In water supply reservoirs, selective withdrawal is commonly implemented to control released water temperature for quality purposes. This study investigated the effects of selective withdrawal on hydrodynamics of a stratified reservoir through numerical modeling and analytical analysis. A 3-D hydrodynamic model was applied where observations of water temperature time series recorded every 30 min at the thermocline and measured temperature profiles along the water column were used to validate the numerical model. The effect of selective withdrawal from four outlets located along the water intake structure of Tahtali Reservoir in Turkey on water temperatures was investigated and the effects on thermal stratification structure were discussed. Withdrawal of the water at the bottom outlet was found to be the most effective choice encouraging the mixing of the water column and thus reducing anoxia. The results of this study can be used to guide the further investigations in stratified lakes for better management practices.

This study draws on drainage basin hydrography, numerical modeling and geographic information system (GIS) techniques in concert with dual frequency echo sounder data to estimate sediment thickness when initial surveys are unavailable or inaccurate. Tahtali Reservoir (Turkey), which provides 40% of water supply to the city of Izmir, was selected as the study site. Deposition patterns within the whole lake were estimated with a 3-D hydrodynamic and sediment transport model applied to Tahtali Reservoir. The numerical model simulated lake response to wind forcing and inflows and/or outflows and was used to describe sediment deposition patterns resulting from the erosion of soils quantified by the implementation of Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) to the whole watershed. Surveying of the lake via dual frequency (28/200 kHz) echo sounder system revealed the current bathymetry, and sediment thickness was estimated from the difference of depths measured by the dual frequency sounder along surveyed transects. These results were compared to the modeled sedimentation thicknesses and to preliminary estimates of watershed sediment yield estimated by USLE. Results of this study can be used for further water quality studies and for long term management plans.TÜBİTAK project No: 104Y323 and European Commission project No: 28292 (RESTRAT