Final Report
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The necessities to improve water recreation on the Mill Creek in Walla Walla Sjoerd van Hoof Delft University of Technology 24 October 2016 The necessities to improve water recreation on the Mill Creek in Walla Walla By S. (Sjoerd) van Hoof 4273125 in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at Delft University of Technology Supervisors Ir. H.J. Verhagen DR. C.J. Sloff ii Abstract In Walla Walla, Washington the Mill Creek flows through an outdated concrete spillway that needs renovation. The city council of Walla Walla saw this as an opportunity to further develop this channel. Their desires include conservation of the fish ladder, enabling to sail by boat and to prettify the spillway. A Sobek 1D model was built to give a proper insight of the current situation. To verify the model calibration was done by using USGS data and GIS maps of the Walla Walla council. Also various design alternatives were specified to see which form of recreation is most feasible. The results from the model in the current situation showed that the water depth was too low while its velocity was too high for the different vessels. To solve this issue, an upgrade for the concrete spillway was proposed. By roughening the riverbed and placing groynes into the creek, the water depth increased and the water velocity dropped, according to the improved model. However, the design is a rough sketch that forms the base for a more detailed study. It is recommended to continue improving the model to verify the results which are presented in this report to be sure the proposed upgraded design will contribute to the desires. iii Introduction In the United States of America, there is a little city in the state Washington called Walla Walla. A creek flows through this city called the Mill Creek. This creek starts in the mountains East from Walla Walla. The water meanders through the green nature and offers a breeding place for fish such as salmon. But as soon as the creek arrives in the city, the water is transferred into a concrete spillway. The US Army Corps investigated the channel several decades ago and reviewed the weak spots of the channel. (Robinson & Copeland, 1986) During a council meeting in August 2016, there was a discussion to make plans and goals for the channel in Walla Walla. The conclusion of this meeting between the Walla Walla tribe chief and the Corps of Engineers was that it is indeed necessary to invest in the channel to significantly improve it. The result in one of their meetings included some wishes. One of the wishes is to be able to realise water recreation on the Mill Creek in the city centre, such as a water taxi. At the same time the fish that swim upstream to their breeding spots should not be hindered. In order to help the community of Walla Walla Sjoerd van Hoof was asked to take a look into the plans of the council. This report investigates the opportunities of water recreation are possible on the Mill Creek using a model made in Sobek; a water modelling tool. In the report different design alternatives are discussed and recommendations have been written to inform the Walla Walla council at best. The calculations will be done in SI standards, as Sobek is only able to calculate in the metric system. However, textual explanation and conclusions will also be given in imperial units. iv Table of Contents Abstract ...................................................................................................................... iii Introduction ................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ........................................................................................................ v 1 – Problem definition ................................................................................................. 1 2 – Current Situation ................................................................................................... 3 Dimensions .......................................................................................................................... 3 Flow rates ............................................................................................................................. 3 Gage height ......................................................................................................................... 4 Gradient ............................................................................................................................... 4 Fish ....................................................................................................................................... 4 3 – Model .................................................................................................................... 5 Sobek ................................................................................................................................... 5 What is sobek? ............................................................................................................................... 5 Why Sobek? .................................................................................................................................... 5 Technical specs .................................................................................................................... 6 1D FLow ............................................................................................................................... 7 Calibration ........................................................................................................................... 7 4 – Design alternatives .............................................................................................. 10 Water taxi ........................................................................................................................... 10 SUP .................................................................................................................................... 10 Dinghy ............................................................................................................................... 10 Kayak ................................................................................................................................. 11 Pedalo ................................................................................................................................ 11 Pull Ferry ............................................................................................................................ 12 Summary ............................................................................................................................ 12 Temperature ...................................................................................................................... 12 5 – Simulation current situation ................................................................................. 14 Water depth ....................................................................................................................... 14 Flow rate ............................................................................................................................ 14 Discharge ........................................................................................................................... 14 Results ................................................................................................................................ 14 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 15 6 – Renovation design ............................................................................................... 16 Increase of roughness ........................................................................................................ 16 Implementation of groynes ................................................................................................ 16 Model ................................................................................................................................. 17 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 18 v 7 – Recommendations ............................................................................................... 19 Bibliography .............................................................................................................. 20 Table of figures ......................................................................................................... 22 Table of tables ........................................................................................................... 23 Appendices ............................................................................................................... 24 A – Chézy coefficient calculation ....................................................................................... 24 B – pull ferry calculation ..................................................................................................... 25 C – Model Results of Design alternatives current situation ............................................... 26 Water taxi ..................................................................................................................................... 26 SUP ..............................................................................................................................................