Sediment particles originating from erosion process in the catchments are propagated along the river flow. When river water is stored in a large reservoir, sediments settle down, thereby reducing the capacity of the reservoir. Reduction in storage capacity of large reservoirs beyond a limit hampers the purpose for which these are designed. Assessment of sediments deposition, their removal/exclusion and management becomes crucial for smooth operation of large storage reservoirs.
In case of river diversion schemes, silted water passes through turbines and damages the under water parts of the turbine, blades, nozzle and other equipment. It is, therefore, imperative to provide suitable silt management arrangement in the run-off the river schemes for the smooth functioning of the water conductor system as well as power house equipment.
This paper deals with the sedimentation management of a large storage reservoir as also a run-off the river scheme with small diurnal storage. Case studies of Gobind Sagar Reservoir of Bhakra Dam, a river Sutlej and Beas Sutlej Link Project, a 990 MW capacity run-off the river project with small diurnal storage located on river Beas have been discussed. Both these projects are located in the lower foothills of western Himalayas. Various silt management and exclusion techniques used in both these projects, as described in the present paper, have proved successful.
