Paper No. 51-7
Presentation Time: 8:00 AM-12:00 PM
USING RESERVOIR SIZE, WATERSHED CHARACTERISTICS, AND SEDIMENT TRANSPORT PROXIES TO ESTIMATE IMPOUNDED SEDIMENT VOLUME AND DOMINANT GRAIN SIZE AT DAMS IN NEW ENGLAND
Large volumes of impounded sediment, especially fine-grained sediment, decrease dam storage capacity and increase the cost and logistical complexity of dam removal. Regression analysis was used to identify relationships between reservoir size, sediment supply proxies, sediment transport proxies, and impounded sediment volume and grain size at numerous previous dam removal sites in New England. Relationships from regression analysis were used to estimate sediment characteristics at additional New England dams informing a region-wide tradeoff analysis between impounded sediment characteristics, improvements to fish passage, and dam safety.