Two-dimensional hydraulic-habitat modeling of a rehabilitated river Karen Pei-Talc Ng Department of Civil Engineering and Applied Mechanics McGill University, Montréal August 2005 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree ofMaster of Engineering © Karen Pei-Tak Ng 2005 Library and Bibliothèque et 1+1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l'édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-25001-3 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 978-0-494-25001-3 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l'Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, électronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriété du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. ln compliance with the Canadian Conformément à la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privée, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont été enlevés de cette thèse. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page cou nt, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. ••• Canada Abstract The application of a 2D hydraulic-habitat model, River2D, to simulate flows and fish habitat areas in a reach of the Nicolet River (Québec, Canada) containing two sets of double-wing rock CUITent deflectors to enhance fish habitat was examined. Depth­ averaged velo city in the reach was determined using one or two measurement points in the vertical under the assumption that the profile was logarithmic; however, the presence ofboulders and obstructions disturbed the profile, making it difficult to characterize using only two measurement points. The sensitivity of the simulation results to roughness characterization, topographic scale, mesh refinement, and boundary conditions was evaluated. The simulated and observed depths had correlation coefficients of 0.93 to 0.97, while the velocity correlation coefficients were 0.56 to 0.67. Qualitatively, the model accurately predicted the flow patterns, e.g. the recirculation zones downstream of the deflectors. Habitat suitability curves for brown trout, taken from literature, were used in the habitat model. Simulated discharges from 0.74 m3/s to 1.94 m3/s were critical minimum flows for suitable spawning brown trout habitat. The model was adequate for qualitatively simulating flow and habitat in this reach, however, the complex flow conditions may be better represented by a 3D model. Résumé L'application d'un modèle d'habitat hydraulique 2D, River2D, qui modélise l'écoulement et l'habitat du poisson dans une rivière réhabilitée (la rivière Nicolet, Québec, Canada) a été évaluée dans ce mémoire. De plus, la sensitivité des résultats par rapport à la caractérisation de la rugosité, l'échelle topographique, le raffinement des mailles, et les conditions initiales a été examinée. Les profondeurs théoriques et simulées correspondent convenablement, présentant des coefficients de corrélation de 0.93 à 0.97. Par contre, les vitesses montrent des coefficients de corrélation de 0.56 à 0.67. D'une manière qualitative, le modèle représente bien l'écoulement, en particulier les zones de recirculation. Des courbes de préférences pour la truite brune ont été prises dans la littérature. Les débits simulés entre 0.74 m3/s et 1.94 m3/s sont critiques pour l'habitat utilisé pour la fraie. Le modèle 2D pourrait simuler l'écoulement et l'habitat 11 qualitativement, par contre un modèle 3D pourrait possiblement produire de meilleurs résultats. III Acknowledgements First and foremost, 1 would like to express my deepest thanks to my supervisor, Professor Susan Gaskin, for all the guidance and support she has given me throughout the years. Rer encouragement has allowed me to exp and my horizons both academically and personally, and 1 am forever grateful. Rer knowledge, insight, and assistance in the writing and editing ofthis thesis are greatly appreciated. 1 also thank Professor Pascale Biron from Concordia University for facilitating the collection of field data. Additionally, 1 thank David Carré for his tremendous help with the organization, scheduling, and collection of field data. 1 am extremely grateful for the help of the numerous field assistants: Cynthia Bluteau, Lara Roshizaki, Jeremy Groves, Chad Davey, and Jaime Carrera. Thank you all for enduring the long hours of manual labour, rain or shine, as well as sharing in this great experience with me which had its share of bad - getting shocked by the electric fence, getting the car stuck in the mud, finding miscellaneous dead animaIs in the forest - and good times - laughing about getting shocked by the electric fence, laughing hysterically about getting the car stuck in the mud, after work "reward" ice-cappuccinos. 1 will cherish those memories forever. 1 appreciate all the help that the staff of the Department of Civil Engineering has provided over the years, in particular John Bartczak and Damon Kiperchuk for all the laughs and always having exactly the right equipment 1 need. 1 also thank Salem (for allowing us to take over his office with our equipment), Aaron, Felix, Elizabeth, Walid, William, Marjorie, Simon, Caroline, Chad, Katherine, Jackie, Greg, Jamie, and Tim for all the fun times. Finally, thanks to my family and friends who have always been there for me. This research was made possible by funds provided by the Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la nature et les technologies (FQRNT) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC). IV Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ..................................................................................................•......•.•.•.•.•.•....... v List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viü List of Tables ................................................................................................................................... x Notation ......................................................................................................................................... xii 1.0 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 1 2.0 Literature Review ..................................................................................................................... 4 2.1 Fish Habitat in N atural Rivers ............................................................................................ 4 2.1.1 Fish Habitat Enhancement Structures ....................................................................................... 5 2.1.2 Current Deflectors ........................................................................................................................ 8 2.1.2.1 Construction Material ........................................................................................................... 9 2.1.2.2 Deflector Configuration ...................................................................................................... 10 2.1.2.3 Contraction Ratio ................................................................................................................ 10 2.1.2.4 Deflector Spacing ................................................................................................................. 10 2.1.2.5 Orientation and Dimensions of Deflector .......................................................................... Il 2.1.3 Maintenance of Instream Structures ........................................................................................ Il 2.1.4 Case Studies oflnstream Structures: Successes and Failures ................................................ 12 2.1.4.1 Successful Implementation of Instream Structures .......................................................... 12 2.1.4.2 Unsuccessful Implementation of Instream Structures ..................................................... 13 2.1.4.3 Lessons Learned .................................................................................................................