HYDROSUCTION SEDIMENT-REMOVAL SYSTEMS (HSRS) - PRINCIPLES AND FIELD-TEST

Hydrosuction sediment-removal systems (HSRS) remove deposited or incom ing sediments from reservoirs using the energy represented by the diff erence between water levels upstream and downstream from a dam. HSRS a re briefly described and compared to other reservoir-sediment manageme nt options. Hydraulic principles and design procedures are explained a nd applied to a field test carried out at Lake Atkinson, on the Elkhor n River, in Nebraska. The field study demonstrated that several differ ent inlet shapes are capable of removing deposited sediment at the rat e that it enters the reservoir on an annual basis. A ten-step procedur e to determine the feasibility of using an HSRS is presented.