Tuesday, May 27, 2008
267

Spring high flow and summer water temperature in a restored reach of the provo river in northern Utah

Tamao Kasahara, Watershed Sciences, Utah State University, 5210 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322

A large-scale river restoration project was carried out in the channelized 13-km reach of the middle Provo River between1998-2006. The project involved widening of floodplain, construction of multi-threads channels and re-vegetation of riparian corridors. The restored reach is located right below the Jordanelle Dam, and thus the flow is regulated. Summer baseflow is maintained at 3.5 m3/s, and the flow is increased every spring to simulate spring runoff. In spring 2006, the flow exceeded 30 m3/s over three-week period, with a peak discharge of 47.6 m3/s, which inundated the floodplain for a long period of time. In contrast, because of the preceding dry winter, the simulated spring high flow in 2007 lasted only 5 days with peak discharge of 10.7 m3/s. Although the temperatures of dam release were around 11 ۫C in both years, daily maximum temperatures in the study site exceeded 21 ۫C for about a week in 2006 and for over a month in 2007. In this study, we investigated the effects that spring inundation may have on stream water temperature in dry summer months. Stream and groundwater temperature were monitored in a constructed meander bend located about 10 km downstream of the dam, and stream-groundwater exchange was simulated using a groundwater flow model.   


Web Page: River Restoration, Stream water temperature, Stream-groundwater interaction

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