basin with 774 ha, had an average annual sedimentation rate of 1.1 cm/yr and will become too shallow for most recreational uses in about 100 years. Upper Blue Basin, the most upstream and smallest basin with 439 ha, had an average annual sedimentation rate of 1.7 cm/yr and will become too shallow for most recreational uses in about 60 years. Two important sources of sediment to Reelfoot Lake are erosion from a large number of soybean fields and channelization of many of the streams that flow into the lake. Changes in land management that would reduce erosion could increase the time the lake would remain usable for recreational activities.     

A DECISION MODEL TO PREDICT SEDIMENT YIELD FROM FOREST PRACTICES1

ABSTRACT: In order to choose among “best management practices,” forest managers need to predict sediment yield to perennial streams following various forest land operations. The “universal soil loss equation” (USLE) is not directly applicable to forest operations because of the heterogenous soil surface conditions left by harvesting, site preparation, and planting. A sediment hazard index is proposed, to be based on the amount of exposed mineral soil and its proximity to streams. The model offered includes rainfall erosivity, soil erodibility and average land slope, together with the index W. A paired watershed experiment in the central Georgia Piedmont was used to estimate parameters in the model. The experimental basin (80 acres) was clearcut, drum roller chopped twice, and planted by machine. The standard error of estimate of sediment yield was computed to be about 50/lbs/ac per sampling period (four months). Use of William's erogivity index (storm flow times peak flow) reduced the standard error to 33/lbs/ac.     

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.     

SENSITWITY ANALYSIS OF SIMULATED CONTAMINATED SEDIMENT TRANSPORT1

ABSTRACT: A simulation analysis of contaminated sediment transport involves model selection, data collection, model calibration and verification, and evaluation of uncertainty in the results. Sensitivity analyses provide information to address these issues at several stages of the investigation. A sensitivity analysis of simulated contaminated sediment transport is used to identify the most sensitive output variables and the parameters most responsible for the output variable sensitivity. The output variables included are streamflow and the flux of sediment and Cs¹³⁷. The sensitivities of these variables are measured at the field and intermediate scales, for flood and normal flow conditions, using the HSPF computer model. A sensitivity index was used to summarize and compare the results of a large number of output variables and parameters. An extensive database was developed to calibrate the model and conduct the sensitivity analysis on a 6.2 mi² catchment in eastern Tennessee. The fluxes of sediment and Cs¹³⁷ were more sensitive than streamflow to changes in parameters for both flood and normal flow conditions. The relative significance of specific parameters on output variable sensitivity varied according to the type of flow condition and the location in the catchment. An implications section illustrates how sensitivity analysis results can help with model selection, planning data collection, calibration, and uncertainty analysis.     

PROCESS-ORIENTED ESTIMATION OF SUSPENDED SEDIMENT CONCENTRATION1

ABSTRACT: Least squares regression and ARIMA models were developed from suspended sediment data for the Ausable River, Southern Ontario, Canada. A poor correlation between discharge and suspended sediment concentration results from the dynamics of the physical system, including seasonality, antecedent conditions, and hysteresis. Regression model results were significantly improved by the division of the data set into seasons and the addition of simple. but physically meaningful variables. Misleading improvements obtained from the regression of sediment load and discharge are discussed. ARIMA models provided accurate forecasts of sediment concentration on a real-time basis, but the rigorous data requirements limit their use in modeling suspended sediment concentrations in Canadian rivers.     

A PROCEDURE FOR ESTIMATING OFF-SITE SEDIMENT DAMAGE COSTS AND AN EMPIRICAL TEST1

ABSTRACT This paper reports on research to develop a methodology for estimating agricultural off-site sediment damage costs and includes an empirical estimate of such damages for a watershed. The economics of off-site sediment damage costs are discussed as a theoretical basis for the procedures developed. A detailed methodology is described for estimating five different types of off-site sediment damages commonly associated with rural watersheds. The methodology is then applied to a central Illinois watershed and estimates of individual types of damage are made. The estimates are combined into an off-site sediment damage function for the watershed, and the usefulness of the damage function for analyzing off-site sediment damages and achieving a reduction in those costs is discussed.     

PREDICTING EROSION AND DEPOSITION ON A STRIPMINED AND RECLAIMED AREA1

ABSTRACT A rill-interrill erosion model was applied to a mined and reclaimed area. Soil loss from the interrill areas was estimated by the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE). The model considers the fate and ultimate disposition of the sediment from interrill areas along with the fate and destination of soil materials detached by the rill flow. The net sediment loss was predicted by comparing, for a given flow, the amounts of eroded soil to rill transport capacity. When applied to a selected stripmined and reclaimed site the model displayed the location of contributing areas and the amount of erosion and deposition. The predicted areal distribution of erosion and deposition was compared to measured data. Agreement between the predicted and measured values was within 25 percent.     

ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECONOMIC DAMAGE CAUSED BY SEDIMENT FROM AGRICULTURAL NONPOINT SOURCES1

Environmental and economic damages caused by agricultural nonpoint source inputs of sediment and associated pollutants are examined. Widespread water quality problems are identified in lakes, rivers, and estuaries in agricultural areas, and billions of dollars of on-site and offsite costs result from this eroded soil every year. Some water bodies have been irretrievably damaged, and expensive rehabilitation programs are needed to remedy in-place water pollution problems if Clean Water Act goals are to be achieved. Unless effective abatement and rehabilitation programs are established, billions of dollars of benefits to future generations will not be realized as more waters become irretrievably damaged, and billions more will continue to be spent by government to treat symptoms of these sediment-related problems.     

SEDIMENT RESUSPENSION AND DRAWDOWN IN A WATER SUPPLY RESERVOIR1

ABSTRACT: The magnitudes and patterns of sediment resuspension are assessed in Cannonsville Reservoir, New York, to quantify and characterize this internal source of sediment. The assessment is based on analyses of sediment trap collections from 10 sites over the spring to fall interval of two years. Temporal and spatial patterns in sediment deposition are demonstrated to be driven by resuspension/redeposition processes. Sediment that had been resuspended and redeposited represented 80 to 96 percent, on average, of the depositing solids collected along the main axis of the lake. About 90 percent of the redeposited sediment was inorganic. Increased resuspension caused by drawdown of the reservoir surface and fall turnover resulted in 10 to 50‐fold increases in deposition rates compared to levels observed when the reservoir was full and strongly thermally stratified. Elevated levels of redeposition from resuspension in the reservoir have been driven by both higher water column concentrations of suspended solids and settling velocities. Recurring longitudinal and lateral gradients in resuspension are delineated, establishing that resuspended solids are transported from the riverine to the lacustrine zone and from near‐shore to pelagic areas. Resuspension is demonstrated to cause increases in inanimate particle (tripton) concentrations. Higher tripton levels have been observed in years with greater drawdown. Water quality impacts of the resuspension phenomenon are considered.     

A COMPARISON OF SURFACE RUNOFF AND SEDIMENT YIELDS FROM LOW- AND HIGH-SEVERITY SITE PREPARATION BURNS1

ABSTRACI:. Slash burning is a common site preparation technique used after timber harvest throughout the Southeastern United States. Little quantitative information exists on the hydrologic response to burn severity. This study compared the effects of low-severity and high-severity burns on runoff and sediment yields during rainfall simulation and during natural rainfall in the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Fire severity was largely determined by moisture conditions of the forest floor prior to ignition. Runoff and sediment yield variability was high between plots within the same treatment area due to differences in forest floor characteristics and infiltration rates. Conditions of high-severity resulted when burning was conducted with relatively dry fuels. Sediment yields were 40-times greater for the high-severity treatment areas than the low-severity treatment areas.     

SEDIMENT ROUTING FOR AGRICULTURAL WATERSHEDS1

ABSTRACT: A sediment routing technique was developed to route sediment yield from small watersheds through streams and valleys to the outlet of large watersheds. The technique is based on the modified universal sol loss equation and a first order decay function of travel time and particle size. Deposition is dependent upon settling velocities of sediment particles, travel time, and the amount of sediment in suspension. Sediment routing increases sediment yield prediction accuracy and allows determination of subwatershed contributions to the total sediment yield. Also, the locations and amounts of floodplain scour and deposition can be predicted. Another advantage of sediment routing is that measured sediment yield data are not required. The procedure performed satisfactorily in test routings on two Texas blackland watersheds Sediment routing will be useful in flood control evaluation, reservoir and channel design, water quality calculations, environmental impact assessment, and land-use planning.     

QUANTITATIVE EVALUATION OF SEDIMENT DELIVERY RATIOS1

Ability to adequately estimate sediment yield is an important step in dealing effectively with soil erosion problems. Predictions of sediment yield made using the Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) with different forms of sediment delivery ratio (SDR) are compared with those made by Modified USLE (MUSLE) and a fundamentally derived Erosion-Deposition Model (EDM). The USLE and USLE with SDR are poor predictors of sediment yield for individual storms compared to the MUSLE and EDM. Although MUSLE gave better results than USLE it showed somewhat more scatter of data points than the recently developed EDM.     

SEDIMENT OXYGEN DEMAND IN THE ARROYO COLORADO RIVER1

ABSTRACT: The lower reaches of the Arroyo Colorado have historically failed to meet their use under subsection 303(b) of the U.S. Clean Water Act due to fecal coliform bacteria and low dissolved oxygen (DO). Fish kills, especially at the tidal confluence at the Port of Harlingen, Texas, have been reported. Oxygen demand from sediment (SOD) for a river typically has two states‐diffusion limited SOD (SOD) and potential SOD (pSOD), expressed when sediment is resuspended through increased flow or other disturbances. The objective of this research was to measure SOD in the Arroyo Colorado River in situ, estimate pSOD ex situ, and evaluate the relationship between SOD and the depositional environment. We measured SOD and pSOD in the Arroyo Colorado River at up to eight sites over three sampling events. We identified the sample sites based on a modified Rosgen geomorphic index for streambed stabilization. Sites with high sediment deposition potential had high SOD. The average values of SOD between sites were 0.62 g/m²/day (standard deviation 0.38 g/m²/day) and ranged from 0.13 to 1.2 g/m²/day. Potential SOD values ranged from as low as 19.2 to as high as 2,779 g/m³ sediment/ day. Potential SOD can serve as an indicator of the possible impact of SOD from resuspended sediment in stream systems.     

A DYNAMIC SYSTEM MODEL FOR SIMULATING SEDIMENT DISCHARGE1

ABSTRACT: A dynamic sediment discharge model was developed and proposed for the simulation of watershed systems. It war developed from an expansion of splash and flow erosion relationships under steady state conditions. It was described as a general erosion model that can be reduced to forms comparable to many conceptual soil erosion and sediment yield models. The model incorporates eight parameters such as rainfall intensities, runoff rates, and previous sediment discharges. The model was tested with two small watersheds with simulation results which were very satisfactory compared to the data.     

A COMPARISON OF THREE METHODS FOR MEASURING RECENT RATES OF SEDIMENT ACCUMULATION1

ABSTRACT: The determination of sediment accumulation rates is important in understanding how these materials are affecting lakes and reservoirs ecosystems. In this study three methods were used to estimate sediment accumulation rates in the impounded backwater lakes behind Lock and Dam Nos. 8 and 9 on the upper Mississippi River. The three methods were: 1) a “spud” survey, 2) a survey of bottom contours, and 3) the use of fallout cesium-137. The field use of these three methods of determining sediment accumulation and the potential errors and merits involved in each method are discussed. The results from the field study in backwater areas along the upper Mississippi River showed the survey of bottom contour method gave the lowest rate of sediment deposition and the ¹³⁷Cs method gave the highest rates. Sediment accumulation rates from 0 to 7.8 cm per year were measured in the study area. All three methods are useful and have unique characteristics for determining rates and patterns of sediment accumulation. Thus the choice of a method to be used in a sediment survey is dependent on the type of information needed and the time available.     

THE USE OF MULTIPLE REGRESSION MODELS IN PREDICTING SEDIMENT YIELD1

ABSTRACT. Four commonly used models for predicting sediment yield are analyzed and compared using previously published data. Three of these models involve logarithmic transformations. Some of the problems involved in transforming data are discussed in the context of logarithmic transformations. These problems are illustrated using the results of standard regression analyses and economic loss function analyses. For the data analyzed, the linear model is preferable to each of the logarithmic models on the basis of each analysis, and the usual multiple objective nature of the model choice problem is thus modified. The extent to which these results can be generalized is discussed in the context of model choice.     

THE VOLUME OF FINE SEDIMENT IN POOLS: AN INDEX OF SEDIMENT SUPPLY IN GRAVEL-BED STREAMS1

ABSTRACT: During waning flood flows in gravel-bed streams, finegrained bedload sediment (sand and fine gravel) is commonly winnowed from zones of high shear stress, such as riffles, and deposited in pools, where it mantles an underlying coarse layer. As sediment load increases, more fine sediment becomes available to fill pools. The volume of fine sediment in pools can be measured by probing with a metal rod, and, when expressed as the fraction (V*) of scoured residual pooi volume (residual pool volume with fine sediment removed), can be used as an index of the supply of mobile sediment in a stream channel. Mean values of V* were as high as 0.5 and correlated with qualitative evaluations of sediment supply in eight tributaries of the Trinity River, northwestern California. Fine-sediment volume correlated strongly with scoured pool volume in individual channels, but plots of V* versus pool volume and water surface slope revealed secondary variations in fines volume. In sediment-rich channels, V* correlated positively with scoured pool volume; in sediment-poor channels, V* correlated negatively with water-surface slope. Measuring fine sediment in pools can be a practical method to evaluate and monitor the supply of mobile sediment in gravel-bed streams and to detect and evaluate sediment inputs along a channel network.     

DECISION FRAMEWORK FOR SEDIMENT CONTROL IN MUDDY CREEK WATERSHED1

ABSTRACT: The tailwater of Bridgewater Dam, below Lake James, North Carolina, is a designated trout stream. It has environmental attributes for a good cold water fishery with the exception of high suspended sediments. Muddy Creek, a tributary about 1.5 km downstream of the dam, is a major source of sediments. The Muddy Creek Watershed Restoration Initiative was established to develop and implement a sediment control plan. The Watershed Analysis Risk Management Framework was applied to simulate soil erosion and sedimentation and to help determine appropriate action. The simulated sediment concentrations of the river were comparable to observed data from November 1994 to November 2001. For the base condition, the sediment load was 135,000 kg/d from surface erosion and 1,300,000 kg/d from bank erosion. Increasing the buffer strip from existing 50 to 80 percent to 100 percent of stream segments would only reduce surface erosion to 70,400 kg/d with little change in sediment concentrations. Eliminating riverbank erosion would reduce the sediment load from 920,000 to 87,700 kg/d. The bank stabilization project would not only lower suspended sediment concentrations for Muddy Creek, but also reduce the lake sediment accumulation in the downstream Lake Rhodhiss by approximately 13 percent.     

SOIL EROSION AND SEDIMENT YIELD PREDICTION ACCURACY USING WEPP1

ABSTRACT: The objectives of this paper are to discuss expectations for the Water Erosion Prediction Project (WEPP) accuracy, to review published studies related to WEPP goodness of fit, and to evaluate these in the context of expectations for WEPP's goodness of fit. WEPP model erosion predictions have been compared in numerous studies to observed values for soil loss and sediment delivery from cropland plots, forest roads, irrigated lands and small watersheds. A number of different techniques for evaluating WEPP have been used, including one recently developed where the ability of WEPP to accurately predict soil erosion can be compared to the accuracy of replicated plots to predict soil erosion. In one study involving 1,594 years of data from runoff plots, WEPP performed similarly to the Universal Soil Loss Erosion (USLE) technology, indicating that WEPP has met the criteria of results being “at least as good with respect to observed data and known relationships as those from the USLE,” particularly when the USLE technology was developed using relationships derived from that data set, and using soil erodibility values measured on those plots using data sets from the same period of record. In many cases, WEPP performed as well as could be expected, based on comparisons with the variability in replicate data sets. One major finding has been that soil erodibility values calculated using the technology in WEPP for rainfall conditions may not be suitable for furrow irrigated conditions. WEPP was found to represent the major storms that account for high percentages of soil loss quite well—a single storm application that the USLE technology is unsuitable for—and WEPP has performed well for disturbed forests and forest roads. WEPP has been able to reflect the extremes of soil loss, being quite responsive to the wide differences in cropping, tillage, and other forms of management, one of the requirements for WEPP validation. WEPP was also found to perform well on a wide range of small watersheds, an area where USLE technology cannot be used.