The use of check dams in watershed management projects: Examples from around the world

Abstract

Check dams are widespread and effective soil and water conservation structures throughout the world.
This review paper presents an overview of the use of check dams for soil and water management and
runoff control with examples from the literature based on field measurements from four continents.
More than 150 years of research has reported that check dams are civil engineering landmark structures
used all over the world. Among all civil engineering structures, check dams are probably the most
emblematic of torrent control works. They were used for centuries, and are located all around the
world. Over the past several hundred years, people have increasingly realized the envisioned advantages
of check dams such as land development, environmental improvement, agricultural production,
enhancement of gully stabilities, and mitigation of intensive flood. The optimum size, location and type
had great influences on the efficiency of check dams under watershed management. Moreover, in both
the theoretical and practical realms, check dams have been proved to be a useful tool for controlling soil
erosion and flooding at a catchment scale. This paper will be helpful for policy makers to extend check
dam projects in the whole erosion-prone areas.

Naseer AhmedAbbasia1XiangzhouXua1Manuel EstebanLucas-Borjab1WeiqinDangcBinLiud

a. School of Hydraulic Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, China

b. Departamento de Ciencia y Tecnología Agroforestal y Genética, Universidad de Castilla La Mancha,

Campus Universitario s/n, E-02071 Albacete, Spain

c. Suide Experimental Station for Soil and Water Conservation, Yellow River Conservancy Commission,
Suide 718000, China

d. Xifeng Administering and Monitoring Bureau for Soil and Water Conservation, Yellow River
Conservancy Commission, Qingyang 745000, China

Received 31 December 2018, Revised 15 April 2019, Accepted 16 April 2019, Available online 17 April
2019.

Check dams and sediment control: final results of a case study in the upper Corneja River (Central
Spain)

Purpose

The sediment yield and erosion rate in an area can be estimated by calculating the volume of sediment
retained by check dams. However, results can show unrealistic and imprecise conclusions if the
sediment volume is not measured accurately, as tolerable erosion rates are usually below 10 t ha−1
year−1.

Materials and methods

Our previous research developed a topographic method (the Sections Method) for measuring the
sediment wedges created by check dams and the sediment yield with a high degree of precision to avoid
the aforementioned problem. Until now, however, it had only been tested for a few check dams. Here,
we present a final and complete analysis applying this method to 113 check dams in a granitic restored
area in the upper basin of the Corneja River (Central Spain), under a continental Mediterranean climate,
to estimate an accurate mean erosion rate over 50 years, as well as the downstream influence of the
check dams.

Results and discussion

Our results show that the check dams trapped 5365.93 m3 sediment, which represents a sediment
export of 0.096 t ha−1 year−1 and a total sediment yield of 5.6 t ha−1 year−1. These values are
significantly higher (> 18%) than those obtained with other, simpler geometric methods currently in use,
such as the Prism and Pyramid Methods, as we have already argued in previous papers. It is therefore
important to take this issue into account. Moreover, we confirmed a number of morphological changes.
As a result of the check dam effect, the slopes of the streambed are 11% lower than the original
streambed slope, with a maximum reduction of up to 39%, leading to higher infiltration rates in the
streambeds, lower energy waterflows, and flood lamination. Furthermore, the sediment wedges created
a new land surface of over 5000 m2 permitting the development of agroforestry uses such as riparian
woods, orchards, cropland, or pastureland.

Conclusions

These final results show that check dams were highly effective and played a positive role in retaining and
controlling sediment.

Díaz-Gutiérrez, V., Mongil-Manso, J., Navarro-Hevia, J. et al. Check dams and sediment control: final
results of a case study in the upper Corneja River (Central Spain). J Soils Sediments 19, 451–466 (2019).
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-018-2042-z

Sediment Trap

What is a sediment trap and why do we use it?

Sediment traps are containers that scientists place in the water to collect particles falling toward the sea
floor. The traps collect tiny sediment or larger accumulations called marine snow- made up of organic
matter, dead sea creatures, tiny shells, dust and minerals.

Analyzing the samples helps scientists understand how fast nutrients and trace elements like carbon,
nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, silicon and uranium move from the ocean surface to the deep ocean.
These materials are what almost all deep-sea life uses for food (since plants can’t grow in the dark).
Other researchers analyze the trace elements for clues about ocean circulationthousands of years ago.
And sediment trap data helps to understand the other end of the nutrient cycle: how upwelling currents
create such productive fishing areas.

How do sediment traps work?

The basic sediment trap consists of a broad funnel with a collecting jar at the bottom. The funnel
opening covers a standard area (such as 0.25 square meter [2.7 square feet]) and has baffles at the top
to keep out very large objects that might clog the funnel.
The trap clamps at a specific depth to a fixed cable attached to an anchor or buoy. Traps are often
placed very deep, where they can catch sediment near the ocean bottom.

When a ship returns to retrieve the trap, the crew activates a remote-controlled device called an
acoustic release. The release severs the line between the trap and its anchor, and the trap floats to the
surface with its samples.

The first sediment trap was deployed in 1978 off Bermuda, in more than 3,200 meters (2 miles) of
water. In more recent experiments, several traps have been spaced every 500 meters from the upper
ocean to 500 meters above the seafloor. By comparing the trap catches, scientists learn how much
material gets recycled by sea life on its journey downward.

https://www.whoi.edu/what-we-do/explore/instruments/instruments-sensors-samplers/sediment-
trap/

Design of Sediment Traps with Open Check Dams. I: Hydraulic and Deposition Processes

Sediment traps with open check dams are widely used structures in flood hazard mitigation. This paper
reviews the literature dedicated to their design. First, the general context in which sediment traps are
built and their functions are presented. The second part proposes hydraulic design criteria for classical
types with details on the opening shapes and dam crest spillway. The third part details sediment
deposition dynamics: its initiation, its controls through the trap basin and open check dam shapes, the
effect of hydrographs, and the control of trap self-cleaning. The methods to determine the deposit slope
and height are discussed. Finally, a step-by-step design procedure is proposed and future research
challenges are highlighted. Field feedback has shown that driftwood can substantially influence
sediment trap behavior. A companion paper thoroughly covers the production and transfer of driftwood
and the interactions with open check dams.

Guillaume Piton and Alain Recking – February 2016

https://ascelibrary.org/doi/pdf/10.1061/%28ASCE%29HY.1943-7900.0001048

Estimation of sediment trapping behind check dams using high-density electrical resistivity
tomography

Check dams are very important structures for torrent control areas throughout the world. Measuring
the sediment deposition behind check dams is thought to be an effective method of estimating the
sediment yield of small catchments. In this study, we employed a high-density electrical resistivity
system to detect sediment at six check dams distributed in the hilly and gully area of the Loess Plateau.
A total of 11 lines were arranged, with 60 electrodes along each line. The resultant resistivity data were
inverted into subsurface structures using least-squares inversion techniques. The results indicate that
the sediment bottom can been identified using an electrical resistivity contour method. Using trenches,
boreholes and drillings to calibrate the calculated values, the accuracy of the high-density electrical
resistivity tomography method was found to be quite high (95.7%). The bulk density increases with the
sediment deposit depth and can reach a maximum of 1.6 g cm−3. Geometric methods considering three
shapes (V-shaped, U-shaped and trapezoidal) were used to estimate the profile area of the check dams;
the V-shaped geometric method showed high accuracy. This study provides a four-step approach based
on high-density electrical resistivity tomography and a geometric method to estimate sediment yield for
check dam-controlled catchments. This methodology enables the measurement of the total sediment
yield, including both the suspended and bedload sediment transport, from an ungauged catchment.

N.F. Fang, Y. Zeng, L.S. Ni, Z.H. Shi,

Estimation of sediment trapping behind check dams using high-density electrical resistivity tomography,

Journal of Hydrology,

Volume 568,

2019,

Pages 1007-1016,

ISSN 0022-1694,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.11.062.

(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022169418309235)

Sediment traps with guiding channel and hybrid check dams improve controlled sediment retention

Sediment traps with partially open check dams are crucial elements for flood protection in alpine
regions. The trapping of sediment is necessary when intense sediment transport occurs during floods
that may endanger urban areas at downstream river reaches. In turn, the unwanted permanent trapping
of sediment during small, non-hazardous floods can result in the ecological and morphological
degradation of downstream reaches. This study experimentally analyses a novel concept for permeable
sediment traps. For ensuring the sediment transfer up to small floods, a guiding channel implemented in
the deposition area of a sediment trap was systematically studied. The bankfull discharge of the guiding
channel corresponds to a dominant morphological discharge. At the downstream end of the guiding
channel, a permeable barrier (check dam) triggers sediment retention and deposition. The permeable
barrier consists of a bar screen for mechanical deposition control, superposed to a flow constriction for
the hydraulic control. The barrier obstructs hazardous sediment transport for discharges that are higher
than the bankfull discharge of the guiding channel without the risk of unwanted sediment flushing
(massive selfcleaning).

Sebastian Schwindt1,2, Mário J. Franca1,3, Alessandro Reffo4, and Anton J. Schleiss1

1. Laboratory of Hydraulic Constructions (LCH), École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL),

1015, Lausanne, Switzerland

2. Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, UC Davis, Davis, 95616, California, USA

3. Water Science and Engineering Department, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Delft, 2611, the
Netherlands

4. Ingenieure Patscheider & Partner GmbH, Bolzano, 39100, Italy

Correspondence: Sebastian Schwindt (sschwindt@ucdavis.edu)

Received: 19 October 2017 – Discussion started: 1 November 2017

Revised: 21 January 2018 – Accepted: 23 January 2018 – Published: 2 March 2018