Detroit Lake Temperature and Suspended Sediment Model
The USGS has worked since 1998 to monitor and study sediment and turbidity throughout the North Santiam River watershed. As part of that assessment, a focused effort was undertaken to examine the effect that Detroit Lake has on temperature issues and sediment transport. In particular, developing a model that simulates the transport and fate of suspended sediment and the dynamics of water temperature in Detroit Lake was deemed to provide an important component of understanding how the lake affects suspended sediment and temperature in the North Santiam and Santiam Rivers downstream.
The objectives of this study were to:
- Develop a model of Detroit Lake to simulate circulation, water temperature, total dissolved solids, and suspended sediment in both the reservoir and its outflow,
- Understand processes affecting suspended sediment, quantify sediment sources and transport to the lake outlet, and quantify sediment deposition in the lake, and
- Understand processes controlling water temperature in Detroit Lake and its outflow, and demonstrate the water temperature effects of a hypothetical selective withdrawal device.
To meet these objectives, USGS personnel constructed, calibrated, and tested a model of circulation, water temperature, and suspended sediment in Detroit Lake. The model was constructed to simulate conditions that occurred in the entire calendar years of 2002 and 2003, as well as the period December 1, 2005, through February 1, 2006, in order to simulate some large winter storm events. During January 2006, about 70 centimeters (27.6 inches) of precipitation were recorded at Detroit Dam, making it the wettest January ever recorded and breaking the previous record set in 1970. Processes occurring in Big Cliff reservoir, the reregulating reservoir below Detroit Lake, were not included in this model.
After the model was constructed, calibrated, and tested, it was used to: (a) examine the sources of sediment to Detroit Lake and the lake's ability to trap those sediments, (b) estimate the amount and pattern of sediment deposition, and (c) simulate the in-lake and downstream effects of adding a hypothetical selective withdrawal to Detroit Dam to control release temperatures.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
North Santiam River Basin Study
Water Temperature Modeling in the Middle Fork Willamette and South Santiam River Basins
Environmental Flow Studies for Middle Fork Willamette, McKenzie, and Santiam River Basins
Below are other science projects associated with this project.