Effect of Erosion-Control Structures on Sediment and Nutrient Transport, Edgewood Creek Drainage, Lake Tahoe Basin, Nevada, 1981-83

摘要

Three sites in the Edgewood Creek basin with a combined drainage area of about 1.2 square miles were selected to assess the effect of erosion-control structures along Nevada State Highway 207 on sediment and nutrient transport. As a result of the erosion-control structures, mean annual concentrations of total sediment were reduced from about 24,000 to about 410 milligrams per liter at site two and from about 1,900 to about 190 milligrams per liter at site three. Sediment loads were reduced from about 240 to about 10 tons per year at site two and from about 550 to about 110 tons per year at site three. At site one, in contrast, mean concentrations and loads remained low throughout the study period. Mean concentrations and loads of total iron also were significantly reduced after construction at sites two and three, whereas mean concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus species did not change appreciably.