Sediment Accumulation in Reservoirs: Comparison of Watershed Sediment Yield Models with Measured Sedimentation Volumes

Project ID: 9353
Principal Investigator: John Carlson
Research Topic: Sediment Management and River Restoration
Funded Fiscal Years: 2013
Keywords: sediment watershed modeling reservoir software

Research Question

What is the reliability of existing watershed sediment yield models for predicting reservoir sedimentation?

Need and Benefit

Verification of a watershed sediment yield model would allow estimates of reservoir sedimentation where no survey data are available and help prioritize reservoir sedimentation survey needs.

Contributing Partners

Contact the Principal Investigator for information about partners.

Research Products

Not Reviewed

The following documents were not reviewed. Statements made in these documents are those of the authors. The findings have not been verified.

RESERVOIR SEDIMENT ACCUMULATION MODELING REPORT SEPTEMBER 30 2013 (interim, PDF, 190KB)
By John Carlson
Report completed on October 18, 2013

Software which spatially models sediment accumulation in reservoirs was located, acquired and tried. Some software was no longer supported or had problems running and some was expensive. Ultimately PLOAD, supplied with BASINS41 from the Environmental Protection Agency was used to compute total suspended solids for various drainage basins.
The annual amounts for a basin produced by the model were compared with amounts measured in reservoir surveys. The results were mixed; work continues.

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Last Updated: 6/22/20