Flushing

Abstract: Reservoir releases may be specified for the purpose of maintaining or improving the downstream channel and habitat. A wide variety of ecological or management objectives may be defined for such flushing flows (which may be broadly divided into sediment maintenance and channel maintenance flows). To specify a particular discharge and water volume for a flushing flow requires that the ecological or management objectives be translated into specific physical objectives for which flows can be specified. Flushing objectives that cannot be translated into definable flows are of little practical use, regardless of their intrinsic importance. Once defined, flushing flow objectives may be shown to conflict in some cases. For example, no flushing flow can satisfy the typical sediment maintenance objectives of maximizing sand removal and minimizing gravel loss. A discharge that mobilizes sediment throughout the channel cross section for channel maintenance purposes will often produce comparable transport rates of sand and gravel, thereby eliminating the selective transport of sand needed to reduce the sand content in the bed. Some nonflushing alternatives, such as artificial gravel replenishment and pool dredging, can be used to improve the performance of flushing flows. Selection among these alternatives and specification of a flushing flow discharge and volume depend directly on quantitative estimates of sand and gravel transport as a function of flow rate and volume.

Abstract: A model is developed for tidal flushing of a small, well‐mixed embayment, based on the classic tidal prism flushing formation. Both a flushing expression and a steady‐state concentration expression for a nonconservative tracer are derived. The return flow factor is identified as an important, but previously poorly constrained, input to the flushing model. A model for estimating the return flow factor is derived considering the fate of the plume of effluent water, which exits the embayment mouth on ebb tide, mixes with coastal waters, and partially returns to the embayment on flood tide. The predicted return flow factor depends primarily on the relative phases and speeds of the embayment channel currents and coastal currents and on the amount of mixing that occurs outside the embayment. The return flow factor model is solved for a range of representative cases, and the results are plotted for reference. The complete flushing model is compared to the results of a dye study performed in a marina basin in Ind...

Abstract: The control of reservoir sedimentation through hydraulic flushing has been employed in several parts of the world to sustain the useful storage capacity of the reservoirs. However, no comprehensive analysis has been conducted to understand the sediment flushing processes. In this study, laboratory experiments were performed to investigate the flushing processes during drawdown flushing, including outflow sediment discharge, characteristics of the flushing channel and flushing effectiveness. From both laboratory and field data, it is found that outflow sediment discharge can be well related to a hydrauic parameter which is a function of outlet discharge, water-surface gradient and flushing channel width. It is also found that flushing efficiency increases dramatically when retrogressive erosion emerges. A geomorphic relationship is used to estimate the equilibrium width of the flushing channel. A 1-D diffusion model presented herein is employed only to simulate the general trend of bed profile evolution an...

Abstract: During January 2014, an industrial solvent contaminated West Virginia’s Elk River and 15% of the state population’s tap water. A rapid in-home survey and water testing was conducted 2 weeks following the spill to understand resident perceptions, tap water chemical levels, and premise plumbing flushing effectiveness. Water odors were detected in all 10 homes sampled before and after premise plumbing flushing. Survey and medical data indicated flushing caused adverse health impacts. Bench-scale experiments and physiochemical property predictions showed flushing promoted chemical volatilization, and contaminants did not appreciably sorb into cross-linked polyethylene (PEX) pipe. Flushing reduced tap water 4-methylcyclohexanemethanol (4-MCHM) concentrations within some but not all homes. 4-MCHM was detected at unflushed (<10 to 420 μg/L) and flushed plumbing systems (<10 to 96 μg/L) and sometimes concentrations differed among faucets within each home. All waters contained less 4-MCHM than the 1000 μg/L Centers for Disease Control drinking water limit, but one home exceeded the 120 μg/L drinking water limit established by independent toxicologists. Nearly all households refused to resume water use activities after flushing because of water safety concerns. Science based flushing protocols should be developed to expedite recovery, minimize health impacts, and reduce concentrations in homes when future events occur.