Environmental Management Plan of Sediment Flushing from Dam Reservoirs

This book contributes towards developing a couple of simulation models and environmental impact assessment tools in order to determine the best time, concentration and flushing rate of reservoir sediments using available field data, and flushing records. The best time for flushing is determined considering social, environmental and water resources limitation in the study area which are time of water withdrawal for agricultural activity, time of fish migration and maximum water level in the reservoir. The optimum duration, concentration and discharge of flushing are determined based on ecological characteristics and river carrying capacity of the study area. The environmental impact assessment gives the severity and significance of the possible impacts of flushing, considering the different scenarios of flushing. The social, ecological and technical indexes are calculated for different scenarios of sediment flushing. Variation of discharge and sediment concentration along the river is simulated using hydraulic models considering different duration, concentration and discharge for the sediment flushing scenarios.