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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Oxford, Mississippi » National Sedimentation Laboratory » Watershed Physical Processes Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #186455
Title: SEDIMENTATION IN THREE SMALL EROSION CONTROL RESERVOIRS IN NORTH MISSISSIPPI

Author
item Wren, Daniel
item Wells, Robert - Rob
item Wilson, Christopher
item Cooper, Charles
item LEARY, DEL - UNIVERSITY OF MISS, NCPA
item HICKEY, CRAIG - UNIVERSITY OF MISS, NCPA

Submitted to: Federal Interagency Sedimentation Conference Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/4/2006
Publication Date: 4/4/2006
Citation: Wren, D.G., Wells, R.R., Wilson, C.G., Cooper, C.M., Leary, D., Hickey, C.J. 2006. Sedimentation in three small erosion control reservoirs in north Mississippi. In: Proceedings of the 8th Federal Interagency Sedimentation Conference, April 2-6, 2006, Reno, Nevada. CDROM.

Interpretive Summary: The water storage capacity and dam integrity of thousands of flood control reservoirs built in the last 50 years are compromised by excessive impounded sediments. The fate of these structures depends on the amount and characteristics of the stored material. To aid in understanding the scope of this issue in the hill lands of northern Mississippi, physical sediment characteristics and reservoir holding capacity were evaluated in three small reservoirs (<20 acres) built 40+ years ago as part of the Yazoo-Little Tallahatchie erosion control project. A device that vibrates a pipe so that it can easily be pushed into bottom sediments was used to remove samples from the bottom of the three lakes. The particle size and other characteristics of the removed material were used to determine the rate at which sediments have been filling the lakes.

Technical Abstract: The water storage capacity and dam integrity of thousands of flood control reservoirs built in the last 50 years are compromised by excessive impounded sediments. The fate of these structures depends on the amount and characteristics of the impounded material. To aid in understanding the scope of this issue in the hill lands of northern Mississippi, physical sediment characteristics and reservoir holding capacity were evaluated in three small reservoirs (<20 acres) built 40+ years ago as part of the Yazoo-Little Tallahatchie erosion control project. A vibracoring system was used to collect continuous cores of impounded sediment and parent material. Particle size and bulk density measurements were used to define the pre-impoundment level. Sediment accumulation rates were found to range from 1 to 3 mm/year with reductions in storage capacity of 7% to 19%.