Rio Grande Erosion Potential Demonstration: Report for the National BorderTechnology Program

摘要

The demonstration study focused on the stretch of the Rio Grande between El Pasoand Fort Quitman, Texas, in the southern end of the engineered channel of the Rio Grande. Three field study sites were selected. The first was at the Riverside Dam, the second was at Alamo Arroyo, and the third was at Balluco Arroyo. A study at the first site looked at potential erosion of sediments that were deposited behind the dam prior to its destruction in a flood in 1987. These sediments may be potentially remobilized by subsequent flooding. The second and third sites are where large arroyos enter the Rio Grande from the American side.These arroyos provide periodic influxes of sediment that obstruct the channel from the Rio Grande and may cause channel overflow as well as sedimentation problems further downstream. Each site was mapped and characterized in terms of vegetation and soil distribution. Sediment samples were collected and erosion rates and sediment grain size distributions were determined.