Effects of Flaming Gorge Dam hydropower operations on sediment transport in the Browns Park reach of the Green River, Utah and Colorado

Technical Report · Mon May 01 04:00:00 EDT 1995

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/90182· OSTI ID:90182

Williams, G P; Tomasko, D; Cho, H E; Yin, S C.L. ^[1]

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1. Argonne National Lab., IL (United States). Environmental Assessment Div.

Three methods for comparing sediment transport were applied to four proposed hydropower operational scenarios under study for Flaming Gorge Dam on the Green River in Utah. These methods were effective discharge, equilibrium potential, and cumulative sediment load with flow exceedance plots. Sediment loads transported by the Green River in the Browns Park reach were calculated with the Engelund-Hansen equation for three historical water years and four hydropower operational scenarios. A model based on the Engelund-Hansen equation was developed using site-specific information and validated by comparing predictions for a moderate water year with measured historical values. The three methods were used to assess the impacts of hydropower operational scenarios on sediment resources. The cumulative sediment load method provided the most useful information for impact evaluation. Effective discharge was not a useful tool because of the limited number of discrete flows associated with synthetic hydrographs for the hydropower operational scenarios. The equilibrium potential method was relatively insensitive to the variations in operating conditions, rendering it comparatively ineffective for impact evaluation.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 90182
• Report Number(s): ANL/EAD/TM--6; ON: DE95016232
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

13 HYDRO ENERGY
COLORADO
COMPILED DATA
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANTS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
RIVERS
SEDIMENTS
UTAH