Impact of low-head dams on bedload transport rates in coarse-bedded streams

Casserly, Colm M.; Turner, Jonathan; O’Sullivan, John; Bruen, Michael; Bullock, Craig; Atkinson, Siobhán; Kelly‐Quinn, Mary

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136908

Cited by 29 publications

(19 citation statements)

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“…We find two mechanisms that can contribute to bed degradation: (a) the weir traps bedload and reduces downstream sediment transport rate at a decadal scale; (b) the weir preferentially traps gravel and delivers sand downstream, augmenting the downstream mobility of gravel. The first mechanism has been proposed in previous studies (Casserly et al, 2020;Galia et al, 2016;Magilligan et al, 2021;Pearson & Pizzuto, 2015). For example, Pearson and Pizzuto (2015) investigated a 200-year-old weir in northern Delaware, USA.…”

Section: Implications and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are three major stages related to how a weir can affect bedload transport: the first consists of trapping all bedload, the second consists of partial trapping of bedload, and at the third stage, the weir no longer traps any bedload (Pearson & Pizzuto, 2015). In the first two stages, the reduction in sediment flux over the weir can result in a milder equilibrium bed slope, pronounced bed degradation, and coarser surface material downstream (Bulteau et al., 2022; Casserly et al., 2020; Galia et al., 2016; Magilligan et al., 2021; Martín‐Vide & Andreatta, 2009). The degradation depth caused by weirs is reported to be in the range of 0.4–6.9 m in decades (Bulteau et al., 2022; Galia et al., 2016; Korpak et al., 2021; Martín‐Vide & Andreatta, 2009), much lower than that observed in the Shi‐ting River.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Degradation of a Foreland River After the Wenchuan Earthquake, China: A Combined Effect of Weirs, Sediment Supply, and Sediment Mining

Lin,

An,

Zheng

et al. 2023

Water Resources Research

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Since the 2008 Wenchuan (Ms. 8.0) Earthquake, the foreland rivers of the Longmen Mountains have suffered from significant bed degradation, among which the Shi‐ting River has experienced the largest local degradation of more than 20 m in 7 years. Potential reasons of the dramatic degradation include: (1) sediment disconnectivity due to in‐channel weirs; (2) the mobilization effect on gravel of an increased sand supply as a result of earthquake‐induced landslides; and (3) sediment extraction due to intensive mining. In this paper, we study the complex interaction among the above‐mentioned factors in the Shi‐ting River, using a one‐dimensional river morphodynamic model. Simulation results show that in‐channel weirs can reduce bedload transport and lead to bed degradation that is proportional to weir height. When coupled with additional sand supply, the weirs preferentially trap gravel and deliver sand, augmenting the downstream mobility of gravel and thus the degradation. For the Shi‐ting River, the simulated bed degradation agrees well with the observation when an annual sediment mining of 16 million tons is implemented in the simulation, along with the effects of in‐channel weirs and sand supply. The contribution of sediment mining is one order of magnitude larger than the coupling effect of weirs and sand supply. Both the simulation and observation show that the largest bed degradation occurs downstream of the Renmin Weir, due to the large spatial interval between the Renmin Weir and the next grade control structure.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

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Section: Implications and Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Degradation of a Foreland River After the Wenchuan Earthquake, China: A Combined Effect of Weirs, Sediment Supply, and Sediment Mining

Lin,

An,

Zheng

et al. 2023

Water Resources Research

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“…The lack of the sediment supply critically affects the downstream river environment. Such examples include the reduction of physical disturbance acting on the riverbed, potentially triggering thick growth of nuisance filamentous benthic algae [7][8] due to the absence of the algae detachment by the sediment transport [9], deterioration of the spawning habitats of fishes [10][11], and artificial river morphological changes [12][13]. The lack of sediment transport has been mitigated by flushing out the stored sediment through operating a dam [14][15][16] and/or supplying earth and soils from outside the river [17][18].…”

Section: Problem Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

HJB and Fokker-Planck equations for river environmental management based on stochastic impulse control with discrete and random observation

Yoshioka

Tsujimura

Hamagami

et al. 2021

Computers & Mathematics with Applications

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“…Installing turbines that are efficient at lower head height (<30 m), or very low head (<2 m) require less storage, thus having the potential to lessen the environmental consequences for individual dams (Fraser & Deschênes, 2007; Loots, Dijkb, Bartac, Vuurend, & Bhagwane, 2015). Nonetheless, low‐head dams still have a suite of negative consequences on aquatic ecosystems (e.g., fragmentation [Smith, Meiners, Hastings, Thomas, & Colombo, 2017]), and alteration of sediment transport (Casserly et al, 2020). Beyond hydropower production, low head dams are used to separate introduced/invasive species from native fish communities, for navigation, water taking and flood control purposes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions of a temperate North American fish community with a very low head hydropower facility in Ontario, Canada

Tuononen

Cooke

Lédée

et al. 2022

River Research & Apps

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Efforts are underway to re‐evaluate the use of existing instream infrastructure (e.g., weirs, water control dams) for the purposes of hydroelectric generation, with new very low head turbine technology that is purportedly “fish friendly” making retrofitting a viable option. This is the case at Wasdell Falls on the Severn River, ON, Canada, where the first very low head (VLH) turbines in Canada were put into operation at a long‐standing low‐head dam site. There is little information regarding fish usage of areas upstream from these structures and how this may relate to entrainment risk. Therefore, we assessed the risk of entrainment based on fish use of the forebay areas upstream from the infrastructure, including the forebay of three operating VLH turbines. Acoustic telemetry was used to determine movements and entrainment events of eight north temperate fish species. Entrainment through the VLH turbines did not occur over the course of one year, however, several fish did move downstream via other paths (e.g., over the water control structure). Forebay use was exclusive to rock bass, smallmouth bass, northern pike and largemouth bass, whereas channel catfish, walleye, white sucker and pumpkinseed avoided the forebay. When near the dam, fish tended to select deeper areas located away from the VLH forebay. Fish use of the VLH forebay was limited to brief forays indicating exploratory movements rather than prolonged residence. The findings suggest that entrainment risk at this VLH turbine site is low for the species and life stages studied.

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Impact of low-head dams on bedload transport rates in coarse-bedded streams

Cited by 29 publications

References 58 publications

Degradation of a Foreland River After the Wenchuan Earthquake, China: A Combined Effect of Weirs, Sediment Supply, and Sediment Mining

Degradation of a Foreland River After the Wenchuan Earthquake, China: A Combined Effect of Weirs, Sediment Supply, and Sediment Mining

HJB and Fokker-Planck equations for river environmental management based on stochastic impulse control with discrete and random observation

Interactions of a temperate North American fish community with a very low head hydropower facility in Ontario, Canada

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