Long-Term Effects of Water Diversions on the Longitudinal Flow and Bed Profiles
Publication: Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 140, Issue 6
Abstract
Water diversions along alluvial rivers cause water and sediment loss, and thereby affect morphological development. Assuming spatially continuous diversions along a constant-width channel, previous studies suggest a longitudinally convex bed at the equilibrium state. However, the validity of a convex bed profile for practically discrete diversions in natural channels of longitudinally varying width remains to be justified. Moreover, such equilibrium analysis does not reveal the morphological time scale (MTS) associated with water diversions. To solve these issues, a general theoretical framework is proposed for predicting the equilibrium state of the fluvial system, which is applicable to both continuous and discrete water diversions in a longitudinally width-varying channel. Numerical experiments complement the MTS studies for water diversions. The effects of diversion intensity, diversion placement (discrete and continuous), and diversion scheme (pure water and water-sediment mixture) are also systematically studied. The present work confirms the previous findings that water diversions lead to a decrease of the equilibrium depth with respect to natural conditions and a convex bed in a constant-width channel. Moreover, it reveals that in a widening channel a convex bed also develops under water diversions, whereas convex, concave, or quasi-linear beds may occur in a narrowing channel. Nonmonotonic beds may develop in a strongly narrowing channel, depending on the diversion schemes. On large spatial scales, diversion placement is less important for the equilibrium development. The MTS for water diversions and natural development are very similar and large, indicating considerable influences of water diversions on river morphology. The present work advances the understanding of the long-term effect of water diversions on river evolution.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
This research is sponsored by the China Scholarship Council (No. 2008621194) and supported by the Sino-Dutch collaboration project, “Effects of human activities on the eco-morphological evolution of rivers and estuaries” (08-PSA-E-01), funded by the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences (KNAW) and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) within the framework of the Programme of Scientific Alliances between China and the Netherlands. In addition, the authors very much appreciate the reviewers for their constructive comments that have improved the paper.
References
Barkdoll, B. D., Ettema, R., and Odgaard, A. J. (1999). “Sediment control at lateral diversions: Limits and enhancements to vane use.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 862–870.
Chen, J. S., He, D. W., and Cui, S. B. (2003). “The response of river water quality and quantity to the development of irrigated agriculture in the last 4 decades in the Yellow River Basin, China.” Water Resour. Res., 39(3), 1047–1057.
Cheong, H. F. (1991). “Discharge coefficient of lateral diversion from trapezoidal channel.” J. Irrig. Drain. Eng., 461–475.
Chow, V. T. (1959). Open channel hydraulics, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Crosato, A., and Mosselman, E. (2009). “Simple physics-based predictor for the number of river bars and the transition between meandering and braiding.” Water Resour. Res., 45(3), W03424.
Delft Hydraulics. (2005). SOBEK-RE 1D Flow technical reference 2.52.005, Institute for Inland Water Management and Waste Water Treatment (RWS-RIZA) and Delft Hydraulics, The Netherlands.
de Vries, M. (1975). “A morphological time scale for rivers.” Proc., 16th International Association for Hydro-Environment Engineering and Research (IAHR) Congress, Vol. 2, Delft Hydraulics Publication, Delft, The Netherlands, 17–23.
Engelund, F., and Hansen, E. (1967). A monograph on sediment transport in alluvial streams, Danish Technical Press, Copenhagen.
Hu, P., Cao, Z. X., Pender, G., and Tan, G. M. (2012). “Numerical modelling of turbidity currents in the Xiaolangdi reservoir, Yellow River, China.” J. Hydrol., 464–465, 41–53.
Kerssens, P. J. M., and van Urk, A. (1986). “Experimental studies on sedimentation due to water withdrawal.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 641–656.
Kingsford, R. T. (2000). “Review ecological impacts of dams, water diversions and river management on floodplain wetlands in Australia.” Austral. Ecol., 25(2), 109–127.
Klaassen, G., and de Vries, M. (1977). “Sedimentological aspects of withdrawing water from rivers.” Symp. on Erosion and Solid Matter Transport in Inland Waters, UNESCO and IAHS, Paris.
Leopold, L. B., Wolman, M. G., and Miller, J. P. (1964). Fluvial processes in geomorphology, W. H. Freeman, San Francisco.
Liang, Z. Y., Wang, Z. Y., Kuang, S. F., and Xu, Y. N. (1999). “Experimental study on water diversion of hyperconcentrated flow.” J. Sediment Res., (6), 74–78 (in Chinese).
Liang, Z. Y., Zhang, D. R., and Yuan, Y. P. (1995). “Relation between water diversion and channel siltation in the Lower Yellow River.” J. Sediment Res., (3), 17–26 (in Chinese).
Liu, C. L., and Xia, J. (2004). “Water problems and hydrological research in the Yellow River and the Huai and Hai River basins of China.” Hydrolog. Process., 18(12), 2197–2210.
The Ministry of Water Resources of the People’s Republic of China (MWRPRC). (2007). Bulletin of Chinese river sediment, China Water and Power Press, Beijing (in Chinese).
Neary, V. S., Sotiropoulos, F., and Odgaard, A. J. (1999). “Three-dimensional numerical model of lateral-intake inflows.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 126–140.
Rice, S. P., and Church, M. (2001). “Longitudinal profiles in simple alluvial systems.” Water Resour. Res., 37(2), 417–426.
Rosier, B., Boillat, J. L., and Schleiss, A. J. (2010). “Semi-empirical model for channel bed evolution due to lateral discharge withdrawal.” J. Hydraul. Res., 48(2), 161–168.
Rosier, B., Boillat, J. L., and Schleiss, A. J. (2011). “Influence of lateral water withdrawal on bed form geometry in a channel.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 1668–1675.
Sinha, S. K., and Parker, G. (1996). “Causes of concavity in longitudinal profiles of rivers.” Water Resour. Res., 32(5), 1417–1428.
van Maren, D. S., Yang, M., and Wang, Z. B. (2011). “Predicting the morphodynamic response of silt-laden rivers to water and sediment release from reservoirs: Lower Yellow River, China.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 90–99.
Wang, Z. Y., and HU, C. H. (2004). “Interactions between fluvial systems and large scale hydro-projects.”Proc., 9th Int. Symp. on River Sedimentation, Tsinghua University Press, Yichang, China, 46–64.
Wang, H. J., Yang, Z. S., Saito, Y., Liu, J. P., Sun, X. X., and Wang, Y. (2007a). “Stepwise decreases of the Huanghe (Yellow River) sediment load (1950–2005): Impacts of climate change and human activities.” Global and Planetary Change, 57(3–4), 331–354.
Wang, Y. L., Odgaard, J., Melville, B. W., and Jain, S. C. (1996). “Sediment control at water intakes.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 353–356.
Wang, Z. B., Wang, Z. Y., and de Vriend, H. J. (2008). “Impact of water diversion on the morphological development of the Lower Yellow River.” Int. J. Sediment Res., 23(1), 13–27.
Wang, Z. Y., Wu, B. S., and Wang, G. Q. (2007b). “Fluvial processes and morphological response in the Yellow and Weihe Rivers to closure and operation of Sanmenxia Dam.” Geomorphology, 91(1–2), 65–79.
Wu, B. S., Wang, G. Q., Ma, J. M., and Zhang, R. (2005). “Case study: river training and its effects on fluvial processes in the Lower Yellow River, China.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 85–96.
Wu, B. S., Xia, J. Q., Fu, X. D., Zhang, Y. F., and Wang, G. Q. (2008). “Effect of altered flow regime on bankfull area of the Lower Yellow River, China.” Earth Surf. Processes Landforms, 33(10), 1585–1601.
Yang, C. T. (1972). “Unit stream power and sediment transport.” J. Hydraul. Div., 98(10), 1805–1826.
Yang, D., et al. (2004). “Analysis of water resources variability in the Yellow River of China during the last half century using historical data.” Water Resour. Res., 40(6), W06502.
Zamora, H. A., Nelson, S. M., Flessa, K. W., and Nomura, R. (2013). “Post-dam sediment dynamics and processes in the Colorado River estuary: Implications for habitat restoration.” Ecol. Eng., 59, 134–143.
Zhang, D. R., and Liang, Z. Y. (1995). “Review of studies between channel silting and water diversion of the Lower Yellow River.” J. Sediment Res., 2, 32–42 (in Chinese).
Zhang, Y. C. (1992). “Analysis on the conditions of water-sediment diversions in the Lower Yellow River in 1980s.” Yellow River, 5, 22–25 (in Chinese).
Zhang, Y. C. (1995). “Impacts of water-sediment diversions on erosion and sedimentation in the Lower Yellow River during dry-seasons.” Yellow River, 2, 5–7, (in Chinese).
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering
Volume 140 • Issue 6 • June 2014
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Feb 20, 2013
Accepted: Dec 6, 2013
Published online: Mar 11, 2014
Published in print: Jun 1, 2014
Discussion open until: Aug 11, 2014
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.