Channel changes associated with two adjacent weirs on a regulated lowland alluvial river

Abstract

Abstract Survey data from 1906 and 1988 for the lower River Murray, Australia, reveal changes in channel morphology associated with the construction of Locks 2 and 3 (1925–8), which form contiguous pools in the Valley and Gorge sections, respectively. Regulated annual flows are less than half the volume of natural flows, and the frequency of maximum flows has decreased. Upstream weirs have reduced the sediment supply to the study reach by 1.05 × 10 6 tonnes per annum. The trap efficiencies of Pools 2 and 3 from 1906 to 1988 were 8 and 13% respectively, with retention channel of 80723 and 267470 tonnes. Responses over the past 60–70 years have differed between the pools‐some channel characteristics have attained a new dynamic equilibrium and others have not. In Pool 3 the average bed slope has been reduced by 000004 (44%) and has attained equilibrium, but in Pool 2 the supply and redistribution of sediment have not been sufficient to reduce the bed slope. There are continuous areas of degradation and aggradation in Pool 3 but discontinuous areas in Pool 2, reflecting different stages in slope adjustment. Cross‐sections have become wider and shallower in Pool 3 but narrower and deeper in Pool 2. These adjustments are influenced by local boundary conditions, floodplain morphology and the position of the study reach in the sequence of weirs. In general, the situation in the lower Murray does not conform to conventional models of the impact of regulation, which are based on data from upland dams. The Murray's gross morphology remains as a relict of the natural, semi‐arid regime. Low contemporary stream energies and cohesive bank materials restrict the initiation of channel metamorphosis and prolong the time required for the completion of channel adjustment.