The Riverbed Evolution and its Influence on Channel in Tunaozi Reach after Three Gorges Water Storage

Tunaozi reach is one of the three famous sediment depositing reach on the Sichuan section of Yangtze River. It’s on the fluctuation backwater area when the Three Gorges Project is operated at the level of 135 m. According to the measured data before and after impoundment, this paper analyzes and calculates the sediment of the reach, and discusses the variation of silting and scouring of the reach after impoundment. Thus, this paper will have a study on the reason that silting and scouring lead to channel condition change. The result as follow: after impoundment, the bank-up water level of the reach has been head up 2 m during the flood season, sediment deposition becomes heavier than before impoundment; in post-flood season, the water level is 139m in November, it has been head up 7 m, compared with low water level in natural, current slowly flow further, the silt lack of enough scour in flood season, it leads to cumulative deposition. Until December 2005, thalweg plane position move left 200 m after impoundment. The maximum silting height of the thalweg longitudinal section is 30 m. The prime channel has been basically silted flat, year. Since the Three Gorges reservoir began to store water for three years, in low water level periods, ship tank is out of shallow, some timely dredging measure should be taken and make sure the smooth channel.