Artificially Varied Flow: River System Management

by Kenneth S. Lee, US Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore, MD, USA,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Water for Resource Development

Abstract:

Some of the major water quality problems are heat, color, organic sediment, and total dissolved solids. To dilute these and other pollutants, substantial augmentation of flows for water quality enhancement is provided. The continuous release of uniform flows allows sediments to blanket the substrate and smother benthic organisms, effectively limiting the potential productivity of the stream. Fluctuating releases from the reservoirs 'Artificially Varied Flow' (AVF) can remove or reduce this undesirable sediment accumulation. Altering river stage and, thus, changing velocity and flow distribution patterns during the AVF, resuspends the deposited sediment and transports it downstream where assimilation is possible. This procedure has proven extremely beneficial to the overall stream environment.

Subject Headings: Water quality | Water pollution | Sediment | River flow | Systems management | Streamflow | Velocity distribution

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