Rethinking Dredging: Phasing Small Dam Deconstruction to Allow Sediment Releases without Harming Downstream Ecosystems

University Of Virginia Main Campus, Charlottesville VA

Investigators

Abstract

0967918 Curran The objective of the proposed research is to determine the downstream morphologic impacts caused by different combinations of small dam deconstruction sequencing and impounded reservoir sediment characteristics. The central hypothesis is that for a given distribution of impounded sediments, small dam deconstruction can be sequenced such that impounded sediments released downstream increase the available habitat created by the channel morphology and thereby improve the downstream ecosystem. A series of laboratory flume experiments will measure sediment transport rates and changes to the downstream channel bed under various combinations of sediment mixtures and small dam deconstruction phasing sequences for each of several scaled dam sizes. Geomorphic variability in the downstream channel will be measured after each phase of dam deconstruction, and data analysis will result in a series of qualitative and quantitative descriptions of small dam removals under a range of conditions.