Hydrosedimentary dynamics of the Sant Llorenç de Montgai reservoir drawdown (Segre River)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17735/cyg.v34i1-2.78791Keywords:
drawdown, reservoir, suspended sediment transport, siltation, Segre RiverAbstract
Reservoirs experience siltation due to total or partial sediment trapping of the materials that come from upstream (incoming load). Reservoir siltation affects hydrology, ecology and socioeconomics, as for instance loss on storage capacity and flood regulation, damage of dam components (e.g. sluice gates, water gates), limitation of the recreational use of the reservoirs, propensity to eutrophication and sediment starvation downstream from the dam. Problems are being solved by total or partial drawdown of the reservoirs, through the releases of flow and stored sediments). Drawdown has being consolidated as an effective management tool, but it impacts the fluvial system downstream. This study analyzes the hydrosedimentary dynamics of the Sant Llorenç de Montgai reservoir associated to a partial drawdown (Segre River) in a 40 km reach downstream from the dam. For this, the flow discharge and suspended sediment transport was monitored in four sections to study hydrosedimentary dynamics and built the mass balance of the drawdown. Recorded discharges at the dam were similar to those registered during flood events. Most of the evacuated sediment was trapped in the weirs located immediately downstream from the dam. Consequently, suspended sediment registered downstream the weirs came mostly from the river channel and it was the result of the flow’s sediment transport capacity. Results highlight the key role of the infrastructures located downstream from the dam and how these infrastructures modify water and sediment transport during the drawdown, mitigating its ecological impacts and maximizing sediment availability for subsequent competent events. Results also show how coordinate management of downstream infrastructures needs to be considered to optimize the longitudinal continuity of suspended sediment transport.
References
Avendaño, C., Cobo, R. (1998). Seguimiento de los sólidos en suspensión durante el vaciado del embalse de Joaquín Costa. Limnética, 14, 113-120.
Batalla, R.J., Vericat, D. (2011). An appraisal of the contemporary sediment yield in the Ebro Basin. J Soil Sediment 11 (6), 1070–1081. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-011-0378-8
Béjar, M., Gibbins, C.N., Vericat, D., Batalla, R.J. (2017). Effects of suspended sediment transport on invertebrate drift. River Res App, 33(10), 1655-1666. https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.3146
Buendía, C., Gibbins, C.N., Vericat, D., López-Tarazón, J.A., Batalla, R.J. (2011). Influence of naturally high fine sediment loads on aquatic insect larvae in a montane river. Scot Geogr J, 127 (4), 315–334. https://doi.org/10.1080/14702541.2012.670006
Cajot, S., Schleiss, A., Sumi, T., Kantoush, S. (2012). Reservoir sediment management using replenishment: a numerical study of Nunome Dam. En: Procs. Int. Symp. On Dams for Changing World, Kyoto.
Cheng, F., Granata T. (2007). Sediment transport and channel adjustments associated with dam removal: Field observations. Water Resour Res, 43 (3), W03444, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005WR004271
Commission on Dams, W. (2001). Dams and development: A new framework for decision making. Environmental Management and Health, 12 (4), 444-445. https://doi.org/10.1108/emh.2001.12.4.444.2
Corral, K. (2010). Avaluació d’efectes ambientals del buidat de l’embassament de Tavascan. Trabajo Fin de Máster. Universitat de Lleida.
Ding, L., Chen, L., Ding, C., Tao, J. (2019). Global trends in dam removal and related research: a systematic review based on associated datasets and bibliometric analysis. Chin. Geogra. Sci., 29 (1) 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-018-1009-8
Doyle, M.W., Stanley, E.H., Harbor, J.M. (2003). Channel adjustments following two dam removals in Wisconsin. Erosion, Sedimentation and Geomorphology, 39(1) https://doi.org/10.1029/2002WR001714
East, A.E., Pess, G.R., Bountry, J.A., Magirl, C.S., Ritchie, A.C., Logan, J.B., Randle, T.J., Mastin, M.C., Minear, J.T., Duda, J.J., Liermann, M.C., McHenry, M.L., Beechie, T.J., Shafroth, P.B. (2015). Large-scale dam removal on the Elwha River, Washington, USA: river channel and floodplain geomorphic change. Geomorphology, 228, 765–786. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2014.08.028
Espa, P., Batalla, R.J., Brignoli, M.L., Crosa, G., Gentili, G., Quadroni, S. (2019) Tackling reservoir siltation by controlled sediment flushing: Impact on downstream fauna and related management issues. PLoS ONE, 14(6), e0218822. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0218822
Espa, P., Brignoli, M.L., Crosa, G., Gentili, G., Quadroni S. (2016). Controlled sediment flushing at the Cancano Reservoir (Italian Alps): Management of the operation and downstream environmental impact. J Environ Manage, 182, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.07.021
Fruchard, F., Camenen, B. (2012). Reservoir sedimentation: different type of flushing - Friendly Flushing Example of Genissiat Dam Flushing. ICOLD International Symposium on Dams for a changing world, Jun 2012, Kyoto, Japan. 6 p.
GESNA (2008). Estudio de impacto ambiental del Proyecto de vaciado parcial del embalse de Sant Llorenç de Montgai. GESNA y ENDESA (Dirección de Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo Sostenible). Documento inédito. Lleida. 141 pp.
Ibisate, A., Ollero, A., Ballarín, D., Horacio, J., Mora, D., Mesanza, A., Ferrer-Boix, C., Acín, V., Granado, D., Martín-Vide, J.P. (2016). Geomorphic monitoring and response to two dam removals: rivers Urumea and Leitzaran (Basque Country, Spain). Earth Surf Processes, 41(15), 2239-2255. https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.4023
ICOLD, International Commission on Large Dams (2009). Sedimentation and Sustainable Use of Reservoir and River Systems, 187 pp.
Itsukushima, R., Ohtsuki, K., Sato, T., Kano, Y., Takata, H., Yoshikawa, H. (2019). Effects of Sediment Released from a Check Dam on Sediment Deposits and Fish and Macroinvertebrate Communities in a Small Stream. Water, 11 (4), 716. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11040716
Jones, J.I., Collins, A.L., Naden, P.S., Sear, D.A. (2012). The relationship between fine sediment and macrophytes in rivers. Riv. Res. App., 28 (7), 1006-1018. https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.1486
Juracek, K.E. (2015). The aging of America’s reservoirs: in-reservoir and downstream physical changes and habitat implications. Journal of the American Water Resources Association, 51 (1), 168-184. https://doi.org/10.1111/jawr.12238
Kondolf, G.M. (1997). Hungry Water: Effects of Dams and Gravel Mining on River Channels. Environ Manage 21(4), 533–551. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002679900048
Kondolf, G.M. (2000). Assessing Salmonid Spawning Gravel Quality. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 129(1), 262-281. https://doi.org/10.1577/1548-8659(2000)129<0262:ASSGQ>2.0.CO;2
Major, J.J., East, A.E., O’Connor, J.E., Grant, G.E., Wilcox, A.C., Magirl, C.S., Collins, M.J., Tullos, D.D. (2017). Geomorphic Responses to Dam Removal in the United States—a Two-Decade Perspective. In: D. Tsutsumi, J.B. Laronne, (Eds.), Gravel-Bed Rivers: Processes and Disasters. John Wiley and Sons, Hoboken, NJ, USA, 355–383. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118971437.ch13
Morillo, M., García de Jalón, D. (1998). Efectos del vaciado del embalse de Barasona en las comunidades de peces fluviales. Limnética 14 (1), 47-58
Ollero, A., Ibisate, A., Acín, V., Ballarín, D., Besné, P., Díaz, E., Ferrer-Boix, C., Granado, D., Herrero, X., Horacio, J., Martín-Vide, J.P., Mesanza, A., Mora, D., Sánchez, I. (2014). Geomorphology and river restoration monitoring the demolition of dams in Gipuzkoa. Geographical Research Letters, 40 (1), 67-88. https://doi.org/10.18172/cig.2520
Palau, A. (1998a). Estudio limnológico del ecosistema fluvial afectado por los vaciados del embalse de Barasona. Limnética 14(1), 1-15.
Palau, A. (1998b). El vaciado de embalses: Consideraciones ecológicas y gestión medioambiental. Ecología, 12, 79-92.
Palau, A. (2002a). La sedimentación en embalses. Medidas preventivas y correctoras. Actas del I Congreso de Ingeniería Civil, Territorio y Medio Ambiente, Colegio De Ingenieros De Caminos, Canales y Puertos, Madrid 847-856.
Palau, A. (2002b). Aspectos medioambientales de la sedimentación en embalses. Actas de la Jornada Técnica de la Sociedad Española de Presas y Embalses (SEPREM), Madrid, 104-117.
Peteil, C., Fruchart, F., Abadie, F., Reynaud, S., Camenen, B., Guertault, L. (2013). Sustainable management of sediment fluxes in reservoir by eco-friendly flushing: the case study of the Genissiat dam on the upper Rhone River (France). In: S. Fukuoka, H. Nakagawa, T. Sumi, H. Zhang, (Eds.), Advances in River Sediment Research. London, CRC Press, 118.
Primo, C.M, González, G. (2015). Acciones de mejora de la conectividad fluvial en la cuenca alta del Tormes. Actas II Congreso Ibérico de Restauración Fluvial, Centro Ibérico de Restauración Fluvial, Pamplona, 697-702.
Rosell, C., Nadal, J., Canill, S., Campeny, R., Parpal, J., Pedrocchi, V., Ruíz-Olmo, J. (1998). Efectos del vaciado del embalse de Joaquín Costa sobre anfibios, aves y mamíferos vinculados al ambiente de ribera. Limnética 14 (1), 59-71.
Tena, A., Batalla, R.J., Vericat, D., López-Tarazón, J.A. (2011). Suspended sediment dynamics in a large regulated river over 10-year period (the lower Ebro, NE Iberian Peninsula). Geomorphology, 125 (1), 73-84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2010.07.029
The H. John Heinz III Center (2002). Dam removal. Science and Decision Making. The H. John Heinz III Center, Washington, 235 pp.
White, R. (2001). Evacuation of sediments from reservoirs. Thomas Telford Publishing, London, 260 pp. https://doi.org/10.1680/eosfr.29538
Wohl, E.E., Cenderelli, D.A. (2000). Sediment deposition and transport patterns following a reservoir sediment release. Water Resour Res, 36(1), 319-333. https://doi.org/10.1029/1999WR900272
Wood, P.J., Armitage, P.D. (1997). Biological Effects of Fine Sediment in the Lotic Environment. Environ Manag 21 (2), 203-217. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002679900019.
