Freshwater Gravel Mining and Dredging Issues
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WHITE PAPER Freshwater Gravel Mining and Dredging Issues Prepared for Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Washington Department of Ecology Washington Department of Transportation April 2002 WHITE PAPER Freshwater Gravel Mining and Dredging Issues Prepared for Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Washington Department of Ecology Washington Department of Transportation Prepared by G. Mathias Kondolf Matt Smeltzer Lisa Kimball Center for Environmental Design Research 390 Wurster Hall University of California Berkeley CA 94720 December 10, 2001 Freshwater Gravel Mining and Dredging Issues Contents Introduction and Scope ....................................................................................................................1 Gravel Supply, Transport, and River Processes...............................................................................3 Erosion/Sediment Yield ............................................................................................................3 Continuity of Sediment Transport in River Systems................................................................4 Channel Form, Channel Migration, and Riverine Habitats ......................................................6 Effects of Dams and Gravel Extraction on Sediment Transport Continuity..........................10 Effect of Dams on High Flow Regime and Channel Geomorphology and Ecology..............11 Salmon Use of Gravel-Bed Rivers.................................................................................................13 Salmon Life Cycle and the Role of Gravel.............................................................................13 Migration................................................................................................................................14 Spawning, Incubation, and Emergence ..................................................................................14 Gravel Size Requirements for Salmonid Reproduction..........................................................15 Redd excavation............................................................................................................17 Incubation......................................................................................................................18 Emergence.....................................................................................................................19 Juvenile Rearing and Intra-Cobble Habitat...................................................................20 Fluvial Gravels as Sources of Construction Aggregate .................................................................21 Fluvial and Glacial Outwash Deposits ...................................................................................21 Other Potential Aggregate Sources.........................................................................................22 Reservoir Deltas ............................................................................................................22 Dredger Tailings............................................................................................................24 Recycled Concrete Rubble............................................................................................24 Aggregate Extraction Methods ......................................................................................................27 Instream Gravel Mining..........................................................................................................27 Bar Scalping..................................................................................................................27 Dry-Pit Channel Mining................................................................................................28 Wet-Pit Channel Mining ...............................................................................................29 Bar Excavation..............................................................................................................29 Instream Gravel Traps...................................................................................................29 Channel-wide Instream Mining.....................................................................................30 Floodplain and Terrace Pit Mining.........................................................................................30 Extent of Aggregate Mining Along Washington State Rivers.......................................................35 In-channel Mining ..................................................................................................................35 Floodplain Mines ....................................................................................................................37 Effects of Instream Aggregate Mining...........................................................................................39 Transient Effects of Site Operations .......................................................................................40 tpj /final sand and gravel.doc April 4, 2002 i Freshwater Gravel Mining and Dredging Issues Bar Scalping Effects ...............................................................................................................41 Effects of Channel-wide and Instream Pit Extraction............................................................44 Effect on Sediment Budget.....................................................................................................46 Downstream Coastal Sediment Effects ..................................................................................46 Channel Incision.....................................................................................................................48 Channel Instability........................................................................................................49 Infrastructure Damage...................................................................................................49 Groundwater Effects .....................................................................................................53 Bed Coarsening and Fining ....................................................................................................54 Hyporheic Zone Effects..........................................................................................................55 Cumulative, Off-Site Impacts.................................................................................................56 Effects of Small-Scale Extractions .........................................................................................56 Biological Consequences of Instream Gravel Mining............................................................56 Effects of Floodplain and Terrace Pit Mining ...............................................................................59 Conversion of Existing Floodplain Habitat and other Land Uses ..........................................59 Channelization/Levee Effects.................................................................................................60 Hyporheic Zone Groundwater Flux Changes and Water Quality Impacts.............................61 Creation of Lentic, Warm-Water Habitat...............................................................................62 Floodplain Pit Capture............................................................................................................62 Documented Pit Captures in Washington.....................................................................63 Specific Considerations for Alluvial Fans ....................................................................70 Specific Considerations for Braided Rivers..................................................................72 Cumulative, Off-Site Impacts.................................................................................................73 Biological Effects of Floodplain and Terrace Pit Mining ......................................................74 Freshwater Navigational Dredging................................................................................................75 Purpose and Extent .................................................................................................................75 Navigational Dredging along the Snake River .......................................................................75 Navigational Dredging along the Columbia River .................................................................75 Agricultural Drainage Dredging and Channelization....................................................................77 Purpose and Extent .................................................................................................................77 Effects .....................................................................................................................................77 Biological Consequences........................................................................................................77 Management of Instream Gravel Mining.......................................................................................79 Resolving the Effects of Instream Mining from Other Influences.........................................79 Lag in Channel Response to Gravel Mining...........................................................................79 Strategies to Regulate Instream Gravel Mining......................................................................80 The “Replenishment Rate” Concept.......................................................................................80