Author(s): Said Alhaddad

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Abstract: Reservoir sedimentation represents a pervasive and increasingly critical issue worldwide, leading to the gradual loss of storage capacity and the degradation of dam functionality (Oehy & Schleiss, 2007). As sediments accumulate within reservoirs, they reduce the available water storage volume, disrupt sediment continuity, and alter downstream river morphology and ecosystems. Given that dams are essential water infrastructure for flood control, irrigation, hydropower generation, and water supply, sedimentation poses a significant threat to their operational efficiency and long-term sustainability (Chamoun et al., 2016). To address these challenges, the implementation of effective sediment management strategies has become imperative. Figure 1 shows a number of these strategies, which aim to mitigate the adverse impacts of sediment deposition through methods that either prevent, route, or remove sediments from the reservoir system (Annandale et al., 2016). With regard to dredging, water injection dredging (WID) has emerged as an innovative and energy-efficient technique for sediment mobilization and redistribution. In WID, low-pressure water jets are directed onto the reservoir bed, inducing sediment resuspension and generating turbidity currents capable of transporting sediments toward the dam outlet. These artificially-induced turbidity currents facilitate sediment routing, a process conceptually aligned with the naturally-occurring turbidity currents traditionally utilized for sediment venting (Chamoun et al., 2018).

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Year: 2026