Quantifying Transmission Losses in a New Mexico Ephemeral Stream: A Losing Proposition
Publication: Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 22, Issue 3
Abstract
Under natural conditions, stormwater runoff in much of the semiarid Southwest drains through a network of unlined stream channels called arroyos. Dry during most of the year, arroyos are transformed into raging rivers for short periods of time following intense rain events. As stormwater travels downstream, a portion of the flow is lost to the highly permeable arroyo bed. The purpose of this study was to quantify these so-called transmission losses for a 13-km reach of one New Mexico arroyo. Infiltration rates were tested in the field using a double-ring infiltrometer. Test results varied considerably from 3.0 to , with a median rate of . Additionally, three stream-gauging stations were installed along the arroyo; for two storms in 2015, they measured a dramatic decrease in peak discharge (91 and 84%, respectively) and runoff volume (90 and 80%, respectively). Gauge data was used to successfully simulate transmission losses in a hydrologic model of the drainage system; the average loss rate for the arroyo was found to be . On average, infiltrometer results overestimated reach-scale loss rates by 60%.
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Acknowledgments
The author thanks Charles Thomas (SSCAFCA) for his technical review and guidance, as well as Catherine Conran (SSCAFCA) for her review and comments. The author also thanks Terracon Consultants, Inc., and Daniel B. Stephens and Associates, Inc., for geotechnical services, as well as Adrienne Martinez for her help with infiltration testing.
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Published In
Journal of Hydrologic Engineering
Volume 22 • Issue 3 • March 2017
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Apr 15, 2016
Accepted: Aug 2, 2016
Published online: Oct 25, 2016
Published in print: Mar 1, 2017
Discussion open until: Mar 25, 2017
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