New Empirical Method for Prediction of Sediment Distribution in Reservoirs

Abstract

When a dam is constructed on a river to store water, sediments transported by the water flow are also stored and reservoir capacity is gradually reduced by sediment accumulation. Prediction of sediment distribution in reservoirs is an important issue for dam designers to determine the reservoir active storage capacity, outlet sill elevation, dam stability, recreational facilities, and backwater conditions. In this study, original and secondary area-capacity data of 40 reservoirs in the United States are used and a new empirical method is proposed for the prediction of sediment distribution in reservoirs. In the proposed method, reservoir sediment distribution is related to the sediment volume and original reservoir characteristics. To demonstrate the proposed method, two examples are presented.