Water‐Sediment Splitter for Runoff Samples Containing Coarse‐Grained Sediment

Abstract

A water‐sediment sample splitter was designed and constructed for dividing samples up to 20 liters into three equal and representative smaller samples for chemical and physical analyses. This funnel‐shaped device with a mechanical agitator divides samples containing particles up to 2 mm without first separating the sediment from the water. Evaluation showed that the splitter divided samples containing coarse sediments into three parts with a distribution of 33% ± 2% in each. The device has application in assuring representative samples of runoff from watershed or similar runoff studies.