Sedimentological and Hydrological Investigation of Mosul Dam Reservoir

DOC TOR A L T H E S I S
Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering

Division of Mining and Geotechnical Engineering
Issa Elias Issa

ISSN 1402-1544
Sedimentological and Hydrological
ISBN 978-91-7583-232-6 (print)
ISBN 978-91-7583-233-3 (pdf) Investigation of Mosul Dam Reservoir
Sedimentological and Hydrological Investigation of Mosul Dam Reservoir

Luleå University of Technology 2015
Survey 2011
Elevation Survey 1986

330 m a.s.l
251 m a.s.l
Depositional area
Issa Elias Issa

SEDIMENTOLOGICAL AND
HYDROLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF
MOSUL DAM RESERVOIR
DOCTORAL THESIS
BY
ISSA ELIAS ISSA
TO
DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL, ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCES
ENGINEERING
DIVISION OF MINING AND GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING
LULEÅ UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY
SE-97187 LULEÅ, SWEDEN
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

FOR DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
IN
WATER RESOURCES ENGINEERING
2015
i
Sedimentological and Hydrological Investigation of Mosul Dam Reservoir
Issa Elias Issa
Division of Mining and Geotechnical Engineering
Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering
Luleå University of Technology
Opponent /Examiner: Professor Ian Foster, School of Science and Technology, University of
Northampton, Northampton, UK.
Examination Committee: Professor Björn Klöve, Water Resources and Environmental

Engineering Laboratory, University of Oulu, Uleaborg, Finland.
Professor Ronny Berndtsson, Center for Middle Eastern Studies and

Department of Water Resources Engineering, Lund University, Lund,
Sweden.
Reader Jillian Labadz, Collage of Arts and Science, School of Animal

Rural & Environmental Sciences, Nottingham Trent University,
Nottingham, UK.
Supervisors: Professor Sven Knutsson and Professor Nadhir Al-Ansari, Division of

Mining and Geotechnical Engineering, Luleå University of
Technology, Luleå, Sweden.
Co-supervisors: Dr. Moayad Khaleel, Department of Dams and Water Resources

Engineering, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq, and Dr. Govand
Sherwany, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research—
KRG, Erbil, Iraq.
Printed by
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ISSN
ISBN 1402-1544
ISSN
ISBN 978-91-7583-232-6 (print)
ISBN
ISBN 978-91-7583-233-3 (pdf)
Luleå 2015
Luleå 2015
www.ltu.se
ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to present my sincere thanks and gratitude to the main supervisors Professor Sven
Knutsson and Professor Nadhir Al-Ansari for their supervision, encouragement and continuous
guidance during all the stages of the work. The author also appreciates the cooperation of the co-
supervisors Dr. Moayad Khaleel and Dr. Govand Sherwany for their discussions.
I am very grateful to the Iraqi Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Mosul
University for providing me scholarship and I greatly appreciate the Division of Mining and
Geotechnical Engineering at the Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources
Engineering, Luleå University of Technology for providing me the possibility to carry out this
research.
I am very indebted to Professor Ian Foster and Dr. Khalid Al-Shaikh-Ali for their assistance and
discussions and to Mr. Yarub Yousif for his assistance during the fieldwork.
I am most grateful to the staff of Remote Sensing Center at Mosul University and Mosul Dam
Project for providing me the topographic maps, aerial photos and operation data.
I would like to thank also the staff of Luleå University of Technology, Sweden.
Special thanks to my friends and relatives in Luleå for their support.
Finally, the continuous encouragement and support of my wife Zainb, my extended family and
lovely kids Andraws, Reem, Noor and Petros is greatly acknowledged.
iii
iv
ABSTRACT
Reservoir sedimentation is the main problem that directly affects the performance of dams due to
the reduction in the storage capacity of their reservoirs. Monitoring the storage capacity of
reservoirs is an important issue for the planners, designers and operators of the dams. Iraq mainly
depends on the rivers Tigris and Euphrates for its water resources. Until the 1970s, Iraq was
regarded as a rich country with regard to its water resources, due to the presence of the Tigris
and Euphrates rivers. Recently, its water resources have decreased significantly due to an
increased water demand and global climate changes. In view of this situation, it became
necessary to know about Iraq’s water resource trends to adopt prudent water resource
management strategies. Among these strategies is the assessment of the sedimentation rates in its
reservoirs to determine their actual storage capacities and reduction rates of storage capacity
through time.
Mosul Dam Reservoir (MDR) is the biggest and one of the most important strategic projects in
Iraq. It is a multipurpose project constructed to store water and to handle flood control and
hydropower generation but the main purpose was to provide water for three irrigation projects
that cover 2,500 km2 of agricultural areas. The dam is located on the River Tigris in northern
Iraq, 60 km north-west of the city of Mosul. The project was designed to store 11.11 km3 with
water surface area of about 380 km2 at the maximum operation level 330 m a.s.l. It is noteworthy
to mention that MDR has operated since 1986, and no detailed studies have been carried out to
determine the sedimentation characteristics in its reservoir since that time. In the present work,
the storage capacity, sedimentation rates, area-storage capacity (ASC) curves, sediment nature
and their grain size distribution and bottom morphology of its reservoir were studied. Direct and
indirect methods were used to achieve these goals.
In the direct methods, two topographic maps for MDR’s area were established in a triangular
irregular network (TIN) format using Arc/GIS software. One of them before dam construction
from pre-construction topographic map scale 1:50000 and other from bathymetric survey that
was conducted in 2011. These maps were used; to calculate the volume of deposited sediment, to
develop and evaluate ASC curves, to determine the bed morphology and to estimate the useful
life of MDR. The results of the two surveys indicated that 1.143 km3 of sediment were deposited
in MDR during the 25 years of its operation. This implies that the reduction in its original
storage capacity was 10.29% with an annual reduction rate of 0.441% which is less than the
sedimentation rates in the worldwide and Middle East. Furthermore, the results showed that
0.563 km3 and 0.58 km3 of sediment were deposited in live storage and dead storage zones
respectively. This indicates that the live and dead storage zones lost 6.9% and 19.66% of their
storage capacity till 2011 respectively. According to these results, MDR’s useful life will be
about 127 years or 121.5 years based on the depletion of its dead storage or 50% of its maximum
storage capacity respectively. Likewise, the survey suggested new ASC curves for MDR.
Comparison of the two TIN maps showed most of the sediment was deposited in the upper part
of MDR, where the River Tigris enters MDR and it gradually reduced towards the dam site.
v
There were erosion areas within the reservoir and mainly close to the dam body which might be
due to dissolving the gypsum.
In addition, fifty six sediment samples were collected from the bottom of its reservoir to study
the nature of sediment deposited using the Van-Veen grab sampler. The samples were covering
most of the reservoir area. The results revealed that the sediments were comprised of gravel,
sand, silt and clay in the ratios 3.8%, 15%, 55.5% and 25.7% respectively. The distribution of
these sediments indicates that the silt portion represents the highest or 77% of the bottom
sediment of this reservoir followed by clay 13.5% and then sand with gravel 9.5%. However,
sand percentages are the highest in the northern zone of the reservoir where the River Tigris
enters the reservoir and decrease gradually towards the dam site. In the meantime, silt percentage
decreases towards the dam site whilst the finer fraction (i.e. clay) increases. The sediment is
poorly sorted, nearly symmetrical in skewness and leptokurtic, very leptokurtic, to mesocratic.
Indirect approaches using several empirical and semi-empirical techniques to determine

sedimentation characteristics in MDR were used. Three empirical approaches based on the
particle grain size of the sediment deposited showed that MDR’s useful life ranged from 122.5 to
132 years. Six different empirical methods to determine the sediment trap efficiency (TE) of
MDR were adopted. These methods were based on the residence time principle (water retention
time). The methods were used to determine monthly TE and long-term TE for MDR for the
period 1986 to 2011. The TE results with sediment entering MDR were used to calculate the
amount of sediment deposited during its operational period. The comparison of the results with
the bathymetric survey showed that all techniques gave good agreement, especially those
depending on monthly TE, but the method that was proposed for large dams gave a more
accurate result with 0.350% percentage error.
To find out the sediment deposited depth at the Mosul dam site and to establish and predict
changes in its ASC curves, four empirical and semi-empirical techniques were used for MDR.
The results obtained were evaluated using the bathymetric survey data. The comparison of the
results for establishing the ASC curves showed that one method agreed with bathymetric results
whilst two methods gave good results for the sedimentation depth at the dam site. Furthermore,
three of these methods were modified to predict the future changes in the ASC curves with
sedimentation, based on the data from 11 reservoirs in the USA. The modified approaches were
applied to MDR to predict the future ASC curves for 50, 75, 100 and 125 years. The curves
predicted by these methods demonstrated compliance with the method adopted by the U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation ‘area reduction method’. Finally, the indirect approaches can help
decision makers, planners and designers, to monitor sedimentation characteristics and to
implement prudent strategies for management of MDR in the future and to know the most
suitable technique to adopt for MDR in the future.
Keywords: Area-storage capacity curves; Area reduction method; Bathymetric survey;

Losing storage capacity; Mosul dam; Reservoir bottom morphology; Reservoir sedimentation;
Sediment trap efficiency; Useful life of dam.
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LIST OF APPENDED PAPERS
The thesis based on the following articles:
Paper I:
Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N. and Knutsson, S. (2013) Sedimentation and New Operational Curves
for Mosul Dam, Iraq, Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (7), pp.1–11. DOI:
10.1080/02626667.2013.789138 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2013.789138
Paper II:
Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N., Sherwany, G. and Knutsson, S. (2013) Sedimentation Processes and
Useful Life of Mosul Dam Reservoir, Iraq, Engineering, 5, pp. 779-784. doi:
10.4236/eng.2013.510094. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/eng.2013.510094
Paper III:
Al-Ansari, N., Issa, I. E., Sherwany, G. and Knutsson, S. (2013) Sedimentation in the Mosul
Reservoir of Northern Iraq, Journal of Environmental Hydrology, 21, Paper 7, pp. 1-10.
Paper IV:
Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N. and Knutsson, S. (2014) Mosul Dam Reservoir Sedimentation
Characteristics, Iraq, Journal of Environmental Hydrology, 22, Paper 3, pp. 1-10.
Paper V:
Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N. and Knutsson, S. (2013) Changes in Bed Morphology of Mosul Dam
Reservoir, Journal of Advanced Science and Engineering Research, 3 (2), pp. 86-95.
Paper VI:
Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N., Sherwany, G. and Knutsson, S. (2014) Evaluation and Modification
of Some Empirical and Semi-empirical Approaches for Prediction of Area-Storage Capacity
Curves in Reservoirs of Dams, Submitted for publication in: Journal of Hydrologic
Engineering, ASCE, (under review).
Paper VII:
Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N., Knutsson, S. and Sherwany, G. (2014) Monitoring and Evaluating
the Sedimentation Process Using Trap Efficiency Approaches, Submitted for publication in:
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, (under review).
vii
viii
LIST OF RELATED PAPERS
Publications were also presented during the PhD but are not included in the
thesis:
Paper I:
Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N., Knutsson, S. and Khaleel, M. (2012) The Effect of Operation of
Mosul Dam on Sediment Transport in its Reservoir, 6th International Conference on Scour
and Erosion, ICSE6 Paris - August 27-31.
Paper II:
Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N., Knutsson, S. and Khaleel, M. (2012) Sediment Delivered in the
Upper Part of Mosul Reservoir Using Physical Model, Journal of Civil Engineering and
Architecture, USA, 6 (11), pp. 1544–1550.
Paper III:
Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N., Khaleel, M. and Knutsson, S. (2014) Experimental Analysis of
Sediment Deposition Due to the Effect of an Upstream Reservoir Backwater, Journal of Civil
Engineering and Architecture, USA, 8 (9), pp. 1185-1193.
Paper IV:
Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N. and Knutsson, S. (2013) Assessment Sedimentation Rate in the
Mosul dam reservoir, Iraq, IAHS IAPSO IASPEI 2013 Joint Assembly Gothenburg, Sweden,
July 22-26.
Paper V:
Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N., Sherwany, G. and Knutsson, S. (2014) Expected Future of Water
Resources within Tigris-Euphrates Rivers Basin, Iraq, Journal of Water Resource and
Protection, 6, pp. 421-432. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jwarp.2014.65042
Paper VI:
Mohammad, M. E., Al-Ansari, N., Issa, I. E. and Knutsson, S. (2014) Estimation of
Deposited Sediment Loads in Mosul Dam Reservoir Using HEC-RAS Model, Submitted for
publication in: Lakes & Reservoirs: Research and Management, (under review).
ix
x
ABBREVIATIONS
Factor used in general equation for storage capacity of reservoirs

௖ Catchment area upstream dam
‫ܣ‬௠ Water surface area of reservoir at maximum pool level
ASC Area-storage capacity curves
‫ܣ‬௬ Water surface area of reservoir at water depth y
Storage capacity of reservoir
‫ܥ‬௬ Storage capacity of the reservoir at water depth y
‫ܥ‬௠ Maximum storage capacity of reservoir

Characteristic weight of annual sediment inflow
‫ܩ‬௦ Specific gravity for bed material
Annual water inflow
Retention time factor
‫ܯ‬ Shape factor of reservoir
MDR Mosul dam reservoir
ܰ Reservoir coefficient
ܰ௠ Modified reservoir coefficient
Reservoir coefficient obtained using minimization of the sum of squares of the
ܰௌௌா
errors
ܰ‫כ‬ Reservoir coefficient
Sediment trap efficiency of the reservoir
TIN Triangular irregular network
UTM Universal Transverse Mercator
୐ Useful life of the dam
‫ݕ‬ Water depth above the streambed at dam site
‫ݕ‬௠ Maximum pool depth at dam site
ο Residence time in year
ᇱ
ɀ Specific weight of sediment deposited
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xii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I
CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background ………………………………………..………………………. 1

1.2 Determination the Sedimentation Rates …………….………………………… 5
1.2.1 The Direct Methods …………………………….…………………….. 5
1.2.2 The Indirect Methods ………………………………………………... 8
1.3 Objectives and Achievements of the Work …………………………...………... 9
CHAPTER 2 - STUDY AREA
2.1 Mosul dam …………………………….……….………………………….. 13

2.2 River Tigris and Catchment Area of Mosul Dam ….………………………….... 14
2.3 Mosul Dam Reservoir ……….…………………………………………….... 16
2.4 Climatic Features …………….…………………………………………….. 17
2.5 Geology …….……………………………………….…………………….. 18
CHAPTER 3 - SEDIMENTATION IN THE MOSUL DAM RESERVOIR
3.1 Topographic Map …………………………………………………………... 19

3.2 Bathymetric Survey …………………………………………..…………….. 22
3.2.1 Field Techniques and Collecting Data ………………………...……...…. 22
3.2.2 Data Processing ……………………..………………………………... 24
3.2.3 Bathymetric Survey Results ……………..……………………………... 25
3.3 Sediment Survey ……………………………..…………………………….. 30
3.3.1 Sediment Grain Size and its Classification …….………………………… 30
3.3.2 Sediment Statistical Parameters ………………….…………………….. 34
CHAPTER 4 - EMPIRICAL AND SEMI-EMPIRICAL APPROACHES TO
ASSESS THE SEDIMENTATION IN MOSUL DAM RESERVOIR
4.1 Useful Life of Mosul Dam Reservoir ………………...……………………….. 37

4.2 Trapping Efficiency and Techniques Used ……………..……………………… 38
4.2.1 Sediment Coming to Mosul Dam Reservoir ………..……………………. 42
4.2.2 Trap Efficiency of Mosul Dam Reservoir …………...…………………… 43
4.2.3 Evaluation of the Methods Used and Sediment Deposited …...…………….. 44
4.3 Area-Storage Capacity Curves ……………………………………..………… 46
xiii
4.3.1 Techniques Used ………………………….…………………..………. 46
4.3.2 Area-Storage Capacity Curves for Mosul Dam Reservoir …………..……... 49
4.3.3 Future Prediction of Area-Storage Capacity Curves …………...…..……... 51
4.3.4 Shape Factor of Mosul Dam Reservoir …..……………………..……….. 56
CHAPTER 5 - SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
5.1 Direct Assessment …………………………………………………..……… 57

5.2 Indirect Assessment ……………………………………………………..….. 58
CHAPTER 6 - CONCLUSION AND PROPOSED FUTURE WORK
6.1 Conclusion ……………………………………………………..………….. 61

6.2 Proposed Further Work ……………………………..………………………. 62
REFERENCES ………………………………………………………………………….. 63
PART II APPENDED PAPERS ……………………………………………. 73
Paper I
Sedimentation and new operational curves for Mosul Dam, Iraq
Paper II
Sedimentation Processes and Useful Life of Mosul Dam Reservoir, Iraq
Paper III
Sedimentation in the Mosul Reservoir of Northern Iraq
Paper IV
Mosul Dam Reservoir Sedimentation Characteristics
Paper V
Changes in Bed Morphology of Mosul Dam Reservoir
Paper VI
Evaluation and Modification of Some Empirical and Semi-empirical Approaches for
Prediction of Area-Storage Capacity Curves in Reservoirs of Dams
Paper VII
Monitoring and Evaluating the Sedimentation Process Using Trap Efficiency
Approaches
xiv
PART I
xv
xvi
CHAPTER 1
Introduction
This chapter presents general information about sedimentation in reservoirs. This includes,
mechanism and consequences of the phenomenon, techniques used to estimate deposited
sediment, the aims and main outlines of this study.
1.1 Background
Dams are usually built across streams, rivers and estuaries for the development and management
of water resources. They are designed to serve several aspects such as water storage for
irrigation, flood control, navigation, municipal water supply and environmental purposes as well
as hydropower generation (Morris and Fan, 1998; Jain and Singh, 2003; Garde, 2006).
Generally, the total water storage of reservoirs in the world has been mentioned by various
sources. One such reported forms about 5% of total runoff (Yang, 2003) whilst others said the
global gross storage capacity till 2004 was 6000 km3 (Sumi, et al., 2004; Basson, 2008;
Annandale, 2013) (Fig. 1.1).
Figure 1.1: Global storage capacity of large dams that have height ≥15 according to the
International Committee on Large Dams (ICOLD) classification (After Basson, 2008).
Regardless of the purpose, the formation of a reservoir after dam construction causes changes in
the flow regime upstream and downstream of the reservoir. The upstream flow velocity
decreases due to the increase of the flow cross-sectional area and backwater flow effects.
Therefore, the ability of river to transport sediment upstream of a reservoir will be reduced due
to the changes in the equilibrium conditions. As a result, deposition of sediment; coarse materials
such as gravel and coarse sand are the first to settle forming a delta or topset bed zone at the
point where the river enters the reservoir. It is composed of coarse sediment deposits with a
1
small amount of fine particles (Fig. 1.2). Fine sediment particles enter the reservoir and might be
deposited close to the dam body by turbidity currents or non-stratified flow forming a bottomset
bed zone. Whilst the buffer zone between the above zones is called the forest bed zone, which is
the advancing part of the delta deposit in the reservoir towards the dam (Fig. 1.2). The forest
beds are different from the topset beds and can be recognized by an increase in the slope and
decrease in their grain size (Morris and Fan, 1998; Garde, 2006).
Figure 1.2: Sediment deposit zones in reservoirs (After Morris and Fan, 1998).
The sediment deposited in the reservoir is the result of the erosion in the entire catchment area
upstream from the dam (Foster, 2010). The global sediment flux ranges between 15-20 billion
tons per year (Bt.yr-1) (Syvitski, et al., 2005; Walling, 2006). The 15-25% of total sediment is
impounded by reservoir (Vörösmarty, et al., 2003; Syvitski, et al., 2005). The global erosion
rates recently have been increased annually by about 2.3 billion tons largely due to land use and
human impacts (Syvitski, et al., 2005). On the other hand, most of rivers in the world showed a
decrease of about 1.4 billion tons in their sediment load due to trapping of sediment by upstream
dams (Walling and Fang, 2003). Sediment movement and deposition is a complicated
phenomenon that is affected by multiple hydraulic and hydrological factors. The dominant
factors that influence the sedimentation process and its distribution are sediment properties,
amount of water and sediment incoming to the reservoir, reservoir characteristics and its age,
locations of the bottom outlets and the reservoir operation mode (Annandale, 1987; U.S. Bureau
of Reclamation, 1987; Morris and Fan, 1998; Garde, 2006). The sedimentation problems can
take place upstream, downstream and within the reservoirs. In general, the phenomenon causes
the following effects:
1- Reducing the storage capacity of reservoirs due to accumulative sediment (Sumi, et al., 2004;
Annandale, 2013).
2- Accumulation of sediment directly affects the performance of the hydraulic structures (Garde
and Ranga Raju, 1985).
2
3- Sediment trapped in the reservoirs deprives downstream coastal areas that depend on the
riverine sediment supply (Vörösmarty, et al., 2003; Meade and Moody, 2010; Kondolf, et al.,
2014).
4- Raising the bed of the reservoir due to sedimentation causes an increase in the surface area of
the impounded water for the same volume stored and thus increasing the amount of
evaporated water (Garde and Ranga Raju, 1985; Garde, 2006).
5- Deposition upstream in the river valley due to backwater flow effect causes a rise in the bed
level of the river. This might cause flooding and the formation of swamps in those areas.
6- Increased the risk of sediment starvation in the downstream reaches due to clear water
released. This will cause erosion of the banks and the bed of the river. Such a phenomenon
will affect all hydraulic structures and impact on the riparian ecosystem (Draut, et al., 2011;
Ma, et al., 2012).
7- The upstream swamps formation will lead to an increase in water loss due to transpiration by
vegetation increase.
8- The sediment deposited on the bottom of the reservoir buries and kills the vegetation and
changes the environmental regime. In addition, nutrients are often associated with sediment
deposited. These materials can affect the ecosystem downstream (Vörösmarty, et al., 1997;
Foster, 2010).
There are a lot of examples of reservoirs showing the riskiness of the foregoing effects. For
example, Yasuoka reservoir in Japan, on the Tenryu River lost about 85% of its storage capacity
in the first thirteen years of operation due to accumulative sediment (Garde and Ranga Raju,
1985). In Kansas, USA, a reservoir was built on the Salmon River at Osborne province for water
supply with a capacity of 3.7 ×104 m3 and was completely filled with sediment one year after its
construction. Matilija Dam, 58 m in height in the state of California, was built in 1948 on the
Ventura River with reservoir storage capacity of 1.6 million cubic meters. Its reservoir almost
filled with sediment in 1998 (Rogers and Kondolf, 2007) (Fig. 1.3). Warsak Dam, 76 m high and
located on the Kabul River, Pakistan, lost as much as 18% of its storage capacity in the first year
of operation (Morris and Fan, 1998; Jain and Singh, 2003). In China, Sanmenxia Dam,
constructed on the Yellow River between 1957-1960, 1.8 billion metric tons of sediment was
accumulated in the first 18 months after dam operation. The sediment was deposited in the river
about 260 km upstream from the dam due to a back water effect (Wu, et al., 2007). The delta of
the Mississippi River has lost over 4,800 km2 largely due to reduction of sediment supply
trapped upstream (Kondolf, et al., 2014). The sediment brought by a flood caused complete
burial of the outlet structures of the Guayabal irrigation dam in southern Puerto Rico (Jain and
Singh, 2003). Sediment accumulation at the inlets of the main pumping station of north Al-
Jazeera irrigation project in Mosul Dam Reservoir, Iraq caused the stoppage of the station for
several days during 1999 and 2005 (Mohammed, 2001; ECB, 2010).
3
Figure 1.3: Matilija Dam.
The accumulation of sediment within the reservoirs is one of the main objects that directly
affects the performance of dams and threatens their usable life due to the reduction in their
storage capacity (Kondolf, et al., 2014). Recently, the global sedimentation rates exceeded the
new storage capacity rates of new dams. This is due to the fact that there are no feasible,
economical and suitable sites for new dams. As a consequence of this, the global storage
capacity will be reduced by half by 2,100 (Annandale, 2013; Kondolf, et al., 2014). Therefore,
the sustainability of water supply and hydroelectric production will be threatened due to
increasing demand and reduction of storage capacity (Annandale, 2013). Generally, the global
loss rate or sedimentation rate of the reservoirs is around 1% of their storage capacity due to
sedimentation (Mahmood, 1987; Basson, 2008) (Fig. 1.4).
Figure 1.4: Global sedimentation rate (After Basson, 2008).
In view of the above, the sedimentation problem is so serious that some dams were not
constructed due to the fact that sedimentation rates are so high that the reservoir will fill up with
sediment before they cover their costs. Therefore, planners, designers and operators of dams are
4
interested in determining the rate of sedimentation and sediment trap efficiency (TE) in the
reservoir, type and properties of sediment and the reservoir bed morphology or pattern of
sediment distribution within the reservoir.
1.2 Determination the Sedimentation Rates
Sediment management and strategies increase the lifespan of dams and decrease the problems of
downstream reaches through mitigating the downstream sediment starvation due to the upstream
sediment impounding. Therefore, it is important to have information about both the rate and
pattern of sedimentation in the reservoirs to predict the expected problems which might occur
and to mitigate their effects. This will help decision makers and operators of the reservoirs to put
strategies and remedies in place to deal with expected future problems. The accumulation of
sediment in the reservoir is a complex phenomenon because of the factors involved (e.g.
sediment yield, sediment transportation rate, sediment type, reservoir operation, reservoir
geometry, and changes in stream flow). In addition, accumulated sediment may consolidate due
to their weight and the overlying water weight with time (Morris and Fan, 1998). Therefore, the
estimation of the quantity of sediment deposited in reservoir is still a complex problem. For this
reason, many approaches have been developed to determine the characteristics of reservoir
sedimentation. Some of these are direct methods, and others are indirect empirical or theoretical
methods.
1.2.1 The Direct Methods
These methods use direct field measurements. The selection of a certain method depends on the
type, purpose, and cost of the work, reservoir characteristics, amount of sediment deposited and
desired accuracy. These methods are usually classified into several types based on the techniques
and equipment used in the survey.
I- Sediment Mass Balance
The sediment deposition rate can be estimated using principle balance between fluvial sediment
inflow in the downstream station compared with relationships established between upstream and
downstream hydrological stations before the dam construction. The method is used to evaluate
the sediment TE of the reservoir and should be checked with reservoir surveys (Morris and Fan,
1998).
II- Sub-bottom Profiling
Sub-bottom profiling systems are used to identify and measure various sediment layers that exist
below the sediment water interface using acoustic systems. These possess two frequency signals;
high frequency 200 kHz range to measure water depth and a low-frequency 5-24 kHz signal
range, which will penetrate the sediment and is reflected by the hard layer that represents the
original soil or rock. The system uses this reflected energy to provide information on sediment
deposited. The method is easy to use, highly accurate for up to 10 m of sediment thickness or
more. This method can be used in situations where the original topographic map is not available.
5
In some cases, the signals are affected by the presence of water and gases (e.g. methane gas
bubbles) which will cause unreliable readings (Morris and Fan, 1998).
137
III- Horizon Tracing Using Cesium
This technique is used to measure the sediment deposition rate by measuring the deposition
depth above an identifiable and datable horizon using the 137Cesuim isotope. The Cesium emits
gamma radiation. It is found in sediment deposited since 1954, and peak values occur around
1964, producing two datable layers in the profile. Using this property, deposition rate can be
measured directly. The procedure has been commented on by McHenry and Ritchie (1980). They
reviewed and evaluated the procedure and they put recommendations for its future use. Several
researchers used this technique to find the rates of erosion and sedimentation in different areas
(Walling, et al., 2001; IAEA, 2014; Porto, et al., 2014 a and b). Recently, Parsons and Foster
(2011) evaluated this technique. They did not recommend its use for estimating the rates of
erosion.
IV- Spud Surveys
It is a simple technique using a manual cylinder steel rod about 2 to 3 m long and 3 to 4 cm inner
diameter, which possesses a regular group of outside tapering grooves (Fig. 1.5). The method
was suggested in 1934 by Eakin and Brown (Morris and Fan, 1998; Vanoni, 2006). The Spud
casts vertically into the reservoir from a sufficient height to penetrate the deposited sediment to
the original underlying soil. The method can be used to determine the depth of sediment
deposited without the need to use the original topographic map and when the sonic sub-bottom
technique is unable to identify the original layer due to the presence of gases or water interfaces.
The technique is most viable with; soft fine sediment, where the sediment thickness does not
exceed 4 m and the water depth is less than 30 m. On certain occasions when the water is deep
the bar is coated with heavy duty grease before dropping it in order to keep the sample
undisturbed. The accuracy of this method depends on the user’s experience.
Figure 1.5: Spud rods to determine the thickness sediment deposits (After Vanoni, 2006).
6
V- Satellite Imagery Technique
The Satellite Remote Sensing method is rather a new technique for the assessment of sediment
accumulation in reservoirs. It is used to determine the relationships between storage capacity and
water-spread area with water elevation (Jain, et al., 2002; Ashish Pandey, et al., 2014). The
water-spread area at any elevation can be calculated using the satellite images and then develop
the stage-capacity curve from these areas. This curve can be used to calculate the amount of
sediment deposited in the reservoir by comparing it with original curve. The method gives highly
accurate results with high resolution satellite data but has some negative points such as it does
not estimate the amount of sediment deposited below the dead storage elevation especially with
normal pounded reservoirs. It is only possible to determine the accumulative sediment within the
fluctuation zone for water level in the reservoir (Goel, et al., 2002).
VI- Reservoir Surveys
Reservoir survey or hydrographic survey is a direct measurement technique used to determine

the total volume of the sediment deposited, sedimentation pattern, reservoir bottom profile, shift
in the Area-Storage Capacity curves (ASC) and it can be used to calculate the sediment yield
from the watershed using the sediment bulk density together with survey results. This technique
is very old and dates back to early twentieth century (NOAA, 2012). The recent advances in
Global Positioning System (GPS) and computer programs caused a significant reduction in the
efforts, time and costs of collecting and analyzing survey data (Jain and Singh, 2003; Ferrari and
Collins, 2006). There are some advantages and limitations of the hydrographic survey.
The advantages are as follows:

1- Practical, highly accurate and needs less time if advanced equipment and computer programs
are used.
2- The total costs are much less in comparison with other methods.
3- The survey is able to estimate the total amount of sediment deposited in the reservoir or
carried by the river.
4- It is possible to implement the survey at any time to determine the sediment deposited after
the last survey.
The limitations are:

1- The survey cannot estimate the spatial variation in the unit weight of sediment because the
sediment samples are limited and the sediment unit weight varies due to compaction with time
and location.
2- The approach does not provide any information about sediment yield from specific catchment
and sub-catchment areas.
3- To determine the total sediment load inflow, the amount of sediment out flow from
downstream gage station should be known.
4- The survey is not feasible when the sedimentation rate is low. Small errors of measurement
may cause a large error in the estimate of deposition rate.
7
The survey techniques may be divided into two methods, which are: contour survey and range
survey. The method selection depends on the reservoir characteristics, deposition rate, purpose
and cost of survey and desired accuracy. The contour survey is the most accurate method for
determining storage capacity and reservoir bottom morphology (sediment distribution) and it is
also used to develop stage-area and stage-storage capacity relationships. Recent advances in
survey technology reduces the time and cost for data collection. Furthermore, analysis
procedures have improved with the continued development of computers and data collection
software. Therefore, the method is suitable for all types and shapes of the reservoir but it takes
more time than the range method (Morris and Fan, 1998; Ferrari and Collins, 2006). To
minimize interpolation error in this type of survey the distance between two transverse sections
should be less than the distance between two shores (Morris and Fan, 1998). However, the
Sedimentation and River Hydraulics Group within U.S. Bureau of Reclamation suggested 500 to
600 ft spacing and at times 2,000 ft for large reservoirs with a flat bottom (Ferrari and Collins,
2006).
However, the range survey method is faster and a more economical technique than the contour
survey because field data collection and processing are greatly simplified compared with the
contour survey method (Morris and Fan, 1998; Ferrari and Collins, 2006). The method is suitable
for tracking changes in storage capacity due to sedimentation in a minimum period of time. The
range method uses a series of transverse sections across the reservoir, which is resurveyed at
intervals and is used to calculate the volume change between the two lines over time. The lines
should be perpendicular to the reservoir axis and set up across the mouth of each main tributary
of the reservoir as well as each major inflowing channel. The number of lines depends on
reservoir characteristics and required accuracy (Morris and Fan, 1998). Morris and Fan (1998)
have suggested the following formula to estimate the number of range lines as a rough guide:
஺೘ బǤయలఱమ
Number of range lines ൌ ………………………………………………...………… (1.1)
ଽǤ଼ଶ
where ‫ܣ‬௠ is the reservoir water surface area at maximum pool level in m2.
The frequency of reservoir surveying depends on the sedimentation rate, reservoir characteristics
and costs of running a survey. The interval between two surveys is usually 20 years with
reservoirs that have low sedimentation rates. By contrast, at sites where the sedimentation rate is
very high a survey interval as short as 2-3 years might be used (Morris and Fan, 1998). Others
use a 5-10 years interval or a time period when storage reductions between two surveys does not
exceed 7.5% (Ferrari and Collins, 2006). It is, however, necessary to conduct the survey after a
major flood to provide information about the impacts of flooding on the storage and there should
also be a survey directly after closure of the reservoir to provide a benchmark for future
sedimentation rate estimation (Morris and Fan, 1998).
1.2.2 The Indirect Methods
The complexity of sediment transport and deposition in the reservoirs led to development of
numerous indirect techniques to predict sediment distribution in reservoirs. Indirect methods are
8
classified into empirical or semi-empirical approaches and theoretical approaches. The empirical
and semi-empirical methods were developed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and have been
widely used to develop and predict the shift ASC curves. The first empirical method was
developed by Borland and Miller (1958) referred to as the ‘area increment method’. This method
assumed that the reduction on water surface area at any depth above the new zero depth is
constant, i.e. an equal amount of sediment will be deposited within each depth increment of the
reservoir (Borland and Miller, 1958; Strand and Pemberton, 1982). The second approach was the
‘area reduction method’ that was devised by Borland and Miller (1958) and revised by Lara
(1962) based on analysis of sedimentation data for 30 reservoirs in the USA (Croley, et al., 1978;
Garde and Ranga Raju, 1985). It is the most commonly used method for predicting the impact of
sediment deposition in a reservoir or the change in the ASC curves with reservoir sedimentation.
Furthermore, there are new semi-empirical approaches to determine ASC curves as reported by
Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. (2009), Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour (2010) and
Kaveh et al. (2013). These last three methods are dimensionless equations based on the form of
the dimensionless relationship for depth and capacity. There is also a simple technique using a
sediment rating curve with sediment TE of the reservoir to estimate the amount of sediment
deposition. The above methods are easy and quick to use relative to other methods and do not
need a large amount of data. However, these methods cannot be used to determine the deposition
depth in specific locations within the reservoir.
The second approach is to use physical models which have been developed to study the
sedimentation problems in laboratory. The models are scaled models used to simulate the
prototype systems. The scaling is in terms of geometry and important forces such as the Froude
number or Reynolds number. Water is always used as the fluid and natural grains or artificial
materials are used to represent the sediment (French, 1994; Chanson, 2004). Generally, physical
models are classified into four types: undistorted fixed-bed model, distorted fixed-bed model,
undistorted and distorted movable-bed models (French, 1994). Likewise, several mathematical
models for predicting future behavior of reservoirs sedimentation have been developed, based on
the equations of motion and continuity for water and sediment. One-dimensional models are
commonly used to simulate sediment transport within rivers and reservoirs (Molinas and Yang,
1986; Yang, 2002 and 2008). Mathematical models have many important advantages compared
to physical models. They are cheaper to undertake, faster in implementation, easier to simulate
under any conditions and are able to simulate some problems numerically that cannot be
simulated by physical models. Mathematical models may be copied, stored and transported onto
magnetic or optical media or compatible computers and then re-run anytime and anywhere.
However, their limitations are: hard to be calibrated and inability to identify the depth and
location of the sedimentation (Annandale, 1984; Morris and Fan, 1998).
1.3 Objectives and Achievements of the Work
As pointed out in the previous sections, sediment accumulation in the reservoir reduces its
storage capacity. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct periodic surveys to find out the status of
the reservoir. This work was carried out for two main reasons: Firstly, no survey has been
9
conducted on Mosul Dam Reservoir (MDR) since its operation in 1986 to determine its storage
capacity and to evaluate and update the adopted ASC curves. Secondly, Iraq is facing serious
water shortage problems now due to climate changes and increasing demand (Al-Ansari and
Knutsson, 2011; Droogers, et al., 2012; Al-Ansari, 2013) where, the annual reduction of the
water inflow for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers before entering Iraqi territory is 0.1335 km3.yr-1
and 0.245 km3.yr-1 respectively (Issa, et al., 2014). Thus, MDR is the biggest and the most
important strategic structure on the River Tigris in northern Iraq. This project provides water for
three irrigation projects that cover an area about 2,500 km2. In view of the foregoing, it is very
important to assess the sedimentation characteristics in MDR to determine actual storage
capacity and reduction rate of its reservoir through time, to estimate its useful life and to know
which technique is more suitable to adopt for MDR in the future. This can help decision makers,
planners and designers, to put prudent planning in place for Iraqi water resources problems.
Therefore, the study aims to fulfill the following specific objectives:
1- Developing topographic maps for MDR in digital format ‘triangular irregular network’
(TIN) format using Arc/GIS software before and after dam construction.
2- Determining the new storage capacity and sedimentation rate in the reservoir.
3- Developing the new ASC curves for MDR.
4- Determining the reservoir bed morphology and identifying the locations of sediment
accumulation.
5- Figuring out the type and grain size distribution of sediment within MDR.
6- Estimating the useful life of MDR using empirical approaches and bathymetric survey
results.
7- Determining the amount of sediment deposited in MDR using its sediment TE and
sediment rating curve and comparing the results with the bathymetric survey results to
know which technique is more suitable for MDR.
8- Evaluating the some empirical and semi-empirical approaches to determine ASC curves of
MDR by testing their results with the bathymetric survey results.
To achieve the above aims 1 to 4 with high accuracy a bathymetric survey (contour survey
method) was used in this study. The survey was implemented using the ‘echo sounder sonar
viewer type Sea Charter 480DF’ and its results were analyzed by sonar viewer 2.1.2 and
Arc/GIS software. Fifty six sediment samples were collected from the top surface of bed of
MDR covering most of the reservoir area by ‘Van-Veen grab’ sediment sampler to achieve 5.
Whilst the useful life of MDR (point 6) a three empirical equations with bathymetric survey data
were used to estimate it. Furthermore, to achieve 7 and 8 six empirical techniques were used to
estimate volume of the deposited sediment using sediment TE of MDR and four empirical and
semi-empirical methods were used to estimate the future changes in its storage capacity and to
develop ASC curves. The following chart shows the work achievements and its relationship with
appended papers (Fig. 1.6).
10
11
Figure 1.6: Work structure.
12
CHAPTER 2
Study Area
2.1 Mosul Dam
Mosul Dam is one of the most important strategic projects in Iraq for management of its water
resources. The project was constructed on the Tigris River in the north of Iraq, located 60 km
north west of Mosul city and 80 km from the Syrian and Turkish borders at 4056066 m N and
305356.69 m E (Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources, 2012) (Fig. 2.1).
Tigris River
Mosul Dam reservoir
North Al-Jazeera
pumping station
Hydropower generation
Dam site
Figure 2.1: Location of Mosul dam with main facilities.
Construction of Mosul Dam began on January 25th, 1981. The dam is a multipurpose project and
it started operating on July 24th 1986, to provide water for three irrigation projects, flood control
and hydropower generation. The dam is 113 m high and 3,650 m long including the spillway.
The top width is 10 m at 341 m a.s.l. crest level. The dam is an earth fill type with a mud core.
The upstream side is faced with rock (Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources, 2012). The maximum,
normal and dead storage levels of its reservoir are 335, 330 and 300 m a.s.l respectively. The
dam was designed to impound 11.11 km3 of water at normal operation level, including 8.16 and
2.95 km3 of live and dead storage respectively (Fig. 2.2).
The dam has a concrete spillway located on the left abutment (Fig. 2.1). The crest elevation of
the spillway is 330 m a.s.l and its length is 680 m. The spillway has five radial gates measuring
13.5 m×13.5 m giving a discharge of 12,600 m3.sec-1 at the maximum reservoir level of 335 m
a.s.l (Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources, 2012).
13
Figure 2.2: Schematic diagram of Mosul dam cross section.
The power generation and pump stations of the north Al-Jazeera project are the important
structures within the dam project, which were relied upon to monitor the water level during the
bathymetric survey. The power generation facilities are located on and in the right abutment of
the main dam (Fig. 2.1). The powerhouse is located in the toe of the dam embankment and
includes four turbines with total generating capacity of 750 MW. The Al-Jazeera pump station is
located in the upper zone of the reservoir 278409 m E and 407663 m N with a maximum water
discharge 45 m3.sec-1 (Fig. 2.1) (Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources, 2012).
2.2 River Tigris and Catchment Area of Mosul Dam
The Tigris River is one of the two most important rivers in western Asia and is the main source
of water for MDR. The Tigris River rises from the Hazar Lake, located in the south eastern
region of Turkey. The lake is surrounded by the Taurus mountain chain where the elevation
reaches 3,500 m a.s.l. The catchment area of the River Tigris is geographically divided into three
regions: mountainous, foothills and the plain region. Its estimated area upstream of MDR is
about 54,900 km2, which is shared by Turkey, Syria and Iraq (Swiss Consultants, 1979; Saleh,
2010) and the catchment area of the valleys surrounding the reservoir is about 1,375 km2 (Ezz-
Aldeen, et al., 2012). The Tigris River flows in the hilly regions located to the south western
portion of the mountainous area connecting Turkey, Iran and Iraq. The River crosses the Iraqi
border in Faish Khabur village which is located about 400 km from the main source and 128 km
upstream of Mosul Dam. Four major tributaries, Batman, Garzan, Botan and Al-Khabur feed the
Tigris River north of Mosul Dam from the left bank (Najib, 1980; Al-Ansari and Knutsson,
2011). Six large dams in Turkey had been constructed on the River Tigris upstream from Mosul
Dam during the last century (UNEP, 2001). The channel of the Tigris River is shallow and wide
in the Diyarbakir area, but after it joins the Batman tributary it becomes a narrow and deep river
with high velocity. The width of the river valley (flood plain) north of Mosul city to Faish
Khabur before Mosul Dam construction ranged from 2 to 10 km and the average water surface
slope in this reach was 0.65 m km-1 (Swiss Consultants, 1979; Najib, 1980). The banks of the
river valley have steep slopes from the right hand side and gentle low slopes from the left hand
side. The most significant features of the River Tigris basin are given in (Table 2.1).
14
Table 2.1: Characteristics of the Tigris Rivers basin.
Tigris River Turkey Iraq Syria Iran Total
3 -1
Discharge km .yr 33.5 6.8 0.0 11.2 51.5
Discharge (%) 65.0 13.2 0.0 21.8 100
2
Drainage Area km 45 000 292 000 1 000 37 000 375 000
Drainage Area (%) 12.0 54.0 0.2 33.80 100
River Length (km) 400 1318 44 — 1862
River Length (%) 21.0 77.0 2.0 — 100
Source: [UNEP, 2001; Biedler, 2004].
The annual hydrograph for the Tigris River starts from October to September. The highest mean
monthly discharge takes place during April and the driest month is generally September (Fig.
2.3).
3500
Average
3000 Minimum
Maximum
Discharge m3.sec-1
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept
Months
Figure 2.3: Monthly (mean, minimum and maximum) inflows of Tigris River at dam site (1931-
2013).
The average monthly discharge for the River Tigris is 631 m3.sec-1 for years 1931 to 2013 and
the maximum discharge was 3,514 m3.sec-1 in April 1954 whilst, the minimum was 81 m3.sec-1
in October 2013 (Fig. 2.4).
The sediment on the bed of the river before construction of the dam had a median grain size
diameter of ݀ହ଴ ൌ ͳͺ mm (Swiss Consultants, 1979; Najib, 1980). In 2009, the sediment of the
river were studied by the Dijla Company for Engineering Design and they noted that the specific
gravity for bed material was ‫ܩ‬௦ ൌ ʹǤ͸ͷ whilst the median grain size diameter of the sediment
was ݀ହ଴ ൌ ͳʹǤͶ mm (ECB, 2010).
15
4000
River Tigris
3500
3000
Discharge m3. sec -1

2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
Feb.
1931 Oct.
1936 Oct.
1941 Oct.
1946 Oct.
June
1951 Oct.
1956 Oct.
1961 Oct.
1966 Oct.
1971 Oct.
1976 Oct.
1981 Oct.
June
1986 Oct.
1991 Oct.
1996 Oct.
2001 Oct.
2006 Oct.
2011 Oct.
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
June
Months
Figure 2.4: Average monthly inflow and its trend line of the Tigris River at dam site (1931-
2013).
2.3 Mosul Dam Reservoir
The reservoir is located between latitude (4055000 to 4086000) m N and longitude (275000 to
320000) m E. The shape of the reservoir is almost elongated where the River Tigris enters the
upper zone and expands close to the dam site. The length of the reservoir is about 45 km and its
width ranges from 2 to 14 km with a water surface area of about 380 km2 at the maximum
operation level of 330 m a.s.l. There are seven main valleys that feed the reservoir from the left
side and three from the right side of the reservoir (Ezz-Aldeen, et al., 2012). The characteristics
of these valleys are shown in (Table 2.2). The soils of these valleys are mostly silty loam, silty
clay, loam and clay. On the other hand the annual sediment delivered by right and left valleys of
MDR are 42.7 × 103 ton.yr-1 and 702 × 103 ton.yr-1 respectively (Ezz-Aldeen, et al., 2012; 2013).
Table 2.2: Properties of the main tributary valleys around Mosul reservoir.
Mean basin level m
Valley name Side feeding Area km2 Slope Length km
a.s.l
Sweedy Right 450.76 0.0359 38.8 446.62
Kara Kandy Right 78.52 0.0217 21.82 388.38
Khuyr Hara Right 50.06 0.0525 10.86 404.89
Amlik Left 88.95 0.0281 38.94 470.42
Jardyam Left 88.73 0.0215 52.68 457.1
Affkery Left 139.5 0.0214 58.04 445.34
Khrab Malk Left 119.6 0.0255 51.32 475.87
Naqeb Left 104.1 0.0143 54.71 426.52
Kalaq Left 162.26 0.0173 60.52 424
Saeed Thaher Left 92.25 0.026 43.23 414
16
Using the data available from the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources the average monthly inflow
and outflow of the reservoir was 561 and 555 m3.sec-1 for the period 1986 to 2011of its operation
(Fig. 2.5). Mosul Dam provided water for three irrigation projects, power generation, regulation
and flood control. Dam operation started during June 1984, with initial reservoir filling during
the spring of 1985 but the actual operation began in July, 1986 (Iraqi Ministry of Water
Resources, 2012). The operation mode of the dam during 1986-2011 is shown in figures (2.5)
and (2.6) for discharges and water elevations respectively.
3500
Inflow discharge
3000 Outflow discharge
2500
m3. sec-1
2000
1500
1000
500
0
1993 Oct
1994 Oct
1995 Oct
1986 Oct
1987 Oct
1988 Oct
1989 Oct
1990 Oct
1991 Oct
1992 Oct
1996 Oct
1997 Oct
1998 Oct
1999 Oct
2000 Oct
2001 Oct
2002 Oct
2003 Oct
2004 Oct
2005 Oct
2006 Oct
2007 Oct
2008 Oct
2009 Oct
2010 Oct
Months
Figure 2.5: Average monthly inflow and outflow discharges of MDR for 1986-2011.
350
340
Water Elev.
330
320
310
Elev. m a.s.l
300
290
280
270
260
250
2011 Oct
1986 Oct
1987 Oct
1988 Oct
1989 Oct
1990 Oct
1991 Oct
1992 Oct
1993 Oct
1994 Oct
1995 Oct
1996 Oct
1997 Oct
1998 Oct
1999 Oct
2000 Oct
2001 Oct
2002 Oct
2003 Oct
2004 Oct
2005 Oct
2006 Oct
2007 Oct
2008 Oct
2009 Oct
2010 Oct
Months
Figure 2.6: Average monthly water elevations of MDR for 1986-2011.
2.4 Climatic Features
The climate of the catchment area may be regarded as being similar to a Mediterranean climate
except for some differences due to the presence of the mountainous region which is located
within Turkey. The climate is hot and dry during the summer and cold and rainy during winter
with occasional snowfall taking place in the mountainous region. The precipitation season within
17
the Tigris River basin starts in October and lasts until May. The annual precipitation over the
Tigris basin ranges between 450 and 1,000 mm (Al-Ansari and Knutsson, 2011) whilst it is 200-
600 mm at the dam site (ECB, 2010). The heaviest precipitation occurs from December to
February. Generally, the snow thaw begins in February. Therefore, the flood runoff continues to
May or early June. After this the flow rates are reduced and the lower rates occur in August to
October. During this period the main source of the river runoff is groundwater. The average
monthly temperatures range between 6°C in January to 34°C in July but the temperatures
decrease towards the north (ECB, 2010).
2.5 Geology
The oldest exposed formation within the vicinity of the reservoir is the Pilaspi Formation
(L.Miocene). The exposures of this formation are confined to the hilly areas. It is composed of
dolostone, limestone, marl and marly limestone. In the plain areas, Lower and Upper Fars
(Lower–Upper Miocene) formations are exposed. The Lower Fars Formation (also referred to as
the Fatha Formation) is composed of alternating beds of limestone, gypsum and siltstone whilst
the Upper Fars Formation (also referred to as the Injana Formation) is composed of alternating
beds of sandstone and siltstone. In the northern part of the reservoir near the inlet, the main
geologic formations are Pilaspi and Ana which are composed of limestone, while the Fatha and
Injana Formations dominate the plain area (Al-Sinjari, 2007; Sissakian, et al., 2014).
In the vicinity of Mosul Dam, the exposed formation is Lower Fars. It is composed of alternating
beds of limestone, marl and gypsum (Al-Ansari, et al., 1981).
18
CHAPTER 3
Sedimentation in the Mosul Dam Reservoir

The sedimentation study includes the evaluation of the rate of sedimentation in the reservoir and
its sediment characteristics. This was achieved during the fieldwork conducted in 2011.
3.1 Topographic Map
A pre-impounding topographic map scale 1:50000 was obtained from the Remote Sensing
Centre at Mosul University, Iraq. It was used to develop a TIN map for the reservoir before
operation of the dam. The map was initially scanned and converted to (JPEG) format before
further processing (Fig. 3.1A). The topographic map was projected onto a satellite image and
georeferenced to the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projection, ‘WGS-1984, Zone 38N’
in the Arc/Info program within Arc/GIS software (ESRI, 2012) (Fig. 3.1B). Contour lines and
spot locations of elevations (benchmarks and high-water marks) within the reservoir area on the
map were manually digitized to determine x, y and z coordinates. Furthermore, stream path lines
representing the River Tigris within the reservoir area were also digitized using water surface
slope and contour lines. The total number of the digitized points within the reservoir area was
6,029 points (Fig. 3.1C). The reservoir ‘Polygon Shapefile’ (hard clip) around the reservoir
boundary was created from the satellite image using the Arc/map program within Arc/GIS
software. The polygon was used during a TIN development to prevent interpolation outside the
enclosed area (Issa, et al., 2013). All digitized points from the 1983 map and reservoir ‘Polygon
Shapefile’ were used to develop a TIN for the reservoir area before the construction of the dam
(Fig. 3.1D). The TIN was created by the tools ‘add XY data’ command in Arc/map program
within Arc/GIS software. The ‘WGS-1984, Zone 38N’ projection information, linear unit meter
for interpolation, and 0.9996 scale factor were used for the construction TIN in the Arc/GIS
software.
Figure 3.1D was used to calculate the water surface area and storage capacity of MDR before
impounding by ‘3D-analyst’ tools. The area and storage capacity of MDR as a function of pool
elevation are listed at 2 m intervals in table 3.1.
19
Figure 3.1: Projection process of topographic map and formation TIN map for MDR before
construction dam.
Table 3.1: Water surface area and storage capacity of MDR at different water levels for 1983
survey.
Pool elevation Storage Pool elevation Storage
Area (km2) Area (km2)
(m a.s.l) capacity (km3) (m a.s.l) capacity (km3)
250 0.0331 0.0000375 292 104.93 1.787
252 0.0815 0.000148 294 111.35 2.003
254 0.4775 0.00686 296 122.66 2.237
256 2.341 0.00303 298 133.72 2.495
258 6.7995 0.0116 300 142.92 2.851
260 14.203 0.042 302 203.41 3.117
262 18.304 0.110 304 215.99 3.536
264 22.363 0.161 306 227.92 3.980
266 27.151 0.226 308 239.65 4.448
268 33.251 0.218 310 251.13 4.939
270 37.242 0.288 312 262.63 5.452
272 40.506 0.366 314 274.28 5.989
274 43.954 0.450 316 286.46 6.55
276 48.574 0.543 318 299.46 7.136
278 56.256 0.647 320 316.15 7.750
280 61.485 0.765 322 325.00 8.45
282 68.609 0.895 324 335.00 9.10
284 78.797 1.043 326 350.00 9.90
286 87.319 1.211 328 364.00 10.65
288 93.023 1.392 330 380.00 11.38
290 98.817 1.584
20
This data was used to construct the ASC curves before the dam operation to evaluate the adopted
operational curves that were proposed by Imatran Voima Osakeyhtio (IVO), Consulting
Engineers, Finland (IVO, 1968) (Fig. 3.2). In doing so it was found that the percentage
difference was 4.0% for stage-storage capacity curve and 7.7% for the stage-water surface area
curve (Fig. 3.3). These differences are due to the fact that the ASC curves proposed by IVO
(1968) for the dam were constructed using topographic maps older than 1968 whilst the maps
used in this work were constructed in 1983. In addition, the difference in the dates of map
construction and the techniques might have caused these differences. The 1983 TIN will be used
for comparison with the 2011 bathymetric survey.
Figure 3.2: ASC curves of MDR by IVO (After IVO, 1968).
Area km2
350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0
340 340
IVO
330 Survey 1983 330
320 320
310 310
Stage m a.s.l
Stage m a.s.l
300 300
290 290
280 Stage-Capacity 280
Stage-Area
270 270
260 260
250 250
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Storage capacity km3
Figure 3.3: ASC curves for MDR before dam construction.
21
3.2 Bathymetric Survey
The hydrographic survey or bathymetric survey are used to measure directly the sediment
deposited in reservoirs and lakes. The method was developed during the early twentieth century
using manual techniques to measure water depth and boat position (NOAA, 2012). For water
depth measurement many procedures were introduced; in 1903, Murray and Pullar presented a
lead-lining recorder method for water depth measured using a winch system which was used in
Loch Earn in the Grampian Highlands of Scotland (Al-Ansari and McManus, 1980). Weighted
wire-drag survey method was introduced in 1904 and acoustic depth sounding (fathometer) was
used in the 1930 (USACE, 2004; NOAA, 2012). Single-beam techniques were used to measure
water depth from the 1940s to the 1980s and then multi-beam techniques were developed.
During the period up to 1994, three point sextant fixes to map reference points or microwave
equipment (range-range or range-azimuth) methods were used to determine the position of the
boat (USACE, 2004; NOAA, 2012). Through that period, the range line survey was commonly
used rather than contour survey due to its relatively low cost. Since 1994, important advances in
bathymetric surveying technology have occurred due to the use of Global Positioning Systems
(GPS) instead of the short-range microwave positioning techniques. Furthermore, the field data
collection equipment and software have also become more advanced (USACE, 2004).
The recent advances in GPS, depth measuring systems (sonar viewer technique) and analysis
procedures have also improved with the continued development of computers and data collection
software. The contour method has become the preferred method for reservoir survey. This
method is the most accurate technique for determining the total volume of sediment deposited,
sedimentation pattern, the sediment yield from the watershed, and shift in the ASC curves
(Ferrari and Collins, 2006; Morris and Fan, 1998).
3.2.1 Field Techniques and Collecting Data
Bathymetric survey for MDR was conducted in May 2011 using an echo sounder with
accessories, Jet Ski boat, echo sounding power unit (12V DC) and a variety of auxiliary
equipment. The data was collected using a ‘200-kHz single-beam echo sounder viewer type Sea
Charter 480DF’ linked to a ‘Real Time Kinematic Global Positioning System (RTK-GPS)’ which
were working together to define the absolute x, y and z coordinates of the reservoir bottom
during the navigation (Fig. 3.4). The RTK-GPS determines the horizontal position of the survey
boat whilst the echo sounder measured the water depth. The bathymetric survey system software
recorded water depths and horizontal positioning along the path of the boat within the reservoir
and automatically logged in an SD card (Secure Digital card) flash memory card, these are called
sonar charts or sonar graphs (Fig. 3.5).
The duration of the bathymetric survey was about 12 days starting on May 15th and ending on
June 3rd 2011. Figure 3.6 shows the details of the transect lines during the bathymetric survey of
MDR. The survey was conducted according to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers standards for
distances between transverse sections, boat types and calibration methods (USACE, 2004).
22
Figure 3.4: Fish Elite 480 and Sea Charter 480DF echo sounder.
Figure 3.5: Shows a typical chart logged during the survey.
Figure 3.6: MDR bathymetric survey data points or path of the boat survey.
23
Installation and calibration of the echo sounder were performed before the bathymetric survey
according to the methods described in Ferrari and Collins (2006) and Eagle Electronics (2003).
The error values of water depth measurements were ±4 cm depending on the water depth within
the reservoir. The water temperature during the survey was taken by sea chart echo sounding.
The temperature range was 28-30°C during the whole survey period. Since the change in
temperature was very small, the effect of temperature in water depth measurements was
negligible (Ferrari and Collins, 2006). The bathymetric survey was performed in calm water to
avoid the errors in water depth measurement due to waves. The water surface elevations during
the survey were recorded at the hydropower generation station at the dam site and the pumping
station of the north Al-Jazeera irrigation project at the upper zone of MDR. The recorded
readings were between 319.75 to 319.96 m a.s.l. These elevations were used to convert the
acoustic depth measurements to reservoir bottom elevations during the data processing.
3.2.2 Data Processing
The recent advance in computer technology and software facilitates the processes of the data
analysis. The echo sounding survey system produces data files in (slg) format containing water
depth data and boat position data. Each (slg) was converted to x,y,z coordinates in excel file
format by the Sonar Viewer program 2.1.2 (Lowrance, 2012). All water depths were transformed
to the reservoir bed elevations according to the water elevations on the survey date. It should be
mentioned however, that the survey was conducted during calm periods where the wave heights
were less than 10 cm. For this reason the effect of waves was negligible. The final bathymetric
survey data was about 84,684 points within the reservoir area. This data and polygon Shapefile
were used to develop a TIN of the 2011 survey by tools ‘add XY data’ option using Arc/map
program within Arc/GIS software (Fig. 3.7).
Figure 3.7: TIN map of MDR surface model generated from bathymetric survey 2011 using
Arc/map program.
24
3.2.3 Bathymetric Survey Results
The main objectives of reservoir survey are calculation of the reservoir storage capacity, updated
ASC curves and to determine sediment distribution within the reservoir. The TIN map is usually
used to compute the storage capacity and water surface area of the reservoir by ‘3D-analyst’
command within Arc/GIS software (USACE, 1989 and 2004; Ferrari, 2006). The TIN for the
1983 survey (Fig. 3.1D), TIN for 2011 survey (Fig. 3.7) and adopted ASC curves (Fig. 3.3) were
used to calculate the following:
I- Storage Capacity and Sediment Accumulation
The total volume of sediment accumulated within a reservoir represents the reduction in storage
capacity for two surveys executed at two different times (Ferrari and Collins, 2006). The 1983
and 2011 TIN maps were used to calculate the storage capacity and water surface area for both
live and dead storage zones using Arc/GIS software (Table 3.2). The storage capacities of MDR
at normal pool elevation in 1986 and 2011 were 11.11 km3 and 9.967 km3 respectively. The
difference in storage capacities was 1.143 km3. This is the total storage loss due to sediment
deposition through 25 years of operation which represents 10.29% of total storage. This implies
that the annual sedimentation rate is 0.411%. This rate is less than the average worldwide rate of
1% that was proposed by Mahmood (1987) and Basson, (2008). In view of the above, the annual
sedimentation rate in MDR is 45.72×106 m3.yr-1. According to the observed results, the
sedimentation rates in dead storage and live storage zones are 23.2×106 m3.yr-1 and 22.52×106
m3.yr-1 respectively. This implies that the dead storage and live storage zones have been losing
19.66% and 6.9 % of their storage capacity during the 25 years of operation of the dam.
Furthermore, the annual loss in water surface area of the reservoir at dead storage level (300 m
a.s.l) is 1.34 km2.yr-1.
Table 3.2: Storage capacity and water surface area of MDR for two surveys.
Storage capacity (SC) Water surface area (WSA)
Storage Survey Survey % Survey Survey Difference %

Difference
1983 2011 Reduction 1983 2011 in WSA Reduction
in SC km3
km3 km3 in SC km2 km2 km2 in WSA
Live 8.16 7.597 0.563 6.9 380 380 0.0 0.0
Dead 2.95 2.37 0.58 19.66 170 136.54 33.46 19.7
Reservoir 11.11 9.967 1.143 10.29 380 380 0.0 0.0
II- New Area- Storage Capacity Curves
The sedimentation in the reservoir caused a shift in the ASC curves. To ensure prudent operation
of MDR, new operational curves were established based on the survey conducted in 2011. The
TIN for the survey of 2011 was used to calculate water surface area and storage capacity as a
function of water elevation for the Mosul reservoir using the ‘3D-analyst’ command (Table 3.3).
25
Table 3.3: Water surface area and storage capacity of MDR at different water levels for 2011
survey.
Pool Elevation Area Storage Pool Elevation Area Storage
(m a.s.l) (km2) Capacity (km3) (m a.s.l) (km2) Capacity (km3)
250 0 0 292 100.936 1.422
252 0.071728 0.0000115 294 110.4586 1.633
254 0.60038 0.0007 296 118.78 1.862
256 1.217 0.00244 298 127.122 2.108
258 2.647 0.0061 300 136.540 2.371
260 5.6005 0.01375 302 147.362 2.655
262 8.44675 0.0279 304 159.678 2.962
264 11.00638 0.0474 306 175.310 3.296
266 13.6215 0.0720 308 191.093 3.662
268 17.04205 0.1024 310 208.211 4.062
270 21.463 0.141 312 224.722 4.494
272 26.912 0.189 314 242.055 4.961
274 32.10933 0.248 316 264.18 5.468
276 38.40974 0.318 318 283.263 6.016
278 44.7586 0.401 320 305.541 6.606
280 51.682 0.497 322 315 7.30
282 60.266 0.609 324 325 8.00
284 69.954 0.739 326 342 8.61
286 77.695 0.887 328 356 9.307
288 85.443 1.051 330 380 9.967
290 92.854 1.229
This data was used to develop the new ASC curves of MDR (Fig. 3.8). The new curves were
compared with the ASC curves that were proposed by IVO. It is evident that there is a shift
between the curves. This is due to the change in the storage capacity and water surface area of
the reservoir due to sediment deposition during the operational period of the dam.
Area km2
350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0
340 340
IVO
330 Survey 2011 330
320 320
Stage m a.s.l
310 310
Stage m a.s.l
300 300
290 290
280 Stage-Capacity 280
Stage-Area
270 270
260 260
250 250
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Figure 3.8: New ASC curves for MDR.
26
Stage-storage capacity displacement curves during the operational period of MDR (Fig. 3.9A)
were proposed by IVO (1968). The data in table 3.3 and figure 3.9A is used to compare the
established curves in this work (Fig. 3.9B). In figure 3.9B, it can be clearly noticed that the
stage-storage curve of the 2011 survey falls between the initial and 40 year of operation curves
but closer to the latter. It can also be noticed that the curve coincides with the 40 years operation
curve at a water elevation above 316 m a.s.l. or more. This might be due to the accumulation of
sediment at a greater rate than expected by IVO or due to the fact that the curves proposed by
IVO (1968) for the dam were constructed using topographic maps older than that of 1968 whilst
the dam was constructed in 1986. In addition, the difference in the dates of map construction and
the techniques might have caused these differences.
Figure 3.9: Comparison of stage-storage capacity curve displacement during operation of the
MDR.
III- Sedimentation Pattern or Bottom Morphology
The study of sediment distribution within reservoirs is of major importance for the designers and
planners of hydraulic structures and those interested in flushing reservoirs. The accumulation of
sediment in the reservoir reduces the water surface area (Annandale, 1987; Morris and Fan,
1998). Therefore, maps for boundaries of MDR at normal and dead storage levels were
developed for two surveys using Arc/map program (Fig 3.10). The two maps showed the
maximum loss in water surface area at the dead storage level was in the northern part of the
reservoir. This implies that most of the sediment had been deposited in upper part of MDR where
the River Tigris enters the reservoir.
Furthermore, the longitudinal bed profiles were plotted along the thalweg of the River Tigris
within the reservoir area for both surveys (Fig. 3.11). Longitudinal profiles were established
using two TIN maps and a topographic map before dam construction by Arc/map program. The
difference between the two surveys represents the sediment deposited within the reservoir during
27
this period. These longitudinal profiles represent the deepest part of the reservoir bottom along
the central portion before dam construction. The diagram shows that the greatest differences in
bed elevations were within the upper zone of the reservoir and the overall bed slope of the river
thalwag within the reservoir area changed from 0.65 m.km-1 to 0.71 m.km-1.
Deposited
Zone
Water spread area at D.L
Figure 3.10: The boundary of water surface area at dead storage level for two surveys of MDR.
350
Survey 2011
340
Before dam construction
330
320
Bed level (m a.s.l.)
310
300
290
280
Dam site
270
260
250
240
80000 70000 60000 50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0
Distance from dam site (m)
Figure 3.11: Comparison of thalweg longitudinal profiles for1986 and 2011surveys of MDR.
To determine the changes in the reservoir bottom morphology with time due to erosion and
sedimentation processes, a TINs difference command within Arc/map program was used to
develop an erosion and sedimentation map for MDR (Fig. 3.12). The map highlights the areas of
erosion, deposition and unchanged areas. Generally, erosional areas are restricted mainly in the
middle and lower zones of the reservoir where the maximum depth was 9.6 m. They are believed
to represent sinkholes and gypsum dissolved areas (Tamplin and McGee, 2005; Kelley, et al.,
2007; Wakeley, et al., 2007; Sissakian, et al., 2014). Some of these sinkholes are about 15 m in
28
diameter and more 15 m in depth (WII/BV, 2005). In addition, flash floods from side valleys
during rainy seasons can cause some erosion in places and deposition in other places when it
enters the reservoir. In the upper zone of the reservoir, the erosional areas are mainly confined to
near the shore due to wave erosion or dissolved gypsum. Field observation and data in figure
3.12 indicates that it is due to the huge accumulation of sediment in the northern and middle
parts of the reservoir in that area converting the main flow to the south causing erosion near the
banks.
As previously stated, most of the sediment is deposited in the upper zone of the reservoir and at
the confluences of the side tributaries (Fig. 3.12). In addition, The TIN difference map shows
that the maximum deposition that took place in the upper zone was 17.6 m. This pattern is very
logical for this is where the River Tigris transports 99.79 % of the sediment entering the
reservoir while 0.21 % of the sediment is contributed from the side valleys (Ezz-Aldeen, et al.,
2012 and 2013). This sequence is very logical in reservoirs (Fan and Morris, 1992, Vanoni,
2006).
Figure 3.12: Differences between two TINs for survey 2011 and 1983 of MDR.
The three dimensional bottom models of MDR were constructed for two surveys using
Arc/Scene program within Arc/GIS software to clarify the above results (Fig. 3.13).
29
Survey 2011
Elevation Survey 1983

330 m a.s.l
251 m a.s.l
Depositional area
Figure 3.13: 3-Dimensional bed profiles of MDR at elevation 330 m a.s.l.
3.3 Sediment Survey
Dam construction dramatically alerts the balance of sediment inflow and outflow (Morris and
Fan, 1998; Julien, 2010). As a consequence, most of the sediment is usually deposited in the
reservoirs except for the fine particles that are expected to be further transported and deposited
within the vicinity of the dam. The large reservoirs with protracted residence time can trap even
wash load (Morris and Fan, 1998; Julien, 2010). Knowing the type and particle grain size of
sediment is important for those interested in the management of reservoirs (Kondolf, et al.,
2014). Fifty six sediment samples were collected from the bottom of MDR to study their nature
and distribution. The sediment samples were collected during the bathymetric survey period
using the Van-Veen grab. The RTK-GPS system defined the locations of these samples which
were projected on the satellite image using Arc/GIS software (Fig. 3.14). To determine the grain
size of the sediment, all the samples were sieved at Mosul University lab. The fine fraction (silt
and clay) was subjected to hydrometer analyses at the same lab. This work intends to describe
and classify the sediment deposited within the dam reservoir vicinity in terms of their size,
statistical parameters and their distribution within the reservoir as follow.
3.3.1 Sediment Grain Size and its Classification
The grain size analyses of the sediment samples for MDR indicate that the sediments comprised
of various size fractions ranging from 3.8% of gravel, to 15% of sand, to 55.5% of silt and then
to 25.7% of clay. The silt portion occupies 77% of the surface area of the bottom of the reservoir
followed by clay 13.5% and sand with gravel 9.5% (Fig. 3.15). The sand dominated areas are
confined near the shores of the reservoir whilst the clay occupies the deepest parts of the basin.
30
Figure 3.14: Locations of sediment samples in MDR.
Figure 3.15: Map of the MDR showing the deposition pattern of various sediment size fractions.
For textural perspective, two classifications were employed that were Folk’s (1954)
classification and Blott and Pye’s (2012) classification. The first one showed the sediments are
mainly dominated by silt reaching 42.86%, which are followed by mud 19.64%, and clay 10.7%
on the gravel, sand and mud triangle whilst on the sand, silt, clay triangle gravelly muddy sand is
the dominant 16.1%, followed by slightly gravelly muddy sand 5.36% and 5.34% divided
between gravelly mud, slightly gravelly sandy mud and sandy silt (Fig. 3.16). Different results
were obtained from second classification where the main dominant samples were very slightly
gravelly muddy sand 7.1% followed by slightly gravelly slightly muddy sand 3.6% on the
gravel: sand: mud triangle and slightly clayey silt 30.4% followed by silty clay 21.4% and clayey
silt 12.5% (Fig. 3.17).
31
Figure 3.16: Folk (1954) classification for MDR bottom sediment.
Figure 3.17: Blott and Pye (2012) classification for MDR bottom sediment.
The analyzed data was used to determine the percentage of material size distribution within the
reservoir using Arc/map program (Fig. 3.18). The results indicated that the high percentages of
both Gravels and sand are confined in patches near the entrance of the tributary from the valleys
on both eastern and western sides of the reservoir together with the entrance of the River Tigris
from the north (Fig. 3.18). On the other hand, silt and clay cover most of the surface area of the
reservoir bottom. The latter sediment sizes always occupy the relatively deep parts of the
reservoir (Fig. 3.18). In addition, the longitudinal distribution of the sediments also confirms this
pattern (Fig. 3.19). In Figure (3.19), it is quite evident that the sand percentages are higher in the
northern zone of the reservoir where the River Tigris enters the reservoir and decreases gradually
southward. Silt percentages decrease towards the dam site in the south whilst the clay fraction
32
increases in the same direction. This is a very common pattern (Morris and Fan, 1998, Garde,
2006, Al-Ansari and Knutsson, 2012) when a reservoir has one main feeder like the Tigris River
in our study case, because the velocity of water entering the reservoirs drops tremendously and
suddenly, causing the deposition of coarser fractions near the feeder entrance.
Figure 3.18: Distribution of the Gravel, Sand, Silt and Clay fractions of the bottom sediment.
100
% clay
90 % Sand
80 % Silt
70
60
%
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Distance from dam site (km)
Figure 3.19: Longitudinal distribution of sand, silt and clay fractions in the bottom sediment
across the MDR.
33
3.3.2 Sediment Statistical Parameters
The statistical parameters of the studied sediment were calculated according to Folk (1974). The
results showed that the average median and mean sizes of the sediment were 0.142 mm (2.81 φ)
and 0.0146 mm (6.1 φ) respectively. The distribution of the size of fractions of the bottom
sediments (Fig. 3.20) showed that the size of the particles decreases from the shores towards the
deeper parts of the reservoir. This is due to the fact that coarser particles are firstly deposited,
followed by smaller particles when sediment influxes enter the reservoir through valleys and
turbidity currents deliver fine sediment to the deep zones and close to the dam body. In addition,
wave action on the shores of the reservoir will erode some sediment. In such cases, it is expected
that relatively fine sediment particles will be carried far from the shore.
Generally the studied samples showed that these sediments are poorly sorted (average value
1.615). However, the sorting improves relatively within the vicinity of the shorelines of the
reservoir and then it becomes poorer towards the central parts (Fig. 3.21). This might be due to
the action of waves on the shore, in addition, sediment supplied by side valleys most probably
will be deposited in the deep parts. In the northern zone of the reservoir most of the sediments
are very poorly sorted. Whilst in the middle zone of the reservoir the most samples are poorly
sorted and become moderately sorted towards the southern zone of the reservoir. This fluctuation
in sorting is believed to be due to the wave action on the shores, which diminishes towards the
center of the reservoir.
Figure 3.20: Distribution of the Median (A) and Mean (B) for bottom sediment of MDR.
34
Figure 3.21: Distribution of the sorting for bottom sediment of MDR.
Furthermore, the average skewness values 0.02 indicate that these sediments are nearly
symmetrical. The distribution of the skewness (Fig. 3.22A) shows that within the deep parts of
the reservoir, the sediments are negatively skewed which could be due to the accumulation of
clay. However, in the northern part of the reservoir and near the entrance of some tributary
valleys in the middle and southern parts of the reservoir, they are coarse skewed. This change in
skewness is probably due to sediment supplied by the Tigris River in the northern parts and the
side tributary valleys in the middle and southern parts of the reservoir. In addition, the sediments
were grouped into Leptokurtic (32%), very Leptokurtic (28.5%) and Mesokurtic (16%) (Fig.
3.22B). The distribution of kurtosis showed that sediments in the deep parts of the reservoir are
extremely Leptokurtic while those near shore are very Platykurtic. Also, most of the samples
were Leptokurtic in the northern and middle zones, but became very Leptokurtic in the southern
zone.
Figure 3.22: Distribution of the Skewness (A) and Kurtosis (B) for bottom sediment of MDR.
35
36
CHAPTER 4
Empirical and Semi-empirical Approaches to Assess the

Sedimentation in Mosul Dam Reservoir
The involvement of numerous factors on sedimentation in reservoirs of the dams led to the
development of many techniques to assess this phenomenon. Empirical and semi-empirical
approaches are one of the most commonly used for these purposes that were developed based on
sedimentation survey data. In this chapter, the useful life of MDR was estimated using two
principles for estimating the useful life of the dams. Sediment TE and the amount of sediment
deposited in MDR were determined using six empirical methods with the sediment rating curve
and lastly ASC curves of MDR were developed using four empirical and semi-empirical
techniques. The results of these techniques were compared with the results of the bathymetric
survey. Furthermore, a modified approach was suggested for future prediction of ASC curves
using the same methods. This can help decision makers and planners to know which technique is
more suitable to adopt for MDR in the future.
4.1 Useful Life of Mosul Dam Reservoir
The useful life or design life is the period that the sedimentation process does not affect the
dam’s performance and its economic feasibility which is sometimes called useable life or
reservoir active storage capacity (Garg and Jothiprakash, 2008). In general, the useful life of the
reservoir is the time period when the reservoir has depleted 50% of its storage capacity or the
dead storage is completely filled with sediment (Gill, 1979; Garg and Jothiprakash, 2008). The
useful life for MDR was calculated using three algebraic equations that were derived using the
sediment TE equation by Gill (1979). The equations represent the relationship between initial
storage capacity of the reservoir, water and sediment inflow into the reservoir and specific
weight of sediment deposited as shown in the following equations:
i- For coarse grained sediment
େ౥
ஓᇲ ൈ୍
ͲǤͶͻ͵ͷ ൅ ͲǤ͵ ൈ ͳͲିହ
୍
୐ ൌ ቂ ୋ
ቃ቎ ୍ ቏ …………………………...………………………… (4.1)
ൈ େ ൅ ͲǤͲͲͶ͵͸
౥
ii- Medium sediment
ஓᇲ ൈ୍ େ౥
୐ ൌ ቂ ቃ ቂͲǤͲͲͺ ൅ ͲǤͷͳ ቃ ……………………………………………………………….. (4.2)
ୋ ୍
iii- Fine sediment
37
େ౥ ୍
ͲǤͷͳ͵ʹͺ െ ͲǤͳ͵͵ ൈ ͳͲିଷ ൈ
ஓᇲ ൈ୍ ୍ େ౥
୐ ൌ ቂ ୋ
ቃ቎ ୍ ଶ ቏ ……………………......………...…..… (4.3)
൅ͲǤͳͷ͵ ൈ ͳͲିହ ൈ ቀେ ቁ ൅ ͲǤͲͳͺͳ͸͹
౥
where: - ୐ is the useful life when the initial capacity is reduced to half; ୭ is the initial storage
capacity of the reservoir; is the annual water inflow;
is the characteristic weight of annual
sediment inflow; and ɀᇱ is the specific weight of sediment deposited which was calculated based
on the Lane and Koelzer empirical formula presented in 1953 (Annandale, 1987; Morris and Fan,
1998). The results of the above approach are presented in the table (4.1). Furthermore, the
bathymetric survey results (Table 3.2) were used for estimating the useful life based on the
depleted dead storage and 50% loss of the initial storage capacity of the reservoir (Table 4.1). In
such a case, the depositional conditions or sedimentation rate of MDR are assumed to be
constant with sedimentation time. The observed results obtained from the bathymetric survey
and analytical approach were similar. Accordingly, it is possible to assume that the useful life for
the Mosul reservoir is approximately 125 years.
Table 4.1: Useful life of MDR (year).

2011 Bathymetric survey Gill approach
Based on depleted dead Based on 50% reduction in Coarse Medium Fine
storage storage capacity Sediment Sediment sediment
127 121.5 122.5 127 132
4.2 Trapping Efficiency and Techniques Used

The sediment TE with the sediment rating curve is a simple technique to estimate the sediment
deposition rate in the reservoirs (Annandale, 1987; Morris and Fan, 1998; Garde, 2006). The TE
of sediment is an expression or indicator for the ability of the reservoir to impound sediment and
reflects its characteristics to trap or collect sediment. It plays an important role in estimating the
fraction of sediment deposited in the reservoirs, determining the useful life of the dam and
assessing changes in the reservoir storage capacity with the time of the dam operation (Smith,
1990; Maneux, et al., 2001). Therefore, it is a very important parameter for planners, designers
and operators of the dams (Heinemann, 1981; Yang, 1996; Morris and Fan, 1998; Garde, 2006;
Jothiprakash and Garg, 2008). TE of sediment is the index of that portion for the deposited
sediment in the reservoirs to the total inflowing sediment that is usually expressed in percentage
(Verstraeten and Poesen, 2001; Jothiprakash and Garg, 2008; Garg and Jothiprakash, 2008) and
can be expressed as:
்௢௧௔௟௜௡௙௟௢௪௦௘ௗ௜௠௘௡௧ି்௢௧௔௟௢௨௧௙௟௢௪௦௘ௗ௜௠௘௡௧
Ψ ൌ ͳͲͲ ቂ ቃ …………………….…………….. (4.4)
்௢௧௔௟௜௡௙௟௢௪௦௘ௗ௜௠௘௡௧
The sediment TE is a function of many factors concerning the flow characteristics in the river
and the reservoir, the amount of sediment coming and its properties, the geometry of reservoir
and its age, the spillway location, depth and location of outlets and the operation mode of the
38
reservoir (Garde and Ranga Raju, 1985; Morris and Fan, 1998; Espinosa-Villegas and Schnoor,
2009). The complexity of the sedimentation process led to the development of many approaches
for determining the TE within the reservoirs. Some of them are direct and others are indirect.
The direct method depends on bathymetric survey and sediment survey data whilst the indirect
methods are estimated and based on hydrological data and reservoir features (Espinosa-Villegas
and Schnoor, 2009; Lewis, et al., 2013). Historically, several approaches for calculating TE were
developed but the most common are the empirical methods that developed based on survey data
for some reservoirs. All these methods were established based on three principles. Firstly, the
method depends on the storage capacity of reservoir and catchment area relationship that was
suggested by Brown (1944). The second principle is the sedimentation index of the reservoir,
which is the ratio of water retention time to the mean velocity in the reservoir that was proposed
by Churchill (1948). Finally, that is the hydraulic residence time or inflow-storage capacity ratio
presented by Brune (1953). In all empirical methods, the capacity of reservoir, annual inflow
rate, features of the catchment area and reservoir geometry had been taken into consideration
(Morris and Fan, 1998; Espinosa-Villegas and Schnoor, 2009). These methods are widely used
for engineering purposes. Consequently, large numbers of empirical methods have been
reported, but the most commonly used are:
The method proposed by Brown (1944) is the first empirical curve suggested for the relationship
between the capacity of reservoir () and catchment area upstream dam (௖ ) which was
represented by a general equation given below (Gill, 1979):
ଵ
୆୰୭୵୬ ൌ ͳͲͲ ቈͳ െ ቆ ి ቇ቉ …………………………………………...……………….... (4.5)
ଵା୏
ఽ೎
where in acre-feet, ௖ in square miles and is a factor that depends on retention time and
particle size of sediment which varies between 0.046, 0.1 and 1 for fine, medium and coarse
sediment respectively (Gill, 1979; USACE, 1989). This method is used for the catchment area
that has one dam. Churchill (1948) developed a concept of sediment release efficiency and
proposed relationship based on sedimentation index and percentage for total load of incoming
sediment (Fig 4.1). The curve integrates both water residence time and average flow velocity in
the reservoir to calculate sedimentation index for a reservoir. The method is suitable to estimate
release efficiency of sediment for the reservoirs continuously sluiced such as a stilling basin,
small reservoirs and flood controlling structures (Morris and Fan, 1998; Jothiprakash and Garg,
2008).
The above two methods were based on the reservoir capacity, catchment area and sedimentation
index principles of reservoirs but the following approaches depend on the hydraulic residence
time principle.
39
Figure 4.1: Churchill’s (1948) release efficiency curve (After Morris and Fan, 1998).
Brune (1953) established an empirical relationship curve for estimating long-term TE of

reservoirs based on correlation between reservoir capacity and inflow ratio ሺȀሻ depending on
the data of 44 reservoirs in USA (Fig. 4.2). The method is widely adopted, easy in application
and requires little data as well as it is suitable for large storage capacity with normal pond
reservoirs (Morris and Fan, 1998; USACE, 1989; Espinosa-Villegas and Schnoor, 2009). This
relationship (Figure 4.2) was developed to an empirical equation by Gill (1979) as follow:
ଵ
୆୰୳୬ୣ ൌ ͳͲͲ ቂͳ െ ቃ ……………...………………………………………………. (4.6)
ଵାହ଴ሺେȀ୍ሻ
where is in m3 and is the water inflow in m3.sec-1.
Figure 4.2: Brune’s curve for estimating sediment trapping (After Brune, 1953).
Dendy (1974) suggested algebraic equation by adding more data obtained from 17 small
reservoirs (௠ ≤ 60 km2) to Brune’s curve as:
40
ౢ౥ౝሺిȀ౅ሻ
ୈୣ୬ୢ୷ ൌ ͳͲͲ ቂͲǤͻ͹଴Ǥଵଽ ቃ ………………………………………………………...… (4.7)
Gill (1979) derived three equations from Brune’s curves for fine (Eq. 4.8), medium (Eq. 4.9) and
coarse (Eq. 4.10) sediment.
ሺେȀ୍ሻయ
ୋ୧୪୪ ൌ ሾଵǤ଴ଶ଺ହହሺେȀ୍ሻయ ା଴Ǥ଴ଶ଺ଶଵሺେȀ୍ሻమ ିଵଷଷሺେȀ୍ሻା଴Ǥଵൈଵ଴షఱ ሿ ………………….……….…..…….... (4.8)
ሺେȀ୍ሻ
ୋ୧୪୪ ൌ ሾ଴Ǥ଴ଵଶାଵǤ଴ଶሺେȀ୍ሻሿ ………………………………………………….……..…….……… (4.9)
ሺେȀ୍ሻమ
ୋ୧୪୪ ൌ ሾ଴Ǥଽଽସ଻଴ଵሺେȀ୍ሻమ ………………………..…………..……...... (4.10)
ା଴Ǥ଴଴଺ଶଽ଻ሺେȀ୍ሻା଴Ǥଷൈଵ଴షఱ ሿ
Ward (1980) modified Brune’s equation (4.6) depending on the hydraulic water residence time
for largest world reservoir as:
଴Ǥ଴ହ
୛ୟ୰ୢ ൌ ͳͲͲ ൤ͳ െ ൫ξο୲൯൨ ……………………….……………...………………………..… (4.11)
where ο is ሺȀሻ residence time in year, and are in hectare.m and m3.yr-1 respectively.
Heinemann (1981) developed a new relationship for determining TE slightly difference from
Brune’s curve based on data of 20 ponded reservoirs in USA.
ଵଵଽǤ଺ሺେȀ୍ሻ
ୌୣ୧୬ୣ୫ୟ୬୬ ൌ ቂെʹʹ ൅ ቃ………………………………….………….....…… (4.12)
଴Ǥ଴ଵଶାଵǤ଴ଶሺେȀ୍ሻ
Jothiprakash and Garg (2008) developed two empirical equations to estimate TE for medium and
coarse sediment depending on the relevance to Brune’s curves for medium and coarse sediment
particles as follows:
i- For medium size sediment:
ሺେȀ୍ሻ
୎୭୲୦୧୮୰ୟ୩ୟୱ୦ୟ୬ୢୋୟ୰୥ ൌ ൣ଴Ǥ଴଴଴ଵଷା଴Ǥ଴ଵሺେȀ୍ሻା଴Ǥ଴଴଴଴ଵ଺଺ൈඥେȀ୍൧ ………………………..……..…. (4.13)
ii- For coarse size sediment:

଼଴଴଴ିଷ଺ሺେȀ୍ሻషబǤళఴ
୎୭୲୦୧୮୰ୟ୩ୟୱ୦ୟ୬ୢୋୟ୰୥ ൌ ሾ଻଼Ǥ଼ହାሺେȀ୍ሻషబǤళఴ ሿ
………………….………………………………. (4.14)
It should be mentioned, the above approaches did not take into consideration the effects of future
variation or reservoir operation mode and its age on the TE. In this section, six different
empirical methods that were established based on the hydraulic residence time (water retention
time) were used to evaluate and monitor monthly sedimentation processes within MDR for the
period 1986 to 2011. The methods are: Brune (1953), Dendy (1974), Gill (1979), Ward (1980),
Heinemann (1981) and Jothiprakash and Garg (2008). The monthly operating data for inflow-
outflow and water elevations for MDR were used to determine monthly TE and long-term TE for
the whole period of its operation using the mentioned methods. Furthermore, the monthly inflow
rate for River Tigris upstream MDR, its sediment rating curve and sediment feeding from valleys
around MDR were used to estimate the amount sediment entering the reservoir. The results
provided by these methods for TE with sediment entering MDR were used to calculate the
41
monthly amount of sediment deposited in MDR during this period. The results obtained were
evaluated using observed bathymetric survey data that had been collected in 2011 after 25 years
of the operation of MDR as follows:
4.2.1 Sediment Coming to Mosul Dam Reservoir
The River Tigris is the main source of water and sediment for MDR. Sedimentation was
measured in the River Tigris before dam construction on three gaging stations by Harza
engineering company et al. (1964) for a long period of time. These stations are: Zakho and Tusan
that were upstream from MDR and the Mosul station at the dam site (Table 4.2). Figure 4.3
shows the sediment rating curve for the River Tigris. On the other hand the annual sediment
delivered by the valleys right and left of MDR were 42.7×103 tons.yr-1 and 702×103 tons.yr-1
respectively (Ezz-Aldeen, et al., 2012; 2013). The monthly inflow rate data (Fig. 2.5) was used
with the sediment rating curve of the River Tigris as well as sediment inflow from surrounding
valleys to calculate average monthly sediment entering MDR (Fig. 4.4).
Table 4.2: Locations of the gaging stations.

Station Easting Northing
Zakho 42° 41′ 00″ 37° 08′ 00″
Tusan 42° 28′ 00″ 37° 00′ 00″
Mosul 42° 49′ 03″ 36° 37′ 57″
Figure 4.3: Sediment rating curve of Tigris River under natural condition in three gaging
stations (After ECB, 2010) (Hint: Mosul station at MDR).
42
100
90 sediment load
80
Sediment load X 109 (kg)
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1986 Oct
1987Oct
1988Oct
1989Oct
1990Oct
1991Oct
1992Oct
1993Oct
1994Oct
1995Oct
1996Oct
1997Oct
1998Oct
1999Oct
2000Oct
2001Oct
2002Oct
2003Oct
2004Oct
2005Oct
2006Oct
2007Oct
2008Oct
2009Oct
2010 Oct
Months
Figure 4.4: The monthly rate (discharge) of sediment load coming to MDR.
4.2.2 Trap Efficiency of Mosul Dam Reservoir
All empirical methods mentioned above did not take into account the variation of TE with time
due to changes in the factors affecting it i.e. river behavior, the reservoir’s characteristics. They
also assume that the operation mode will remain constant in the future. Therefore, in this study
average monthly data of MDR was considered during the calculation of its TE to know the effect
of these factors. The average monthly data of water elevations in MDR (Fig. 2.6) with stage-
storage capacity curve at 1986 (Fig. 3.2) was used to determine average monthly storage
capacity of the reservoir (Fig. 4.5).
14
12
10
Capacity Km3
4
Without sedimentation Brune
2 Dendy Gill
Ward Heinemann
Jothiprakash and Garg
0
1987Oct
2003Oct
1986 Oct
1988Oct
1989Oct
1990Oct
1991Oct
1992Oct
1993Oct
1994Oct
1995Oct
1996Oct
1997Oct
1998Oct
1999Oct
2000Oct
2001Oct
2002Oct
2004Oct
2005Oct
2006Oct
2007Oct
2008Oct
2009Oct
2010 Oct
Months
Figure 4.5: Monthly variation of storage capacity for MDR.
The monthly storage capacity and monthly inflow rate data (Fig. 2.5) were employed to calculate
monthly TE of MDR by using the six previously mentioned methods that are represented by
equations (4.6, 4.7, 4.9, 4.11, 4.12 and 4.13) (Fig. 4.6).
43
100
99
98
97
Ψ‫ܡ܋ܖܑ܋ܑ܎܎܍ܘ܉ܚ܂‬
96
95
94
93
92 Heinemann Jothiprakash and Garg
91 Brune Dendy
Gill Ward
90
2002Oct
1987Oct
1988Oct
1989Oct
1990Oct
1991Oct
1992Oct
1993Oct
1994Oct
1995Oct
1996Oct
1997Oct
1998Oct
1999Oct
2000Oct
2001Oct
2003Oct
2004Oct
2005Oct
2006Oct
2007Oct
2008Oct
2009Oct
1986 Oct
2010 Oct
Months
Figure 4.6: Average monthly TE for MDR.
The sedimentation data (Fig. 4.4) and the monthly TE (Fig. 4.6) were used to determine the
monthly amount of sediment deposited in MDR. The deposition data was employed to correct
the storage capacity of MDR after sedimentation (Fig. 4.5). Thus the adjusted data was used to
correct monthly TE of MDR (Fig. 4.7). The corrected data from TE was used again to determine
the monthly sediment deposited in MDR during its operation, this will be used to calculate
accumulative sediment deposited in MDR during 25 year of its operating (Fig. 4.8).
100
99
98
97
Ψ‫ܡ܋ܖܑ܋ܑ܎܎܍ܘ܉ܚ܂‬
96
95
94
93
92 Ward Brune
91 Dendy Gill
Jothiprakash and Garg Heinemann
90
1995Oct
2005Oct
1986 Oct
1987Oct
1988Oct
1989Oct
1990Oct
1991Oct
1992Oct
1993Oct
1994Oct
1996Oct
1997Oct
1998Oct
1999Oct
2000Oct
2001Oct
2002Oct
2003Oct
2004Oct
2006Oct
2007Oct
2008Oct
2009Oct
2010 Oct
‫ܛܐܜܖܗۻ‬
Figure 4.7: Adjusted TE for MDR.
4.2.3 Evaluation of the Methods Used and Sediment Deposited
The results of six methods were evaluated by testing them against the bathymetric survey data
for MDR obtained by the survey conducted in 2011. The total volume of sediment coming to the
reservoir during the last 25 years was 1.199 km3 of which 1.143 km3 were deposited inside the
reservoir according to the bathymetric survey results (Issa, et al., 2013). The incoming sediment
was calculated from the sediment rating curve and the monthly inflow rate for the River Tigris
44
which was 1.17684 km3 whilst the surrounding valleys were contributing 0.02216 km3 (Ezz-
Aldeen et al., 2012; 2013). Therefore, the real TE of MDR is 95.329%.
1.4
1.2
1
Sediment load (km3)
0.8
0.6 Heinemann
Brune
Dendy
0.4
Gill
Ward
0.2 Jothiprakash and Garg
Coming sediment
0
1989Oct
1987Oct
1988Oct
1990Oct
1991Oct
1992Oct
1993Oct
1994Oct
1995Oct
1996Oct
1997Oct
1998Oct
1999Oct
2000Oct
2001Oct
2002Oct
2003Oct
2004Oct
2005Oct
2006Oct
2007Oct
2008Oct
2009Oct
1986 Oct
2010 Oct
Months
Figure 4.8: Accumulative sediment coming and deposited in the MDR during 25 years.
The total volumes of sediment deposited in MDR were also calculated according to the empirical
methods using average monthly data for inflow and storage capacity (Table 4.3). The long term
TEs of MDR were also calculated using these empirical methods depending on the average
inflow and average storage capacity of MDR during its operation period of 25 years. This was
done to identify the effect of dam operation on TE.
Table 4.3: Total sediment coming and deposited in the MDR during 25 years.
Using monthly TE Using long-term TE
Total
sediment Total Total
Method used
inflow Average sediment Average sediment
% Error % Error
(km3) TE deposited TE deposited
(km3) (km3)
Brune 1.199 97.818 1.173 -2.625 99.573 1.194 -4.462
Dendy 1.199 96.880 1.162 -1.662 99.003 1.187 -3.850
Gill 1.199 97.708 1.172 -2.537 98.759 1.184 -3.587
Ward 1.199 94.975 1.139 0.350 97.686 1.171 -2.450
Heinemann 1.199 93.729 1.124 1.662 99.960 1.199 -4.899
Jothiprakash and Garg 1.199 98.403 1.180 -3.237 99.646 1.195 -4.549
The long term TEs were used to estimate the volume of sediment deposited in MDR (Table 4.3).
The percentage errors for sediment volume deposited in MDR for all methods based on monthly
average data and an average of the whole data (long term TE) are tabulated in table 4.3. The
results for all methods showed a good consensus with the bathymetric survey, with a percentage
error ranging between -3.237 to 1.662% for monthly adopted data and -4.549 to -2.450% for
whole data (Table 4.3). The method that was proposed by Ward (1980) relatively gave very good
results (percentage error 0.350%). In addition the methods produced convergent results for
45
determining monthly storage capacity (Fig. 4.5) and volume of sediment deposited in MDR (Fig.
4.8).
4.3 Area-Storage Capacity Curves
The accumulation of sediment in a reservoir causes changes in its ASC curves (or stage-area
curve and stage-storage capacity curve) (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 1987; Morris and Fan,
1998; Mohammadzadeh-Habili, et al., 2009). ASC curves are regarded as one of the most
important physical characteristics of the dams and their reservoirs. Therefore, establishing these
curves and predicting their future change is an important issue for planners, designers and
operators of dams. The ASC curves are commonly used to determine the storage capacity and
water surface area of the reservoir at a given water elevation as well as to support flood routing,
reservoir classification and operation mode (Borland and Miller, 1958; Strand and Pemberton,
1982; Morris and Fan, 1998). Determination and future prediction of these curves is an important
issue for: estimating the sedimentation depth at the dam site, determining the useful life of the
dam, designing the bottom outlet elevation, determining the effect of backwater conditions on
the flood level upstream of a reservoir and assessing changes in the reservoir storage capacity
with the time of the dam’s operation. Empirical and semi-empirical techniques are used to
determine the amount of sediment deposited in a reservoir as a function of water depth or stage
(or to determine ASC curves). These methods are widely used for engineering purposes because
they are relatively easy and quick to use and they require limited data. Consequently, large
numbers of empirical methods have been reported (e.g. Borland and Miller, 1958; Borland,
1970; Szechowycz and Qureshi, 1973; Croley, et al., 1978; Garde, et al., 1978; Chien, 1982;
Annandale, 1984; Rahmanian and Banihashemi, 2011).
4.3.1 Techniques Used
The first empirical methods were developed by Borland and Miller (1958) and referred to as
‘area increment method’ and ‘area reduction method’. The former assumed that the reduction on
water surface area at any depth above the new zero depth is constant, meaning that an equal
amount of sediment will be deposited within each depth increment of the reservoir (Borland and
Miller, 1958; Strand and Pemberton, 1982). The latter method is the most commonly used
method for predicting the impact of sediment deposition in a reservoir or the change in the ASC
curves with reservoir sedimentation. The method was proposed, based on analysis of
sedimentation data for 30 reservoirs in the USA and adopted by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
(Morris and Fan, 1998). This technique is based on the adjustment of the water surface area
above zero depth to a new area due to sedimentation that reflects the relationship between
reduction in water surface area and sedimentation rate and reservoir characteristics. In this
method, the reservoirs are classified into four categories based on the shape factor of the
reservoir “‫( ”ܯ‬Table 4.4). The shape factor represents the reciprocal slope of the straight line for
the relationship of the reservoir depth at the dam site as the Y-axis against the storage capacity as
the X-axis presented as a logarithmic scale plot (Borland and Miller, 1958; Mohammadzadeh-
Habili, et al., 2009; Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour, 2010; Kaveh, et al., 2013). The
46
shape factor of a reservoir does not change linearly with time and depends on many factors
including the characteristics, age and operation mode of the reservoir (Borland and Miller, 1958;
Morris and Fan, 1998).
Table 4.4: Reservoirs classification according shape factor “M”. Source: (Borland and Miller,
1958).
Type of reservoir Classification Shape factor ࡹ
I Lake 3.5 – 4.5
II Flood Plain–Foot hill 2.5 – 3.5
III Hill 1.5 – 2.5
IV Gorge or normally empty 1.0 – 1.5
The area reduction method involves four different sedimentation pattern curves that were
developed from the resurvey data assembled for 30 reservoirs (Fig. 4.9). These curves are
dimensionless and are used to determine the change in the ASC curves due to sedimentation.
This technique is usually used when the sedimentation rate and characteristics of the reservoir
are available (for more details see Strand and Pemberton, 1982; 1987).
Figure 4.9: Type curves of reservoirs for area reduction method (modified Strand and
Pemberton, 1987).
Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. (2009) proposed a dimensionless equation for the relationship

between water depth and storage capacity using the similarity between the natural logarithmic
function curve and the depth-storage capacity dimensionless curve. This equation depends on
only one unknown dimensionless parameter called the reservoir coefficient “ܰ” as follows:
భ
೤ ಿ
୪୬ ଶ‫כ‬ቀ ቁ
‫ܥ‬௬ ൌ ‫ܥ‬௠ ൤݁ ೤೘ െ ͳ൨ .………………….…………………….....………..……………. (4.15)
where ‫ܥ‬௬ is reservoir capacity at depth ‫ݕ‬, ‫ܥ‬௠ is reservoir capacity at maximum pool level, ‫ݕ‬is
the water depth above the streambed at the dam site and ‫ݕ‬௠ is the maximum water depth at the
47
dam site. The result obtained when plotting this equation on log-log paper is approximately a
straight line for any ܰ value and the slope of this line represents the shape factor of the reservoir
as proposed by Borland and Miller (1958). Whilst the water surface area and reservoir
coefficient equations were derived from equation (4.15) as follows:
ሺభషಿሻ
೤ ೤ ಿ
஼೘ ‫כ‬ሺ௟௡ଶሻ ୪୬ ଶ‫כ‬ቀ ቁ ୪୬ ଶ‫כ‬ቀ ቁ
‫ܣ‬௬ ൌ ே‫כ‬௬೘
‫݁כ‬ ೤೘ ‫ כ‬൤݁ ೤೘ െ ͳ൨ ….………...…………………………… (4.16)
஼೘
ܰ ൌ ʹ ʹ ...…………………………………………...………………..………….. (4.17)
஺೘ ‫כ‬௬೘
where ‫ܣ‬௬ is reservoir water surface area at depth ‫ݕ‬, and ‫ܣ‬௠ is the water surface area of reservoir
at maximum pool level.
The results of the equations obtained were compared with the resurvey data for 16 reservoirs.
The comparison of the results demonstrated a good consensus, especially with reservoirs that had
smoothed stage-storage capacity curve (Mohammadzadeh-Habili, et al., 2009). Furthermore, the
results used to develop an empirical relationship between the reservoir shape factor“‫ ”ܯ‬and its
coefficient (Eq. 4.18).
ܰ ൌ ͳǤͲ͹ͷ‫ିܯ‬଴Ǥଽ଴଺ଷ …………………….……………………...………………….………. (4.18)
In 2010, Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour modified the reservoir coefficient equation

(Eq. 4.17) based on the original and secondary ASC curves of 40 resurveyed reservoirs in USA
as:
ேೄೄಶ ሺெ௜௡௜௠௜௭௔௧௜௢௡௢௙ௌௌாሻ ஼೘
ܰ௠ ൌ ʹ ʹ ஺ ..………………………...…………………… (4.19)
ே ೘ ‫כ‬௬೘
where ܰ௠ is the modified reservoir coefficient and ܰௌௌா is the reservoir coefficient obtained
using minimization of the sum of squares of the errors ሺሻof the original normalized water
depth-capacity curve and curve from equation (4.17).
In 2013, Kaveh et al. differentiated a simple dimensionless capacity equation using a parabolic
equation that is used for reservoir capacity. The parabolic equation is used to represent the
general form of the relationship between storage capacity and water depth which can be
expressed as follows:
‫ܥ‬௬ ൌ ܽ ൅ ܾ ൈ ‫ ݕ‬൅ ܿ ൈ ‫ ݕ‬ଶ …………………….…….……………...…………………...… (4.20)
where ǡ ǡ are the coefficients that are usually calculated using the ACAP computer program
adopted by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 1985; Ferrari, and
Collins, 2006). Kaveh’s equation depends on one reservoir coefficient parameter as:
మ
௬ ಿ‫כ‬
‫ܥ‬௬ ൌ ‫ܥ‬௠ ቀ ቁ ……………………………………………………..……………………... (4.21)
௬ ೘
where ܰ‫ כ‬is the reservoir coefficient proposed by Kaveh et al. (2013).
48
The water surface area equation for a reservoir at different elevations and the reservoir
coefficient equation were obtained as a derivative of the above equation (4.21) as follows:
మ
ଶ‫כ‬஼೘ ௬ ಿ
‫ܣ‬௬ ൌ ே‫ כ‬௬
ቀ௬ ቁ ‫…… כ‬..………………….……………………...……….…………………. (4.22)
೘
ଶ‫כ‬஼೘
ܰ‫ כ‬ൌ ..............................................................................………………………….... (4.23)
௬ ೘ ‫כ‬஺೘
In addition, Kaveh et al. (2013) derived a relationship between the reservoir coefficient and the
shape factor based on the above equations, which is:
ଶ
ܰ‫ כ‬ൌ …………………………………….……….…………………..………...…………. (4.24)
ெ
The resurvey data assembled for 20 reservoirs in the USA and Iran showed that the approach
proposed by Kaveh et al. (2013) is easy to apply and more precise compared to the method of
Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. (2009) (Kaveh, et al., 2013). It should be noted here, that the three
approaches suggested by Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. (2009), Mohammadzadeh-Habili and
Heidarpour (2010) and Kaveh et al. (2013) mainly depend on the dimensionless parameters in
their calculation which are called reservoir coefficients. These coefficients depend on the
dimensionless relationship between the ratio of capacity ሺ‫ ܥ‬Τ‫ܥ‬௠ ሻand ratio of water depth at dam
site (‫ݕ‬Τ‫ݕ‬௠ ሻ as stated in equations 4.15 and 4.21. This relationship depends on the conditions of
reservoir sedimentation. Therefore, the reservoir coefficient value for this relationship varies
with time depending on these conditions too. It should be mentioned however, that three of the
above mentioned methods did not take into consideration future variation in this relationship or
reservoir coefficient in response to sedimentation.
4.3.2 Area-Storage Capacity Curves for Mosul Dam Reservoir
The four methods described above were applied to MDR to generate ASC curves for its reservoir
after 25 years of dam operation. To apply the area reduction method, the first step necessitated
selecting the type of reservoir or type of sediment deposition pattern. This process depends on
the shape factor, the mode of operating the reservoir and the predominant grain size of the
sediment deposited (Morris and Fan, 1998). This information was used to select the appropriate
empirical curve that was used to predict the sediment distribution within the reservoir. The data
for MDR showed that the shape factor was 2.77, based on the slope of the original depth-
capacity curve (Fig. 3.3) on log-log paper. Its mode of operation is classified as moderate
drawdown and the predominant grain sizes of the sediment deposited was mainly silt, sand and
clay (Fig. 3.15). According to this data, MDR can be designated as type II, which represents the
‘Flood plain–Foot hill’ reservoir type (Table 4.4). To confirm the type of curve, the existing
depth-capacity curves produced for two previous surveys were plotted on the curves that were
proposed by Borland and Miller (1958) for the empirical area reduction method (Fig. 4.9). The
empirical curve type II was used to develop a stage-capacity curve and stage-area curve for 25
years (Figures 4.10 and 4.11). The method was also used to estimate the maximum water depth
at the dam site for the same periods (Table 4.5). Furthermore, the methods proposed by
49
Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. (2009), Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour (2010) and
Kaveh et al. (2013) were used to determine ASC curves and maximum water depth at dam site
using sedimentation survey data for MDR. The dimensionless relationship of depth-capacity
curve of MDR for 1986 and 2011 surveys were used to calculate its reservoir coefficients (ܰ, ܰ௠
and ܰ‫( ) כ‬Table 4.5). The storage capacity for different elevations for MDR were computed using
equations 4.15 and 4.21 based on its reservoir coefficients that were computed from
dimensionless relationship of its original depth-storage capacity curve. Equations 4.16 and 4.22
were used to compute the water surface area for the same elevations using the same reservoir
coefficients. These results were used to construct the stage-storage capacity (Fig. 4.10) and
stage-area curves (Fig. 4.11). While equations 4.17, 4.19 and 4.23 were used to determine water
depth at dam site for the methods of Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. (2009), Mohammadzadeh-
Habili and Heidarpour (2010) and Kaveh et al. (2013) respectively (Table 4.5).
340
330
320
310
Elev. m a.s.l
300
290
280 25 yr Kaveh
25 yr Habili et al.
270 25 yr Habili and Heidarpour
25 yr area-reduction
260 1986
2011
250
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Capacity km3
Figure 4.10: Stage-storage capacity curves for the MDR for 25 year of dam operation. (Habili et
al. is Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. and Habili and Heidarpour is Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour).
340
330
320
310
Elev. m a.s.l
300
290
280 25 yr Kaveh
25 yr Habili et al.
260 1986
2011
250
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Area km2
Figure 4.11: Stage-area curves for the MDR for 25 year of dam operation. (Habili et al. is
Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. and Habili and Heidarpour is Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour).
50
Table 4.5: Variation of maximum water depth at dam site with sedimentation.
According Mohammadzadeh-
Mohammadzadeh- Area reduction
Year of to Survey Kaveh et al. (2013) Habili and Heidapour
Habili et al. (2009) method
dam (2011) (2010)
operation
‫ݕ‬௠ (m) ࡺ‫כ‬ ‫ݕ‬௠ (m) % error ࡺ ‫ݕ‬௠ (m) % error ࡺ࢓ ሺ‫ݕ‬௠ ) % error ‫ݕ‬௠ (m) % error
0 83 0.73 __ __ 0.51 __ __ 0.488 __ __ __ __
25 80 0.67 78.30 2.125 0.47 77.364 3.295 0.450 80.85 -1.062 71.42 10.725
50 77 0.61 76.134 1.125 0.43 74.863 2.775 0.412 78.24 -1.610 63.6 17.403
75 74 0.55 73.50 0.676 0.39 71.85 2.905 0.374 75.10 -1.486 54.4 26.486
100 71 0.49 70.23 1.099 0.35 68.15 4.014 0.336 71.22 -0.310 46.5 34.507
125 68 0.43 66.03 2.891 0.31 63.50 6.634 0.298 66.35 2.460 38.2 43.853
%
average 1.563 3.757 -1.398 24.635
of error
The results of these methods were evaluated by testing them against the bathymetric survey data
for MDR obtained by a bathymetric survey conducted in 2011. The percentage of errors for the
maximum water depth at the dam site for all methods based on the bathymetric survey results are
tabulated in table 4.5. For estimating maximum water depth at the dam site, the last three
methods gave good results with margin of error ranging between 1.062 to 3.295% but that of
Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidapour (2010) method gave very close results to those obtained
by the bathymetric survey. The other methods however, predicted a water depth less than that
provided by the bathymetric survey. This implies that the deposition depth predicted by these
methods is greater than that represented by the actual sedimentation rate at the dam site. This
might be due to the fact that most of the sediment was deposited within the upper part of the
reservoir because MDR has an elongated shape and the river Tigris enters the reservoir in its
upper part.
The stage-storage capacity curves for 25 years (Fig. 4.10) show that the Kaveh et al. (2013)
method provided results that were in close agreement with the actual survey data, when
compared to other methods. The results showed that all methods converge and produce a good
consensus with the survey data at elevations up to 318 m a.s.l (Fig. 4.10). Also the results
provided by the Kaveh et al. (2013) method were the closest to the 2011 survey for the stage-
water surface area curve (Fig. 4.11).
4.3.3 Future Prediction of Area-Storage Capacity Curves
All methods employed assumed that the river’s behavior and the reservoir’s sedimentation
characteristics will remain constant in the future i.e. no change on the operation mode and
conditions of sedimentation with time (Morris and Fan, 1998). The sedimentation rate for MDR
(45.72 × 106 m3.yr-1 during the past 25 years) was assumed to remain constant and was used to
calculate the amount of sediment deposited within 50, 75, 100, and 125 years. Furthermore, it
was assumed that the banks of reservoir at maximum elevation will remain stable (no sliding and
51
wave erosion) and that the water stage in the reservoir does not exceed the maximum operation
level so that the water surface area at this level will be constant with time (Mohammadzadeh-
Habili and Heidarpour, 2010). Therefore, the type of the reservoir does not change with
sedimentation time unless the reservoir operation mode changes (Strand and Pemberton, 1987;
Morris and Fan, 1998). Thus the area reduction method was also applied to predict the variation
in the ASC curves with sedimentation over 50, 75, 100, and 125 years of dam operation (Figures
4.12 and 4.13). Furthermore, the method was used to estimate the water depth at the dam site for
the same periods (Table 4.5).
The last three methods suggested by Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. (2009), Mohammadzadeh-

Habili and Heidarpour (2010) and Kaveh et al. (2013) as mentioned in the previous section
depend mainly on reservoir coefficients in their calculations. The methods did not take into
consideration future variation of this coefficient with sedimentation during determining ASC
curves. Therefore, the methods were modified in this study to predict the future changes in ASC
curves by using the original and secondary surveys data for 11 reservoirs in USA. The details
and the characteristics of these reservoirs are tabulated in table 4.6. The dams of these reservoirs
are classified as large dams according to the International Committee on Large Dams (ICOLD)
classification (Morris and Fan, 1998). Accordingly, MDR falls within the same category. The
data in table 4.6 for the original and secondary surveys was used to calculate the reservoir
coefficientsܰand ܰ‫ כ‬using equations 4.17 and 4.23 that were proposed by Mohammadzadeh-
Habili et al. (2009), and Kaveh et al. (2013) respectively.
The results of surveys’ data for the selected reservoirs (Table 4.6) indicated that there is small
variation of their reservoir coefficients (ܰ andܰ‫ ) כ‬with time in general. This implies that there is
a small change in the conditions of the reservoir sedimentation with time. In addition, it was also
noticed that the Angostura and Nambe Falls dams had big variations in the first value of
reservoir coefficient. This might be due to the nature of sedimentation, the shape of these
reservoirs and operation conditions. The reservoir coefficient might increase or decrease based
on the changes of sedimentation conditions. Furthermore, the result showed that there is a linear
relationship between the reservoir coefficient (bothܰ orܰ‫ כ‬ሻ and time with the correlation
coefficients R2 ranging from 0.65 to 0.995 (Figures 4.14 and 4.15).
52
Figure 4.12: Stage-storage capacity prediction curves for the MDR for periods 50, 75, 100, 125
years of operation. (Habili et al. is Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. and Habili and Heidarpour is
Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour).
Figure 4.13: Stage-area prediction curves for the MDR for periods 50, 75, 100, 125 years of
operation. (Habili et al. is Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. and Habili and Heidarpour is Mohammadzadeh-Habili
and Heidarpour).
53
Table 4.6: Original and secondary characteristics of the studied reservoirs.
Year of ࡭࢓ ࡯࢓
Dam ࢟࢓ (m) ࡺ ࡺ‫כ‬ ࡾ૛ Reference
survey (106 m2) (106 m3)
1949 40.56 23.46 268.529 0.391 0.564
Mohammadzadeh-
1965 26.853 23.46 242.035 0.533 0.768
Angostura 0.645 Habili and
1982 25.329 23.46 231.983 0.541 0.781 Heidarpour (2010)
2004 23.805 23.46 222.466 0.552 0.797
1903 23.30 32.415 258.09 0.474 0.683 Mohammadzadeh-
Belle
1949 21.346 32.537 237.673 0.474 0.684 0.771 Habili and
Fourche
2006 19.812 32.537 213.236 0.459 0.662 Heidarpour (2010)
1938 23.47 46.668 427.693 0.541 0.781
Mohammadzadeh-
1981 20.422 46.668 408.912 0.595 0.858
Caballo 0.826 Habili and
1999 20.422 46.668 402.944 0.586 0.846
Heidarpour (2010)
2007 18.898 46.668 400.8 0.630 0.909
1929 54.556 5.492 129.343 0.598 0.863
U.S. Bureau of
1973 53.035 5.245 122.197 0.609 0.879
Gibson 0.894 Reclamation
1996 50.902 5.245 119.003 0.618 0.891 (2009)
2009 50.899 5.398 121.729 0.614 0.886
1957 49.378 95.789 1418.213 0.416 0.600 Mohammadzadeh-
Glendo 1972 49.378 95.789 1415.819 0.415 0.599 0.995 Habili and
2003 48.128 95.789 1376.301 0.414 0.597 Heidarpour (2010)
1927 28.956 9.733 91.043 0.448 0.646 Mohammadzadeh-
Guernsey 1947 21.336 9.656 60.626 0.408 0.589 0.962 Habili and
1957 19.812 9.64 55.26 0.401 0.579 Heidarpour (2010)
1949 32.888 23.391 246.616 0.444 0.641
1951 30.45 25.111 243.604 0.442 0.637 Mohammadzadeh-
Harry
1962 29.535 23.265 240.322 0.485 0.699 0.845 Habili and
Strunk
1981 27.554 23.407 239.394 0.515 0.742 Heidarpour (2010)
2006 27.066 23.407 238.087 0.521 0.752
1972 71.81 24.88 531 0.412 0.596 U.S. Bureau of
Heron 1984 67.96 24.88 530 0.439 0.627 0.66 Reclamation
2010 67.296 24.88 528.38 0.437 0.631 (2010)
1952 34.351 83.855 784.396 0.378 0.545 Mohammadzadeh-
Keyhole 1978 33.132 83.855 775.124 0.387 0.558 0.979 Habili and
2003 31.638 83.855 768.855 0.402 0.580 Heidarpour (2010)
1976 43.523 0.299 3.574 0.381 0.549 U.S. Bureau of
Nambe
2004 30.41 0.299 3.444 0.525 0.758 0.974 Reclamation
Falls
2013 24.075 0.299 3.208 0.618 0.891 (2013)
1953 28.558 40.631 446.288 0.533 0.769 U.S. Bureau of
Swanson
1982 25.327 40.611 436.687 0.589 0.849 0.702 Reclamation
Lake
2011 25.327 40.611 434.208 0.585 0.844 (2011)
54
1
Angostura
Belle Fourche
0.9 Caballo
Gibson
0.8 Glendo
Guernsey
0.7 Harry Strunk
ࡺ
Heron
0.6 Keyhole
Nambe Falls
0.5 Swanson Lake
0.4
0.3
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Time (year)
Figure 4.14: Variation coefficient of reservoir ܰ with time according to Mohammadzadeh-

Habili et al. (2009).
1
Angostura
Belle Fourche
0.9
Caballo
Gibson
0.8 Glendo
Guernsey
0.7 Harry Strunk
ࡺ‫כ‬
Heron
0.6 Keyhole
Nambe Falls
0.5 Swanson Lake
0.4
0.3
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Time (year)
Figure 4.15: Variation coefficient of reservoir ܰ‫ כ‬with time according to Kaveh et al. (2013).
To estimate the future values of MDR’s coefficients, the dimensionless relationship of its depth-
capacity curves for 1986 and 2011 were used to calculate the reservoir coefficients ܰ, ܰ௠ and ܰ‫כ‬
that were employed by Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. (2009), Mohammadzadeh-Habili and
Heidarpour (2010) and Kaveh et al. (2013) respectively (Table 4.5). The calculated coefficients
of MDR were extrapolated to calculate their future values for 50, 75, 100, 125 years based on the
linear relationship of reservoir coefficient variation with time that was obtained from the
resurveys data from 11 existing reservoirs (Table 4.5). These coefficients were used to calculate
the maximum water depth at the dam site by applying equations 4.17, 4.19, 4.23 for the methods
of Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. (2009), Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour (2010) and
Kaveh et al. (2013) respectively (Table 4.5). In addition, equations 4.15 and 4.21 were used to
calculate the storage capacity for different elevations using these coefficients. Equations 4.16
and 4.22 were used to calculate the water surface area for the same elevations. These results
55
were used to construct the stage-storage capacity and stage-area curves for sedimentation periods
of different lengths (Figures 4.12 and 4.13).
The results of the ASC curves for (50, 75, 100 and 125 years) showed that the modified methods
using a linear relationship principle to determine the reservoir coefficient produced results in
close agreement with those provided by the method adopted by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
(area reduction method) and the consensus improved in time. The change in reservoir coefficient
reflects the variations of the conditions of reservoir sedimentation. The surveys data for 11
reservoirs indicated that the change of reservoir coefficient with time will be very small if the
variation of reservoir sedimentation conditions is small and in such a case, even the average
value can be used for this purpose.
4.3.4 Shape Factor of Mosul Dam Reservoir

The reservoir shape factor reflects the characteristics of the stage-capacity relationship for
reservoirs. The factor changes with time due to the change in the stage-capacity curve caused by
sedimentation. This factor was calculated for MDR via the slope of the depth-capacity curve for
the surveys of 1986 and 2011 according to the method proposed by Borland and Miller (1958)
(Table 4.7). It was also calculated using the relationships proposed by Mohammadzadeh-Habili
et al. (2009) and Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour (2010) equation 4.18 and equation
4.24 for Kaveh et al. (2013) (Table 4.7). The results of these methods showed that Kaveh et al.
(2013) method gave more accurate results with percentage errors of 1.08% and 5.24% for the
1986 and 2011 surveys respectively (Table 4.7). According to the above results the method
proposed by Kaveh et al. (2013) is considered a good approach for calculating and predicting the
ASC curves due to its accurate results and its ease of use.
Table 4.7: Shape factor variation with sedimentation for different methods.
Mohammadzadeh-
Based on stage- Mohammadzadeh-
Year Kaveh et al. (2013) Habili and
capacity curve Habili et al. (2009)
Heidarpour (2010)
‫ܯ‬ ‫ܯ‬ % error ‫ܯ‬ % error ‫ܯ‬ % error
1986 2.77 2.74 1.083 2.40 13.36 2.28 17.70
2011 3.15 2.985 5.24 2.614 17.02 2.49 20.95
56
CHAPTER 5
Summary of Findings
MDR was operated in 1986, and no study or survey has been conducted to determine the
characteristics of sedimentation in its reservoir since that time. In this work, the sedimentation
characteristics in MDR have been investigated directly by conducting a bathymetric survey and
collecting sediment samples from the bed of the reservoir (see papers I to V) and indirectly by
using empirical and semi-empirical approaches (see papers, II, VI and VII). In addition, the
results of direct methods were used to evaluate those obtained from indirect methods.
5.1 Direct Assessment
The two surveys for MDR’s area; one before dam construction and the other in 2011 from the
bathymetric survey with sediment samples that were collected from the bottom of the reservoir
were employed and used to assess the sedimentation within its reservoir. Two TIN maps were
established from these surveys using Arc/GIS software.
The pre-construction topographic map was converted to a digital elevation map in TIN format.
The original ASC curves were evaluated based on ASC curves that were developed from the TIN
map. The evaluation results showed about 4.0% percentage error for stage-storage capacity curve
and 7.7% for the stage-water surface area curve.
A bathymetric survey was conducted in 2011 to estimate new storage capacity, develop new
ASC curves and determine the changes on the bed morphology for MDR. The new storage
capacity in 2011 at the normal operational level (330 m a.s.l) was 9.967 km3 this indicates that
1.143 km3 of sediment was deposited in MDR during the last 25 years. This implies that the
reduction in original storage capacity of MDR was 10.29% with an annual reduction rate of
0.441%. The new TIN map showed 0.563 km3 and 0.58 km3 of sediment was deposited in both
live and dead storage zones respectively. That means the live and dead storage zones lost 6.9%
and 19.66% of their storage capacity due to sedimentation. According to these results, MDR’s
useful life will be about 127 years based on the completely depletion of the dead storage zone or
121.5 years based on the reduction 50% of its maximum storage capacity. To ensure prudent
operation and management of MDR new ASC curves were established based on the 2011
bathymetric survey.
The bed morphology and locations of sediment accumulation within the reservoir area were
studied via two TIN maps. Comparison of the two maps showed that the sedimentation
magnitude in the upper zone of the reservoir, where the River Tigris enters, was highest and
gradually reduced toward Mosul Dam site. The annual reduction on water surface area at the
dead storage level was (1.34 km2.yr-1) that was in the upper part of the reservoir. Maximum
57
deposition thickness within the reservoir was 17.6 m. The thalweg bed slope of the River Tigris
within the reservoir area changed from 0.65 m.km-1 before dam construction to 0.71 m.km-1 in
2011 survey. Zones within the middle and lower parts of the reservoir were exposed to erosion,
which amounted to 9.6 m deep. This is believed to be due to the dissolution of gypsum and
limestone forming sinkholes that might reach about 20 m in diameter and 9.6 m in depth.
To study the nature of sediment within MDR, fifty six sediment samples were collected from the
bed of its reservoir covering most of the reservoir area. The results from the analysis of these
samples revealed that the sediments were composed of gravel, sand, silt and clay in the ratios
3.8%, 15%, 55.5% and 25.7% respectively. The distribution area of these sediments indicates
that the silt portion represents the highest or 77% of the bottom sediment of this reservoir
followed by clay 13.5% and then sand with gravel 9.5%. However, sand percentages are the
highest in the northern zone of the reservoir where the River Tigris enters the reservoir and
decrease gradually towards the dam site. In the meantime, the silt percentage decreases towards
the dam site whilst the finer fraction (i.e. clay) increases. The samples were classified according
to Folk’s (1954), and they are mainly: silt (42.86%) followed by mud (19.64%), sand (21%) and
clay (10.7%) on the gravel, sand and mud triangle whilst on the sand, silt, clay triangle gravelly
muddy sand is the dominant 16.1%, followed by slightly gravelly muddy sand 5.36% and 5.34%
divided between gravelly mud, slightly gravelly sandy mud and sandy silt. The statistical results
indicated that the average median and mean sizes of the sediments are 0.142 mm (2.81 phi) and
0.0146 mm (6.1 phi) respectively. In addition, the sediments are poorly sorted, nearly
symmetrical in Skewness and Leptokurtic, very Leptokurtic, to Mesocratic. Finally, it is believed
that the geometry and hydrodynamics of the Mosul Reservoir, the location of the River Tigris
entrance together with the side tributary valleys have played the most important role in the
distribution of sediments and their characteristics.
5.2 Indirect Assessment
Empirical and semi-empirical approaches were employed for MDR to estimate its useful life, to
determine the volume of sediment deposited in its reservoir, estimate sedimentation depth at dam
site and to develop the ASC curves. This will help MDR's operators and managers to know the
suitable technique to be used. In addition, it gives the future outlook of the reality of the
reservoir. Three algebraic formulas were used to estimate useful life of MDR based on the
dominate particle grain size and depleted 50% of storage capacity. The results of these equations
showed the useful life of MDR is ranging from 122.5 to 132 years. The bathymetric results and
analytical formulas gave almost similar results (125 years) for useful life.
Six different empirical methods depending on the residence time principle (water retention time)
were used to determine TE for MDR for period 1986 to 2011. The methods are; Brune (1953),
Dendy (1974), Gill (1979), Ward (1980), Heinemann (1981) and Jothiprakash and Garg (2008).
The monthly operating data for inflow, outflow and water elevations for MDR were used to
determine monthly TE and long-term TE for the whole period of MDR. Furthermore, monthly
inflow rate for the River Tigris upstream of MDR, its sediment rating curve and sediment
58
feeding from valleys around MDR were used to estimate the amount of sediment coming to the
reservoir. The sediment entering the reservoir was 1.199 km3 (1.17684 km3 and 0.02216 km3 for
the River Tigris and surrounding valleys respectively). The results provided by these methods for
TE with sediment entering MDR were used to calculate monthly amounts of sediment deposited
in MDR during this period. The results obtained were evaluated using observed bathymetric
survey data that was conducted in 2011. The evaluation results showed that, all the mentioned
methods gave convergent results and were very close to the bathymetric survey results for
estimation of the volume of sediment deposited especially the method that was proposed by
Ward (1980) (0.350 % percentage error). Furthermore, the results calculated using monthly TE
gave a good consensus in comparison with that calculated using long-term TE with percentage
error ranging between -3.237 to 1.662% for monthly adopted data and -4.549 to -2.450% for
whole data.
ASC curves are very important characteristics of reservoirs. Four empirical and semi-empirical
methods for establishing these curves were evaluated and three of them were modified to predict
the future changes of ASC curves due to sedimentation. These methods are; the area reduction
method (Borland and Miller, 1958) and those proposed by Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. (2009),
Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour (2010) and Kaveh et al. (2013). These approaches were
reviewed and applied to estimate sedimentation depth at dam site and to determine the ASC
curves for MDR. The results obtained from these methods were evaluated using observed 2011
bathymetric survey data. The comparison of the results for establishing the ASC curves showed
that the method proposed by Kaveh et al. (2013) gave a good consensus with the bathymetric
results. For maximum water depth at the dam site or sedimentation depth, Mohammadzadeh-
Habili and Heidarpour (2010) and Kaveh et al. (2013) methods were more accurate for
determining sedimentation depth at the dam site. The percentage errors were 1.06% and 2.125%
respectively. The Kaveh et al. (2013) method also gave good results for calculating the shape
factor of the reservoir that was adopted in the area reduction method.
The last three methods mentioned above had been proposed for determining the ASC curves. In
this study, these methods were modified to enable them to be used for predicting the changes in
the ASC curves, based on data from the original and secondary surveys of 11 reservoirs in the
USA. The results of the reservoirs used showed that the future changes in the reservoir
coefficients suggested by Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. (2009), Mohammadzadeh-Habili and
Heidarpour (2010) and Kaveh et al. (2013) depend on the conditions of reservoir sedimentation.
They change linearly with time and change slightly (increase or decrease) if the conditions of
reservoir sedimentation are steady. Therefore, this principle was applied to MDR to predict the
future ASC curves for 50, 75, 100 and 125 years. The curves predicted by these methods showed
that there was good agreement with the method adopted by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (area
reduction method). It should be mentioned however, that the differences in results between all
methods decreased as the period of sedimentation increased. Therefore, this linear relationship
for the reservoir coefficient can be used for the predicting changes of ASC curves using the last
three methods.
59
60
CHAPTER 6
Conclusion and Proposed Future Work
6.1 Conclusion
Sediment trapping behind dams can cause depletion in their storage capacity that might threaten
the sustainability of the water supply and hydropower generation. Two techniques (direct and
indirect) were used to evaluate the quantity of sediment deposited in MDR since its operation in
1986 up to 2011. Two topographic maps in TIN format and analysis sediment samples from the
bottom were adopted through the direct techniques. The TIN maps were developed from the
topographic map dated 1983 before the dam construction and the bathymetric survey in 2011.
These two maps were used to; calculate the amount of deposited sediment, develop and evaluate
ASC curves, determine the bed morphology and estimate the useful life of MDR whilst the
sediment sample to verify the type of sediment that was deposited in MDR. Empirical and semi-
empirical approaches were employed to determine the same things for MDR and their results
were compared with those obtained by direct methods to find out which approach can be adopted
in the future.
The bathymetric survey results indicated that the deposition rate was 45.72 ×106 m3.yr-1 where
23.2×106 m3.yr-1 and 22.52×106 m3.yr-1 were deposited in dead and live storage zones
respectively. This implies that the annual reduction rate in the storage capacity was 0.411%
which is less than the 1% worldwide and 1.02 Middle East rates. Sediment deposited within the
live storage part of the reservoir was 0.563 km3 and 0.58 km3 in dead storage zones, which
represents 49.25% and 50.75% respectively of the total sediment deposited in the reservoir. Most
of the sediment was deposited in the upper part of MDR and there were erosion areas within the
reservoir. The number of these areas increases close to the dam body due to dissolving the
gypsum and/or limestone beds. According to the bathymetric survey results and algebraic
equations that were used; the useful life of MDR will be about 125 years if the conditions of
sedimentation remain constant.
The indirect approaches gave a good consensus with direct measurements for estimating the
amount of deposited sediment, determining sedimentation depth at the dam site and establishing
the ASC curves and useful life estimation of the dam. For the amount of deposited sediment, the
monthly TE and long term TE based on the water retention time principle were used. All
techniques gave good results, especially those depending on monthly TE, in particular the
method proposed by Ward (1980) for the large dams with 0.350% percentage error. Four
methods were evaluated for estimating sedimentation depth at dam site and for establishing ASC
curves based on the bathymetric survey results. Kaveh et al. (2013) method gave good agreement
for ASC curves and sedimentation depth. In addition, three of these methods were modified to
predict the future changes in the ASC curves or sedimentation characteristics based on the field
61
measurements of 11 reservoirs in the USA. The results of the suggested approach were compared
with the adopted method giving reasonable results for the prediction of the changes in ASC
curves. Finally, the indirect approaches that were being used during this study can be applied for
viewing and monitoring of sedimentation characteristics for MDR in the future. This will help
the engineers and operators to put prudent strategies in place for management of MDR.
6.2 Proposed Further Work
Future work should be focused on:
x The sediment management strategies increase the useful life of dams and decrease problems
experienced downstream the dam by mitigating the sediment starvation phenomenon due to
trapping sediment. Therefore, it is important to check the situations for the big reservoirs in
Iraq and update their operation curves where there are dams which were built in the 1950s.
x Sinkholes threaten the safety of Mosul Dam. It is recommended that intensive surveys should
be conducted within the vicinity of Mosul Dam to locate these sinkholes and treat them.
x Conducting sediment transport measurements in the River Tigris upstream MDR to update the
previous sediment rating curve. This is due to the fact that new dams were built in Turkey,
which might affect sediment transport rates in the river.
x The physical model of Mosul Dam available at Mosul University should be refurbished to
conduct useful experiments. A laboratory study was conducted using a physical model of
MDR to find out the impact of the water level in the reservoir and water discharge in the
River Tigris on the sediment movement upstream of the reservoir where the Tigris River
enters the reservoir.
62
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72
APPENDED PAPERS
PART II
73
74
PAPER I
Sedimentation and New Operational

Curves for Mosul Dam, Iraq
Authors:
Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N. and Knutsson, S.
Bibliography:
Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N. and Knutsson, S. (2013) Sedimentation and New Operational Curves
for Mosul Dam, Iraq, Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (7), pp.1–11. DOI:
10.1080/02626667.2013.789138 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2013.789138
1456 Hydrological Sciences Journal – Journal des Sciences Hydrologiques, 58 (7) 2013
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2013.789138
Sedimentation and new operational curves for Mosul Dam, Iraq
Issa E. Issa, Nadhir Al-Ansari and Sven Knutsson

Luleå University of Technology, SE-971 87 Luleå, Sweden
issa.elias@ltu.se; nadhir.alansari@ltu.se; sven.knutsson@ltu.se
Received 27 August 2012; accepted 12 February 2013; open for discussion until 1 April 2014
Editor D. Koutsoyiannis
Downloaded by [Lulea University of Technology] at 04:30 18 February 2015
Citation Issa, E.I., Al-Ansari, N., and Knutsson, S., 2013. Sedimentation and new operational curves for Mosul Dam, Iraq.
Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (7), 1456–1466.
Abstract Mosul Dam is one of the biggest hydraulic structures in Iraq. Its storage capacity is 11.11 × 109 m3 at a
maximum operation level of 330 m a.s.l. The dam became operational in 1986 and no survey has been conducted
to determine its storage capacity and establish new operational curves since this date. A topographic map of scale
1:50 000 dated 1983 was converted into triangulated irregular network (TIN) format using the ArcGIS program to
evaluate the operational curves. Then the reservoir was surveyed in 2011 to establish the reduction in its storage
capacity and to develop new operational curves. The results indicated that the reduction in the storage capacity
of the reservoir was 14.73%. This implies that the rate of sedimentation within the reservoir was 45.72 × 106 m3
year-1 . These results indicate that most of the sediment was deposited within the upper zone of the reservoir where
the River Tigris enters the reservoir.
Key words bathymetric survey; dam operational curves; reservoir sedimentation; Mosul Dam, Iraq
Sédimentation et nouvelles courbes d’exploitation pour le barrage de Mossoul en Irak

Résumé Le barrage de Mossoul est l’un des plus grands ouvrages hydrauliques de l’Irak. Sa capacité de stockage
est de 11,11 × 109 m3 au niveau maximum d’exploitation (330 m au dessus du nmm). Le barrage a été mis en
service en 1986 et aucune enquête n’avait été menée depuis pour déterminer sa capacité de stockage et établir de
nouvelles courbes d’exploitation. Une carte topographique à l’échelle du 1/50 000 établie en 1983 a été traduite
au format de réseau irrégulier triangulé en utilisant le programme ArcGIS pour évaluer les courbes d’exploitation.
Le réservoir a alors été étudié en 2011 pour mesurer la réduction de sa capacité de stockage et établir de nouvelles
courbes d’exploitation. Les résultats ont indiqué que la capacité de stockage du réservoir avait été réduite de
14,73%., ce qui implique que le taux de sédimentation dans le réservoir avait été de 45,72 × 106 m3 an-1 . Les
résultats indiquent que la majeure partie des sédiments a été déposée dans la zone située à l’amont du réservoir, à
l’embouchure du Tigre.
Mots clefs levé bathymétrique; courbes d’exploitation du barrage; sédimentation du réservoir; barrage de Mossoul, Irak
INTRODUCTION presence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (Al-Ansari

and Knutsson 2011).
Scarcity of water resources in the Middle East is an The idea of building dams in Iraq started in
extremely important factor in the political stability of the first half of the twentieth century. Primarily this
the region, and an integral element in its economic was to protect Baghdad, the capital, and other major
development and prosperity (Naff 1993, Al-Ansari cities from flooding. The first big dam (Dokan) was
1998, 2005). Future predictions suggest more severe constructed in 1959 on the Lesser Zab River. Later,
shortages of water and a reduction in water secu- dams were constructed for irrigation and power gen-
rity (Bazzaz 1993, Al-Ansari et al. 1999). Until the eration purposes (Iraqi Parliament 2009). The total
1970s, Iraq was considered an exception relative to water withdrawal in Iraq in 1990 was about 42.8 km3
its water-stressed neighbouring countries due to the year-1 (1357 m3 s-1 ), which was used for agricultural
© 2013 IAHS Press

Sedimentation and new operational curves for Mosul Dam, Iraq 1457
(90%), domestic (4%) and industrial (6%) purposes 2003 (Al-Ansari and Al-Alalami 2003, Al-Ansari and
(Sadik and Barghouti 1993, Al-Ansari 1998, 2005). Knutsson 2012). In this research, a pre-construction
According to the most recent estimates, 85% of the topographic map of scale 1: 50 000, dated 1983, was
water withdrawal is used for agricultural purposes converted into a digital map in a triangulated irreg-
(Al-Ansari 1998, Al-Ansari and Knutsson 2011). ular network (TIN) format using ArcGIS. The TIN
It should be mentioned, however, that safe water map was used to compute the area–storage capacity
quality supplies reach 100% of the urban areas and curves before the dam operation, in order to evalu-
only 54% of rural areas. The purification and distri- ate the adopted operating curves that were proposed
bution of municipal water supplies had deteriorated by Imatran Voima Osakeyhtio, Consulting Engineers,
after the Gulf War for both water and sanitation sec- Finland (IVO 1968). Then, Mosul Reservoir was sur-
tors (Al-Ansari and Knutsson 2011). In 1977, the veyed in 2011 to evaluate its existing storage capacity
Turkish Government started to utilize the water of the and to establish new operational curves. It should be
Tigris and Euphrates rivers through the South-eastern mentioned, however, that the maximum water level
Anatolia Project (GAP). The project includes 22 mul- in the reservoir is 330 m a.s.l., while the survey was
tipurpose dams and 19 hydraulic power plants, which conducted when the level was 320 m a.s.l. The dif-
are to irrigate 17 103 km2 of land, with a total storage ference in the capacity of the reservoir obtained by
capacity of 100 km3 —three times more than the over- the adopted operating curves and the new survey
all capacity of Iraqi and Syrian reservoirs (Al-Ansari conducted in 2011 represent the sediment accumu-
and Knutsson 2011). Eight of these dams are to be lated within the reservoir between 1986 and 2011.
constructed on the River Tigris, only three have been The two surveys were used to determine the sediment
built to date (two in 1997 and one in 1998). distribution within the reservoir.
Iraq receives 20.9 km3 year-1 of water from the
Tigris River and, once the Ilisu Dam is constructed,
this is likely to drop to 9.7 km3 year-1 , which means
that 47% of the river flow will be depleted (Al-Alaf SITE DESCRIPTION
2009). This means that 6961 km2 of agricultural land Mosul Dam, which has been built on the Tigris River
will be abandoned due to water scarcity (Al-Ansari in northern Iraq, is one of the biggest hydraulic struc-
and Knutsson 2011). The Iraqi Government real- tures in Iraq. The dam is located approximately 60 km
ized the process of building dams should be speeded northwest of Mosul city and 80 km from the Syrian
up due to the huge increase of water demand and and Turkish borders, as shown in Fig. 1. The main
the threat of reducing water flows in the Tigris and dam is 113 m high, 3650 m long (including its spill-
Euphrates by Turkey and Syria. The process stopped way), has a 10 m top width and crest level of 341 m
in the 1990s due to the second Gulf War and UN a.s.l (Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources 2012). Mosul
sanctions and none of the dams were filled to their Dam was operating on 24 July 1986. It is a mul-
maximum storage capacity until the year 2012. The tipurpose project for irrigation, flood control and
reduction of flow in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in hydropower generation. The majority of the water
Iraq is considered to be a national crisis, and will have entering the reservoir flows from the River Tigris. The
severe negative consequences on health as well as on water surface area of the reservoir at the beginning of
environmental, industrial and economic development the dam operation was 380 km2 with a storage capac-
(Al-Ansari and Knutsson 2011). ity of 11.11 × 109 m3 at the maximum operation level
In view of the situation described above, it of 330 m a.s.l., including 8.16 × 109 m3 live storage
is imperative to manage national water resources and 2.95 × 109 m3 dead storage (Iraqi Ministry of
prudently. The Iraqi Government is forced now to Water Resources 2012). The length of the reservoir is
adopt speedy and effective procedures to overcome about 45 km and its width ranges from 2 to 14 km at
the water shortages (Al-Ansari and Knutsson 2011). the same operation level. There are 10 main valleys
Among these procedures is the evaluation of the feeding the reservoir, seven on the left bank and three
actual storage capacities of reservoirs. Despite the on the right bank (Muhammad and Mohamed 2005,
importance of the evaluation of the actual capac- Mohammed et al. 2012). The soils in the bed of the
ity of the existing reservoirs, very little work had valleys are mainly silty loam, silty clay loam and clay
been executed in this context. In Iraq, the only (Mohammed et al. 2012).The estimated catchment
existing work was carried out in 1987 (Al-Ansari area of the River Tigris upstream of Mosul Reservoir
1987). Similar work was carried out in Jordan after is about 54 900 km2 , shared by Turkey, Syria and Iraq
1458 Issa E. Issa et al.
Fig. 1 Location of Mosul Dam.

Fig. 2 Monthly inflows of Tigris River into the reservoir averaged over the years 1931–2011.
(Swiss Consultants 1979, Saleh 2010), and the catch- at Mosul University, Iraq, was used to evaluate the
ment area of the valleys surrounding the reservoir is adopted operating curves and for comparison with the
about 1375 km2 (Muhammad and Mohamed 2005, 2011 bathymetric survey. The topographic map was
Mohammed et al. 2012). projected onto a satellite image and georeferenced
The highest mean monthly discharge occurs to the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projec-
during April and the driest month is gener- tion, “WGS-1984, Zone 38N” in the ArcInfo pro-
ally September (Fig. 2). The maximum and min- gram of ArcGIS version 9.3 (Environmental Systems
imum monthly discharges of the River Tigris, Research Institute, Inc. 2012) (Fig. 4). To check
recorded since 1931, were 3514 m3 s-1 in April the accuracy of work done, the map was superim-
1954 and 87.7 m3 s-1 in September 1986, respectively posed on the satellite image. It can be seen that
(Engineering Consulting Bureau 2010). Impounding the course of River Tigris and side valleys coincide
of the reservoir started in June 1984, with initial (Fig. 4).
reservoir filling during the spring of 1985, while the Contour lines and spot locations of elevation
actual operation of the dam started in 1986. Figure 3 (benchmarks and high-water marks) within the reser-
illustrates the inflow–outflow operation in the period voir area on the map were manually digitized to
1986–2011. compute x, y and z coordinates. Furthermore, stream
path lines representing the River Tigris within the
reservoir area were also digitized using water sur-
TOPOGRAPHIC SURVEY OF 1983
face slope and contour lines. The water surface slope
A pre-impoundment (1983) 1: 50 000-scale topogra- of the River Tigris within the reservoir area at that
phic map, obtained from the Remote Sensing Centre time was 0.65 m km-1 (Swiss Consultants 1979, Najib
Fig. 3 Mean inflow and outflow of Mosul Reservoir (1986–2011).
Fig. 4 Projection of the 1983 Mosul Reservoir topographic map onto the 2009 satellite image.
1980). The total number of digitized points within the In addition, the longitudinal bed profile of
reservoir area was 6029 (Fig. 5). the River Tigris within the reservoir area before
A reservoir Polygon Shapefile (hard clip) around impounding was plotted from the topographic map
the reservoir boundary was created from the satel- and the TIN of the 1983 survey using the ArcGIS
lite image using the ArcMap program in ArcGIS software (Fig. 8). When comparing the resulting slope
(Fig. 6). This image, representing the reservoir at (0.667 m km-1 ), its value was found to be very close to
320 m a.s.l., was obtained from the Remote Sensing that calculated before the dam was constructed on the
Centre at Mosul University. The polygon was used Tigris River (0.65 m km-1 ) (Swiss Consultants 1979,
in a TIN development to prevent the interpolation Najib 1980).
outside the enclosed area. The TIN of the 1983 survey was used to construct
All digitized point files from the 1983 map and area–storage capacity curves of Mosul Reservoir for
the reservoir Polygon Shapefile were used to develop the pre-impoundment period (Fig. 9). These were
a TIN for the reservoir area before the construction compared with existing operational curves proposed
of the dam (Fig. 7). The “WGS-1984, Zone 38N” by IVO. It was found that the percentage difference
projection information, linear unit of metre for inter- was 4.0% for the stage–storage capacity curve and
polation, and a 0.9996 scale factor were used in this 7.7% for the stage–water surface area curve. This dif-
process. ference is due to the fact that the operation curves
Fig. 5 Location of digitized points on Mosul Reservoir topographic map.
Fig. 6 Mosul Reservoir polygon (hard clip) at 320 m a.s.l. elevation generated using ArcMap.
Fig. 7 Mosul Reservoir TIN surface model generated from 1983 survey using ArcMap.
Fig. 8 Bed profile of Tigris River from 1983 survey.

Fig. 9 Area–capacity curves for Mosul Reservoir, pre-impoundment.
proposed for the dam by IVO were constructed using The data were collected using a 200-kHz single-beam
topographic maps dated before 1968, while the map echo sounder viewer (Sea Charter 480DF; Eagle
used in this work was made in 1983. Electronics 2003) linked to a real-time kinematic
global positioning system (RTK-GPS) to define the
absolute coordinates (x,y,z) of the reservoir bottom
BATHYMETRIC SURVEY OF MOSUL DAM
during the traverses. The bathymetric survey system
RESERVOIR
software records the (x,y,z) coordinates data in a sonar
The methodology and data-processing methods that chart (∗ .slg file format) (Eagle Electronics 2003).
were used in the bathymetric survey for Mosul The Mosul Reservoir bathymetric survey was
Reservoir conducted in May 2011 to develop new conducted over 12 days from 15 May to 3 June
area–storage capacity curves and determine the 2011. The survey was conducted according to US
sediment distribution within the reservoir using echo Army Corps of Engineers standards for distances
sounder sonar viewer and ArcGIS software are as between transverse sections, boat types and calibra-
follows. tion (US Army Corps of Engineers 2004). Before the
bathymetric survey could be carried out, installation
and calibration of the echo sounder were performed.
Field work
The calibration was performed by a marked rod over
The bathymetric survey of the Mosul Reservoir was the side of the boat in calm water, according to the
conducted in May 2011 using an echo sounder with methods described by Eagle Electronics (2003) and
accessories, a Jet Ski boat, a 12v DC echo-sounding Ferrari and Collins (2006). The error values of water
power unit, and a variety of auxiliary equipment. depth measurements were ±4 cm, depending on the
water depth within the reservoir. The water temper- date was used for each data set collected on that date.
ature during the survey was taken by sea chart echo A water surface boundary of the reservoir was manu-
sounding. The temperature range was 28–30◦ C dur- ally digitized from satellite image and saved in ∗ .csv
ing the whole survey period. Since the temperature to determine the boundary of the reservoir. The ∗ .csv
was almost constant, the effect of temperature was Excel files and Polygon Shapefile were then used to
ignored. Transducer face depth (draft) during the sur- develop the TIN of the 2011 survey using the same
vey was 0.35 m below the water surface. The draft method as described in Section 3 (Fig. 11).
depth was used to correct the water depth that was
recorded by an echo sounder. The bathymetric sur-
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
vey was performed in calm water to avoid errors in
water depth measurement due to waves. The water To ensure prudent operation of Mosul Dam, new oper-
surface elevations during the survey were recorded at ational curves were established based on the survey
the hydropower generation station at the dam site, and conducted in 2011. The TIN for the 2011 bathymetric
at the pumping station of North Al-Jazeera Irrigation survey (Fig. 11) and operational curves (Fig. 9) were
Project in the upper zone of Mosul Reservoir. The ele- used to update the area–storage capacity curves for
vation readings of between 319.75 and 319.96 m a.s.l. Mosul Reservoir using ArcGIS (Fig. 12). The new
were used to convert the acoustic depth measurements operation curves of the Mosul Reservoir (based on
to reservoir bottom elevations during data processing. the 2011 survey) were compared with those proposed
Figure 10 shows the details of the transect lines during by IVO. It is evident that there is a shift between
the bathymetric survey. the curves. This is due to the changes in the storage
capacity and water surface area of the reservoir due
to sediment deposition during the operational period
Data processing
of the dam.
Depth and boat position data obtained from the The storage capacity of Mosul Reservoir at pool
echo sounding survey were in (∗ .slg) format. Each elevation of 320 m a.s.l was 7.749 × 109 m3 for the
(∗ .slg) file was converted to (x,y,z) coordinates (∗ .csv) original operation curve and 6.606×109 m3 for the
MS Excel file format by Sonar Log Viewer 2.1.2 2011 survey, giving a difference in storage capacities
(Lowrance 2012). The water depth values in ∗ .csv of 1.143×109 m3 . This represents the total storage
were adjusted with respect to transducer depth (draft loss due to sediment deposition throughout the opera-
= 0.35 m). The value of bed-elevation = water tional period, and represents 14.73% of total storage.
surface elevation – adjusted depth. It should be men- This implies that the annual sedimentation rate is
tioned, however, that, as the survey was conducted 0.59%, which is less than both the worldwide rate
during a calm period, the heights of waves were less of 1% proposed by Mahmood (1987) and that of the
than 10 cm. For this reason, the effect of waves was Middle East of 1.02% (Basson 2008). In view of
neglected. The water surface elevation for each survey the above, the annual sedimentation rate for Mosul
Fig. 10 Mosul Reservoir bathymetric survey data points.

Fig. 11 Mosul Reservoir TIN surface model generated from 2011 bathymetric survey using ArcMap.
Fig. 12 New area–capacity curves for Mosul Reservoir.
Reservoir during 1986–2011 is calculated as 45.72 × designate the borders between these zones. The vol-
106 m3 year-1 . This suggests that the reservoir will be ume and percentage of accumulated sediment in the
filled completely within 169 years. three reservoir zones were computed by 3D-analyst
Furthermore, using Fig. 12, the live storage tools and are presented in Table 1.
capacity of the reservoir was derived as 4.797×109 It can be seen from Table 1 that the overall
m3 in 1986 and 4.234 × 109 m3 in 2011. These results reduction in the capacity of the reservoir was 14.73%
show that the sediment deposited within the live stor- between the two surveys. The upper zone of the reser-
age was 0.5657 × 109 m3 , which represents 49.5% voir showed the highest reduction in storage capacity
of total sediment deposited within the reservoir. This (39%) compared to the middle (10.5%) and lower
implies that the live storage capacity was reduced by (7.17%) zones. This is shown in Fig. 14, and is due to
11.8% over the period 1986–2011. the fact that the River Tigris enters the reservoir from
To show the sediment distribution within the the north. Such a sequence is very logical in reservoirs
reservoir area, the reservoir was divided into three (Fan and Morris 1992).
zones: upper, middle and lower, using ArcMap It is assumed that the overall capacity of the reser-
(Fig. 13). The divisions were based on the shape of voir that had been evaluated from 1983 topographic
the reservoir: there are two bends within the gen- maps would be exactly the same value as given by
eral shape of the reservoir, and these were used to the designed operation curve of the dam when the
Fig. 13 Zones of the Mosul Reservoir polygon at 320 m a.s.l. elevation.
Table 1 Storage capacity of Mosul Reservoir at 320 m a.s.l. showed very small deviation from actual depth val-
for the two surveys.. ues (±4 cm) and the water temperature was more or
Location Storage capacity Accumulated Storage less the same during the survey. In addition, the field
(m3 × 10-9 ) sediment reduction survey was conducted during very stable weather con-
(m3 × 10-9 ) (%) ditions when the height of the waves was less than
1983 2011
10 cm due to calm wind.
Upper zone 1.538 0.938 0.600 39 The results imply that the average rate of
Middle zone 2.85 2.55 0.300 10.5
Lower zone 3.361 3.12 0.241 7.17
sediment yield in the catchment area upstream of
the Mosul Dam is 780 t km-2 year-1 . This rate
Total 7.749 6.606 1.143 14.73 is lower than the erosion rates in the region (875
t km-2 year-1 ) given by Walling and Webb (1996) and
Walling (2009). It is assumed that the construction
water level is at 320 m a.s.l. (Fig. 9). However, it of dams in the upper parts of the River Tigris will
should be mentioned, that, at lower water levels, there trap some of the bed and suspended loads. As a con-
was a slight deviation of not more than 4%. For sequence the life span of the Mosul Dam will be
the 2011 survey, the readings of the echo sounder increased.
Fig. 14 Three-dimensional profiles of Mosul Reservoir: 2011 and 1983.

CONCLUSIONS Al-Ansari, N.A., 1998. Water resources in the Arab countries:

problems and possible solutions. UNESCO international
Two TIN maps were constructed for Mosul Reservoir conference—water: a looming crisis, 3–6 June 1998, Paris,
using ArcGIS 9.3 software. The first represents the 367–376.
Al-Ansari, N.A., 2005. Applied surface hydrology. Mafraq: Al al-Bayt
year 1983 (before the impounding of the reservoir), University publication.
based on the topographic map (printed in 1983) and Al-Ansari, N.A. and Al-Alalami, H., 2003. Reduction of water stor-
the second, the year 2011, based on the bathymetric age capacity of the Wadi Arab Dam (Jordan) due to reservoir
sedimentation. Al Manara Journal for Scientific Studies and
survey conducted in 2011 (after 25 years of opera- Research, 9 (2), 155–168.
tion). The 1983 map was used to evaluate the adopted Al-Ansari, N.A. and Knutsson, S., 2011. Toward prudent manage-
operational curves. The results, when comparing the ment of water resources in Iraq. Journal of Advance Science
adopted designed operation curves with that obtained and Engineering Research, 1, 53–67.
Al-Ansari, N.A. and Knutsson, S., 2012. Reduction of storage capac-
from the 1983 topographic map, showed that the max- ity of two small reservoirs in Jordan. Journal of Earth Science
imum percentage difference was 4.0% for the stage– and Geotechnical Engineering, 2 (1), 17–37.
storage capacity curve and 7.7% for the stage–water Al-Ansari, N.A., Salameh, E., and Al-Omari, I., 1999. Analysis
of rainfall in the Badia region, Jordan. Mafraq: Al al-Bayt
surface area curve. University Research Paper, No.1.

New operation curves were established from the Basson, G., 2008. Reservoir sedimentation—an overview of global
2011 survey. The results showed that the reduction sedimentation rates, sediment yield and sediment deposition
prediction [online]. International workshop on erosion, trans-
in the storage capacity of the reservoir was 14.73% port and deposition of sediment, 28–30 April 2008, Berne.
(1.143 × 109 m3 ). This indicates that the annual Available from: http://www.chr-khr.org/files/u8/Bern_Basson.
rate of sedimentation within the reservoir was 0.59% pdf [Accessed 20 July 2012].
(45.72 × 106 m3 year-1 ), which is less than the depo- Bazzaz, F., 1993. Global climatic changes and its consequences for
water availability in the Arab World. In: R. Roger and P. Lydon,
sitional rates worldwide and in the Middle East. This eds. Water in the Arab world: perspectives and prognoses.
implies that the estimated operational age of the dam Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 243–252.
is about 169 years. This age will be increased due to Eagle Electronics, 2003. Installation and operation instructions.
Publication 988-0143-731 [online]. Available from: http://
the upstream sediment trapping once all the dams of www.eaglenav.com/upload/Eagle/Documents/Manuals/sea
the GAP project are constructed. The results showed Charter480df_0143-731_121903.pdf [Accessed 10 January
that the sediment deposited within the live storage 2011].
part of the reservoir was 0.5657 × 109 m3 . This Engineering Consulting Bureau, 2010. Sedimentation study at the
intake of North Al-Jazira Irrigation Project. Mosul: Mosul
amount represents 49.5% of total sediment delivered University, College of Engineering, Contract No. 20, Final
from the catchment area to the reservoir. This implies Report.
that the reduction in live storage capacity was 11.8%. ESRI, 2012. Available from: http://www.esri.com [Accessed 5 April
2012].
Most of the sediment was deposited within the upper Fan, J., and Morris, G.L., 1992. Reservoir sedimentation. I: Delta and
zone of the reservoir (0.6 × 109 m3 ) where the River density current deposits. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering of
Tigris enters the reservoir, and the amount decreases the American Society of Civil Engineers, 118 (3), 354–369.
Ferrari, R.L. and Collins, K., 2006. Reservoir survey and data
towards the dam site. analysis. In: Erosion and sedimentation manual [online].
Denver, CO: Bureau of Reclamation, Sedimentation and
Acknowledgements The authors would like to River Hydraulics Group. Available from: www.usbr.gov/pmts/
express their deep thanks and gratitude to Professor sediment [Accessed 15 March 2011].
Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources, 2012. Water resources, Mosul
Ian Foster for reading the manuscripts and giving Dam [online]. Available from: http://www.mowr.gov.iq:81/
very fruitful suggestions and comments. Thanks to arabi/ [Accessed 11 July 2012].
the Remote Sensing Centre at Mosul University, Iraq, Iraqi Parliament, 2009. Dams of Iraq. Official site of the Iraqi
Parliament [online]. Available from: http://www.irqparliament.
for providing the topographic maps and aerial photos. com/vb/showthread.php?t=30387 [Accessed 14 May 2012].
The Mosul Dam Project helped the authors to conduct IVO, 1968. Hydrological and reservoir information. Republic of Iraq:
the survey. Ministry of Agrarian Reform No. RU3ML0166.
Lowrance, 2012. Sonar Log Viewer [online]. Available from:
http://www.lowrance.co.it/Download/Sonar-Log-Viewer-SLV/
[Accessed 10 February 2012].
REFERENCES Mahmood, K., 1987. Reservoir sedimentation: impact, extent, miti-
Al-Alaf, I., 2009. Ilisu dam and its effect on man and environment in gation. Washington, DC: World Bank Technical Report No. 71.
Iraq and Turkey [online]. Batnaya. Available from: http://www. Mohammad, M.E., Al-Ansari, N.A., and Knutsson, S., 2012.
batnaya.net/forum/showthread.php?s=9bd97aa8bfae0b9b3555 Sediment delivery from right bank valleys to Mosul Reservoir
4d8ce6c2787e&p=151263#post151263 [Accessed 14 May Iraq. Journal of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 3 (1),
2012]. 50–53.
Al-Ansari, N.A., 1987. Hemrin Reservoir: geological and Muhammad, A.M. and Mohamed, Y.T., 2005. Estimating water
hydrological investigation. Journal of Water Research, yield from all wadis that flow to eastern bank of Mosul Dam
Special Publication No. 2. Reservoir. Al-Rafidain Engineering Journal, 11 (2), 46–56.
Naff, T., 1993. Conflict and water use in the Middle East. In: R. Swiss Consultants, 1979. Mosul Dam Project-planning report. State
Roger and P. Lydon, eds. Water in the Arab world: perspectives organization of dams. Republic of Iraq: Ministry of Irrigation,
and prognoses, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, vol. 1.
253–284. US Army Corps of Engineers, 2004. Engineering and design hydro-
Najib, Y.E., 1980. Characteristics of Tigris River at graphic surveying. Washington, DC: Department of US Army,
Mosul. Thesis (MSc), College of Engineering, Mosul Em1110-2-1003/toc.htm.
University. Walling, D.E., 2009. The impact of global change on erosion
Sadik, A. and Barghouti, S., 1993. The water problems of the and sediment transport by rivers: current progress and future
Arab world: management of scarce resources. In: R. Roger challenges. The UN World Water Assessment Programme
and P. Lydon, eds. Water in the Arab world: perspec- [online], 26. Available from: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/
tives and prognoses, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University 0018/001850/185078e.pdf [Accessed 11 July 2012].
Press, 1–38. Walling, D.E. and Webb, B.W., eds., 1996. Erosion and sediment
Saleh, D.K., 2010. Stream gage descriptions and stream flow statistics yield: a global overview. In: Erosion and sediment yield:
for sites in the Tigris River and Euphrates River basins, Iraq. global and regional perspectives (Proceedings of the Exeter
Basins: US Geological Survey, Data series 540. Symposium). Wallingford: IAHS Press, IAHS Publ. 236, 3–19.
PAPER II
Sedimentation Processes and Useful Life of

Mosul Dam Reservoir, Iraq
Authors:
Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N., Sherwany, G. and Knutsson, S.
Bibliography:
Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N., Sherwany, G. and Knutsson, S. (2013) Sedimentation Processes and
Useful Life of Mosul Dam Reservoir, Iraq, Engineering, 5, pp. 779-784. doi:
10.4236/eng.2013.510094. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/eng.2013.510094
Engineering, 2013, 5, 779-784
http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/eng.2013.510094 Published Online October 2013 (http://www.scirp.org/journal/eng)
Sedimentation Processes and Useful Life of Mosul

Dam Reservoir, Iraq
Issa E. Issa1,2, Nadhir Al-Ansari1, Govand Sherwany3, Sven Knutsson1
1
Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering,
Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden
2
Mosul University, Mosul, Iraq
3
Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research-KRG, Erbil, Iraq
Email: issa.elias@ltu.se, nadhir.alansari@ltu.se, sven.knutsson@ltu.se, govand.sherwani@mhe-krg.org
Received July 14, 2013; revised August 14, 2013; accepted August 21, 2013
Copyright © 2013 Issa E. Issa et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,
which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
ABSTRACT
The sedimentation process is the most important problems that affects directly the performance of reservoirs due to the
reduction of the storage capacity and possible problems effecting the operation. Thus periodic assessment of the storage
capacity and determining sediment deposition patterns is an important issue for operation and management of the res-
ervoirs. In this study, bathymetric survey results and an analytical approach had been used to assess the characteristics
of sedimentation and estimate the useful life of Mosul Reservoir. It is located on the Tigris River in the north of Iraq.
The water surface area of its reservoir is 380 km2 with a designed storage capacity of 11.11 km3 at a maximum operat-
ing level (330 m a.s.l). The dam started operating in 1986. No detailed study was yet carried out to assess its reservoir.
The present study indicated that the annual reduction rate in the dead and live storage capacities of the reservoir is
0.786% and 0.276% respectively. The observed results (bathymetric survey) and algebraic formula show approximately
that the useful life of Mosul dam reservoir is about 125 years. Furthermore, the stage-storage capacity curves for the
future periods (prediction curves) were established using bathymetric survey data.
Keywords: Bathymetric Survey; Mosul Dam; Reservoir Sedimentation Rate; Useful Life of Reservoir
1. Introduction project includes 22 multipurpose dams and 19 hydraulic

power plants which are to irrigate 17,103 km2 of land
The decrease and scarcity of water resources in the with a total storage capacity of 100 km3 which is three
Middle East due to increased demand have negative ef- times more than the overall capacity of Iraq and Syrian
fects on the economic development and prosperity and reservoirs [4,5]. Eight of these dams are to be constructed
thus affect political stability in the region [1-5]. Until on the River Tigris, only three were built (two in 1997
1970, Iraq was excluded from the neighboring countries and one in 1998). The irrigation projects in GAP will
that suffer from water scarcity due to the presence of the consume about 22.5 km3 of water per year after com-
Tigris and Euphrates rivers despite the fact that in mid- pletion [3-5]. The total irrigated area in Iraq is estimated
seventies the Syrian cut the Euphrates water to impound before the Iraq-Iran war and the second Gulf War to be
some of their reservoirs [4]. The idea of construction of around 40,000 km2 which decreased to 27,800 km2 after
irrigation and flood control systems in Iraq were started second Gulf War for the Euphrates-Tigris basin [3,4].
in the first half of the twentieth century by the Board of The reduction of flow in the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Development created by the Kingdom of Iraq [4]. Pri- in Iraq is considered to be a national crisis and will have
marily, it was to protect Baghdad, the capital, and other severe negative consequences on health and on environ-
major cities from flooding. The 1970 to 1990 was the mental, industrial and economic development [4,5]. In
best period of development of Iraq’s water systems. The view of the above, the Iraqi Government should work to
process stopped in the 1990 due to the first Gulf War and adopt effective procedures to overcome the water short-
UN sanctions. In 1977, the Turkish Government started ages. Among these procedures is the assessment the
to utilize the water of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers sedimentation rate in the reservoirs to determine actual
through the South-eastern Anatolia Project (GAP). The storage capacities [4]. Mosul Reservoir is one of the
Copyright © 2013 SciRes. ENG

780 I. E. ISSA ET AL.
strategic projects and its storage capacity needs to be than 2% [8-11]. The catchment area of the River Tigris
evaluated. The reservoir was operated in 1986 and no estimated above Mosul dam is about 54,900 km2 shared
detailed studies had yet been carried out to know the by Turkey, Syria and Iraq [12,13] and the catchment area
characteristics of sedimentation and determine its useful of the valleys surrounding the reservoir is about 1375
life. km2 [14,10].
In the present study, the two topographic maps of
Mosul reservoir dated 1983 and 2011 in “Triangular 3. Data Availability
Irregular Network” (TIN) format were used for the as-
sessment of sedimentation rate and determining the re- The hydrographic survey is a direct measurement and
duction in the storage capacity for the live and dead most accurate technique to determine the total volume of
storages as well as the whole Mosul reservoir during its the sediment deposited in the reservoirs, sedimentation
operational period. The two surveys were used to deter- pattern and bottom profile in the reservoirs and lakes. The
mine the future shift in the stage-storage capacity curve recent advances in Global Positioning System (GPS),
of reservoir. Furthermore, the observed results and alge- echo sounding survey technique and computer programs
braic equation that were proposed by Gill [6] were used caused a significant reduction in the efforts, time and cost
to determine the life span of Mosul reservoir. of the collecting and analyzing survey data [15-17]. The
1986 and 2011 topographic maps in TIN format for Mo-
2. Study Area: Mosul Reservoir sul reservoir area were used to evaluate the sedimentation
rate. These maps were provided by Issa et al. [18] (Figure
Mosul dam is one of the most important hydraulic struc-
3). The TIN maps were used to compute the storage ca-
tures in Iraq which has been built on the Tigris River,
pacity and water-spread area for live storage and dead
north of Iraq. The dam is an earth fill dam, 113 m high,
storage zones using Arc/GIS software (Table 1). The re-
3650 m long with its spillway, located 60 km north
duction in storage capacity of the reservoir for the two
west Mosul city at latitude 36Û37'44"N and longitude
surveys at different times represents the total volume of
42Û49'23"E (Figure 1). The dam is multipurpose and in
sediment accumulated in it [17]. Therefore, the above
operation on July 7th, 1986 for irrigation, floods control
results were used to compute the volume of sediment de-
and hydropower generation [7]. Mosul dam has a de-
signed dead storage of 2.95 km3 and live storage of posited and the reduction in the water-spread area for the
8.16 km3; i.e. a total storage capacity of 11.11 km3. The reservoir during 25 year of operating (Table 1).
maximum, full and dead storage levels of the reservoir
are 335, 330 and 300 m a.s.l respectively. The shape of 4. Results and Discussion
the reservoir is almost elongated and expands close to the The reservoirs are built to achieve certain purposes, e.g.
dam site. Its length is about 45 km with width ranges irrigation, hydropower generation, flood control, naviga-
from 2 to 14 km at the full level with 380 km2 water- tional, urban water supply, etc. Reservoir sedimentation
spread area [7]. The main source of the water and sedi- and consequent loss of storage capacity affects directly
ment entering the reservoir flows from the River Tigris; the future performance of reservoirs. Consequently, it is
Figure 2 shows the average monthly water inflow and of prime importance to monitor the rate of sedimentation
outflow of the reservoir during 25 years of its operation. and the changes in the capacity of the reservoir. To
Ten seasonal valleys feed the reservoir, 7 from eastern achieve a real situation of the storage volume of water
side and 3 from the western side. These valleys contrib- within Mosul reservoir it is important to know the fol-
ute water and sediment during rain events that are less lowing:
Figure 1. Location of Mosul Dam.

I. E. ISSA ET AL. 781
1800
Released
1600 Inflow
1400
Discharge m3 s-1
1200
1000 Average inflow = 561 m3 s-1

800 Average released = 555 m3 s-1
600
400
200
0
Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept
Months
Figure 2. Monthly mean inflow and outflow of the Mosul reservoir for 1986-2011.
Figure 3. TIN maps of Mosul reservoir.
Table 1. Storage capacity and water-spread area of Mosul reservoir for two surveys.
Storage capacity (S.C) Water-spread area (W.S.A)

Storage
capacity in Survey 1986 Survey 2011 Difference in S.C % Reduction in Survey 1986 Survey 2011 Difference in % Reduction in
km3 km3 km3 S.C km2 km2 W.S.A km2 W.S.A
Live zone 8.16 7.597 0.563 6.9 380 363.5 16.5 4.34
Dead zone 2.95 2.37 0.58 19.66 170 136.54 33.46 19.7
Reservoir 11.11 9.967 1.143 10.29 380 363.5 16.5 4.34
4.1. Useful Life of Reservoir ª C º

0.4935 o 0.3 u 105 »
The useful life or design life is a period that the sediment ª Ȗ c u I º «« I
»
TL « G »« (1)
I
deposited does not affect the economic feasibility and ¬ ¼ u 0.00436 »
sustainability of water resources demand. In general, « Co »
¬ ¼
useful life of the reservoir is the time period when the
Medium sediment
reservoirs depleted 50% of its storage capacity or the
dead storage is completely filled with sediment [6,19]. ª Ȗcu I º ª Co º
In the present study, the useful life for Mosul reservoir
TL « G » « 0.008 0.51 I » (2)
¬ ¼¬ ¼
was computed using algebraic equations that were pro- Fine sediment
posed by Gill [6]. The equations represent the relation-
ship between initial storage capacity of reservoir, water ª Co 3 I º
and sediment inflow into the reservoir and specific « 0.51328 I 0.133 u 10 u C »
ª Ȗc u I º « o »
weight of sediment deposited as shown in the following TL « » (3)
¬ G ¼« »
2
§ I ·
equations. « 0.153 u10 u ¨ ¸ 0.018167 »
5
For coarse grained sediment ¬« © Co ¹ ¼»

where, Co is the initial storage capacity of reservoir; TL is 45.72 × 106 m3·yearí1 which is divided into 23.2 × 106
the useful life when the initial capacity reduce to half; I is and 22.52 × 106 m3·yearí1 for dead and live zones respec-
the annual water inflow; G is the weight of annual sedi- tively. This implies that the annual loss of storage capac-
ment inflow; and r' is the specific weight of sediment ity within the dead and live zones is 0.787% and 0.276%
deposited which was computed depending on the Lane respectively. Furthermore the annual loss in water-spread
and Koelzer empirical formula presented in 1953 [15,20]. area of reservoir at dead storage elevation (300 m a.s.l)
The results of the above approach are presented in the zone is 1.34 km2 (Figure 4). Figure 4 shows the maxi-
Table 2. Furthermore, the bathymetric survey results mum loss in water-spread area (water surface area) at the
(Table 1) were used for estimating the useful life based dead storage level in the northern part of the reservoir
on the depleted dead storage and 50% loss of the initial where the River Tigris enters the reservoir at this part.
storage capacity of the reservoir (Table 2). In such a case, That means the most of sediment deposited in that area.
the depositional conditions are assumed to be constant This sequence is very logical in reservoirs [21].
during the life of the dam. The observed results obtained The sedimentation in the reservoir caused a shift in the
from bathymetric survey and analytical approach were stage-storage capacity curve. The bathymetric survey re-
similar. Accordingly, it is possible to assume that the sults were used to compute the sedimentation rate for
different water levels of reservoir that was used to predict
useful life for Mosul reservoir is approximately 125 year.
the storage capacities at these levels for 50, 75, 100 and
125 years, all values are tabulated in Table 3.
4.2. Sedimentation Rate and Pattern
The results in the above table were used to construct
According to the observed results (Table 1) the annual the stage-storage displacement curve during operation of
reduction rate in the storage capacity of the reservoir is the Mosul reservoir (Figure 5).
Figure 4. Boundary of water-spread area at dead storage elevation for two surveys calculated using Arc/GIS program.
330
320
310
Stage m a.s.l
300
290
50 years after operation
280
270
260 Initial operation
Survey 2011
250
0 2 4 6 8 10
Figure 5. Stage-storage capacity curves for Mosul reservoir.
Table 2. Useful life of Mosul reservoir (year).
2011 Bathymetric survey Gill approach [6]

Based on depleted dead storage Based on 50% reduction in S.C Coarse Sediment Medium Sediment Fine sediment
127 121.5 122.5 127 132

I. E. ISSA ET AL. 783
Table 3. Observed and predicted (expected) storage capacity of Mosul reservoir at different elevation.
Initial Bathymetric survey Sediment deposited during 25 Storage capacity km3 at years
Water elevation
1986 2011 years of operation Km3
50 75 100 125
250 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
260 0.045 0.0137 0.0313 0 0 0 0
270 0.35 0.141 0.209 0 0 0 0
280 0.75 0.497 0.253 0.244 0 0 0
290 1.6 1.229 0.371 0.858 0.487 0.116 0
300 3.01 2.37 0.64 1.73 1.09 0.45 0
310 5 4.062 0.938 3.124 2.186 1.248 0.498
320 7.749 6.606 1.143 5.463 4.32 3.177 2.262
330 11.11 9.967 1.143 8.824 7.681 6.538 5.623
5. Summary and Conclusion pp. 367-376.

[3] D. Altinbilek, “Development and Management of the
Reservoir sedimentation and consequent loss of storage Euphrates-Tigris Basin,” Water Resources Development,
capacity affect directly water availability and project Vol. 20, No. 1, 2004, pp. 15-33.
operation. In the present study, two topographic plans in http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07900620310001635584
TIN format of 1986 and 2011surveys were used for the [4] N. A. Al-Ansari and S. Knutsson, “Toward Prudent Man-
assessment of reservoir sedimentation in live and dead agement of Water Resources in Iraq,” Journal of Ad-
storage zones. The results showed that the annual reduc- vanced Science and Engineering Research, Vol. 1, No. 1,
tion in the dead and live storage capacities were 0.787% 2011, pp. 53-67.
and 0.276% respectively. The water-spread area of the [5] N. A. Al-Ansari, “Management of Water Resources in
reservoir at dead storage level reduces annually by 1.34 Iraq: Perspectives and Prognoses,” Journal of Engineer-
km2 (0.79%). Furthermore, stage-storage capacity curves ing, Vol. 5, 2013, pp. 667-684.
for future periods 50, 75, 100 and 125 years were elabo- [6] M. A. Gill, “Sedimentation and Useful Life of Reser-
rated using the sedimentation rate on that elevation. The voirs,” Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 44, No. 1-2, 1979, pp.
bathymetric results and analytical formulas gave almost 89-95. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(79)90148-3
similar results (125 year) for useful life storage of the [7] Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources, “Water Resources,
reservoir. Mosul Dam,” 2012. http://en.mowr.gov.iq/
[8] M. Ezz-Aldeen, N. A. Al-Ansari and S. Knutsson, “Ap-
6. Acknowledgements plication of SWAT Model to Estimate the Runoff and
Sediment Load from the Right Bank Valleys of Mosul
The authors would like to express their thanks and Dam Reservoir,” 6th International Conference on Scour
gratitude to Luleå University of Technology, Sweden and and Erosion, Paris, 28-31 August 2012, pp. 1281-1287.
the Swedish Hydropower Centre-SVC established by the [9] M. Ezz-Aldeen, N. A. Al-Ansari and S. Knutsson, “Run-
Swedish Energy Agency, Elforsk and Svenska Kraftnät off and Sediment Load from the Right Bank Valleys of
together with Luleå University of Technology, The Royal Mosul Dam Reservoir,” Journal of Civil Engineering and
Institute of Technology, Chalmers University of Tech- Architecture, Vol. 6, No. 10, 2012, pp. 1414-1419.
nology and Uppsala University. Their support is highly [10] M. Ezz-Aldeen, N. A. Al-Ansari and S. Knutsson, “Sedi-
appreciated. ment Delivery from Right Bank Valleys to Mosul Reser-
voir, Iraq,” Journal of Ecology and Environmental Sci-
ences, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2012, pp. 50-53.
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[2] N. A. Al-Ansari, “Water Resources in the Arab Countries: [12] Swiss Consultants, “Mosul Dam Project-Planning Re-
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Analysis. Chapter 9. Erosion and Sedimentation Manual,” 354)

PAPER III
Sedimentation in the Mosul Reservoir of

Northern Iraq
Authors:
Al-Ansari, N., Issa, I. E., Sherwani, G. and Knutsson, S.
Bibliography:
Al-Ansari, N., Issa, I. E., Sherwani, G. and Knutsson, S. (2013) Sedimentation in the Mosul
Reservoir of Northern Iraq, Journal of Environmental Hydrology, 21, Paper 7, pp. 1-10.
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PAPER IV
Mosul Dam Reservoir Sedimentation

Characteristics, Iraq
Authors:
Bibliography:
Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N. and Knutsson, S. (2014) Mosul Dam Reservoir Sedimentation
Characteristics, Journal of Environmental Hydrology, 22, Paper 3, pp. 1-10

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PAPER V
Changes in Bed Morphology of Mosul Dam

Reservoir
Authors:
Bibliography:
Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N. and Knutsson, S. (2013) Changes in Bed Morphology of Mosul Dam
Reservoir, Journal of Advanced Science and Engineering Research, 3 (2), pp. 86-95.
Journal of Advanced Science and Engineering Research Vol 3, No 2 June (2013) 86-95
Changes in Bed Morphology of Mosul Article Info

Dam Reservoir
Received: 10/1/2013
Accepted: 28/4 2013
1&2 1
Issa E. Issa , Nadhir Al-Ansari , Sven Published online: 1/6/2013
Knutsson1
1
Lulea University of Technology, Sweden,
SE-971 87 LULEÅ Sweden,
2
Mosul University, Mosul 41002, Iraq
issa.elias@ltu.se nadhir.alansari@ltu.se sven.knutsson@ltu.se
ISSN 2231-8844
ABSTRACT
Mosul dam is one of the biggest hydraulic structures in Iraq. It was constructed on the Tigris River in
the north of Iraq for multiple purposes: irrigation, flood control and power generation. The initial
storage capacity and water surface area of its reservoir reach 11.11 km3 and 380 km2 respectively at
the maximum operation level 330 m.a.s.l. The dam was operated in 1986. Since that time no survey
has been conducted to determining the characteristics of sedimentation in the reservoir. Blockage of
the intakes of the pump station for North Al-Jazira Irrigation Project in Mosul dam reservoir has
highlighted the importance of sedimentation problems within the reservoir.
Sediment distribution was studied within the reservoir. A comparison was made between the
conditions at the start of the dam operation and a recent bathymetric survey conducted in 2011.The
former was achieved using a topographic map scale 1: 50000 dated 1983 which was converted to a
triangular irregular network (TIN) format using the Arc/GIS program. The results of the bathymetric
survey were also converted to the TIN map format using the above program. Comparison of the two
maps shows that the sedimentation magnitude in the upper zone of the reservoir, where the River
Tigris enters, was highest and gradually reduced toward Mosul dam site. Maximum deposition
thickness within the reservoir was 17.6 m. The thalweg bed slope of the River Tigris within reservoir
area changed from 0.65 m.km-1 before dam construction to 0.71 m.km-1 on the 2011 survey. Zones
within the middle and lower parts of the reservoir were exposed to erosion which amounted to 9.6 m
deep.
Key words: Mosul dam, Reservoir bottom morphology, Iraq, Reservoirs sedimentation,
Bathymetric survey.
1. Introduction
The dams are usually constructed for the development and management of water resources
such as water storage, hydropower generation, flood control, navigational, municipal water
supply and environmental purposes. Impounding water after construction of the dam will
form a reservoir upstream from the dam site and changes the flow regime of the river due to
backwater flow effects. Subsequently, sediments are deposited. Coarse particles, such as
gravel and coarse sand, are the first to settle forming a delta (topset) at the point where the
back water effect ends. The second zones are foreset beds which are the advancing face of the
delta deposit in the reservoir. The foreset beds are different from the topset beds by an
increase of the slope and the decrease in their grain size. Fine sediment particles enter the
reservoir and are transported by turbid density currents or non-stratified flow forming
bottomset beds. The bottomset beds are typically deposited beyond the delta near the dam
away from the inflow point (Grade and Ranga Raju, 1985; Morris and Fan, 1998). The
pattern of sediment deposition depends on factors, such as the quantity of moving sediment
and stream flow, the nature and physical properties of the sediment and the operations mode
of the reservoir (USBR, 1987).
Accumulation of sediment within the reservoirs directly affects the operation of hydraulic
structures. Therefore, the study of sediment distribution within reservoirs is of major
importance for the designers and planners of hydraulic structures and those interested in
flushing of reservoirs. There are several techniques to study the sediment distribution within
the reservoir, but the analysis of bathymetric survey can provides a direct method for
determining both sediment distributions and bed profile (Morris and Fan, 1998; Ferrari and
Collins, 2006).
The Mosul Dam is one of the most important and strategic projects in Iraq. It is a
multipurpose project. One of its functions is to provide water at a rate of 48 m3.s-1 for a huge
irrigation project known as “North Al-Jazira Irrigation project” that covers an area of 625
km2. This station is located in the upper zone of Mosul reservoir dam. In 1991 and 2005, the
station stopped for several days due to sediment accumulated at the inlets (Mohammed, 2001;
ECB, 2010). Furthermore, no bathymetric survey was been conducted since the dam
operation in 1986. Simple study was conducted on the sediment distribution on the bed of
the reservoir by Al-Taiee (2005). In view of the above, a bathymetric survey was conducted
using an echo sounder sonar viewer to develop a new topographic map for the reservoir in
TIN format and a pre-construction topographic map converted to a digital map in the TIN
format using the Arc/GIS program that was used for comparison purposes with the new
bathymetric map constructed in 2011.
2. Study Area
The Mosul dam is one of the biggest hydraulic structures in Iraq was built on the Tigris
River in the north of Iraq approximately 60 km northwest Mosul city (Fig.1). The dam is an
earth fill dam was operated on July 7th, 1986 for multipurpose irrigation, flood control and
hydropower generation (Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources, 2012). The main dam is 113 m
high, 3650 m long with its spillway, 10 m top width and the crest level is 341m.a.s.l. The
water surface area of its reservoir is 380 km2 with a storage capacity of 11.11 km3 at
maximum operation level 330 m.a.s.l including 8.16 km3 live storage and 2.95 km3 dead
storage (Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources, 2012). The main source of the water and
sediment entering the reservoir flows from the River Tigris. Ten seasonal valleys feeding the
87
reservoir, 7 from eastern side and 3 from the western side. These valleys contribute water and
sediment during rain events that are less than 2% (Muhammad and Hbdul-Baki, 2005; Ezz-
Aldeen et al., 2012 a,b,c and 2013). The catchment area of the River Tigris estimated above
the Mosul dam is about 54900 km2 shared by Turkey, Syria and Iraq (Swiss Consultants,
1979; Saleh, 2010; Al-Ansari and Knutsson, 2011). The reservoir area is composed of
alternating beds of limestone, marls and gypsum (Al-Ansari et al., 1984; Al-Sinjari, 2007).
Fig. 1 Location of Mosul Dam
3. Methods
3.1 1983 survey
A pre-impoundment topographic map scale 1: 50000 with contour interval 5 m dated 1983
was used for comparison with bathymetric survey. The map was obtained from the Remote
Sensing Center at Mosul University. This map was used to establish digital topographic map
in TIN format using Arc/GIS software. The topographic map was scanned and projected onto
a satellite image and georeferenced to the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) projection,
“WGS-1984, Zone 38N” using Arc/GIS software (ESRI, 2012) (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2 Projection of Mosul reservoir1983 topographic map on the 2009 satellite image
88
To check the accuracy of work done, the map was superimposed on the satellite image. It
was noticed that the courses of the River Tigris and the side valleys were 98% coinciding on
the two maps (Fig. 2).
Contour lines and spot locations of elevation (benchmarks and high water marks) within the
reservoir area on the map were manually digitized to compute (x,y,z) data. Furthermore,
stream path lines representing the River Tigris within the reservoir area were also digitized.
The River Tigris digitization within reservoir area was carried out depending on contour lines
on the map and the 0.65 m.km-1 water surface slope of River Tigris at that time (Swiss
Consultants, 1979; Najib, 1980). The total number of the digitized points was 6029 within the
reservoir area (Fig. 3)
Fig. 3 Location of digitized points on Mosul reservoir topographic map
All digitized points from the 1983 map were used to develop a TIN for the reservoir area
before the construction of the dam by Arc/map program (Fig. 4).
Fig. 4 Mosul reservoir a TIN surface model generated using 1983 topographic map
3.2 Bathymetric survey
This section presents the methodology and data processing methods that were used in the
bathymetric survey for Mosul reservoir. The survey was conducted in May 2011 using an
echo sounder sonar viewer and the Arc/GIS software to develop a new topographic map for
determining the sediment distribution within the reservoir.
89
3.2.1 Equipment and survey procedures
The bathymetric survey of the Mosul reservoir was conducted using an echo sounder with
accessories, a Jet Ski boat, (12v DC) echo sounding power unit and a variety of auxiliary
equipment. The data were collected using “200-kHz single-beam echo sounder sonar viewer
type Sea Charter 480DF” linked to a global positioning system (GPS/WAAS;) which were
working together to define the absolute x, y, z coordinates of the reservoir bottom during the
traverses. The GPS receivers monitor the horizontal position of the survey boat while the
echo sounder measured water depth (Eagle Electronics, 2003).
The bathymetric survey was conducted over 12 days starting on May 15th and ending on
June 3rd, 2011. The survey was conducted according to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
standards for distances between transverse sections, boat types and calibration (USACE,
2004). Installation and Calibration of the echo sounder was performed before the bathymetric
survey.
The calibration was performed by a marked rod (bar check calibration) over the side of the
boat in calm water according to the methods described in Eagle Electronics (2003) and
Ferrari and Collins (2006). The error values of water depth measurements were ±4 cm when
water depth ranging 0.5-50 m within the reservoir. The water temperature during the survey
ranged from 28-30 °C during the whole survey period. Since the temperature was almost
constant, then the effect of temperature on sound velocity was neglected. Transducers face
depth (draft) during the survey was 0.35 m below the water surface. The draft depth was used
to correct the water depth recorded by an echo sounder. The bathymetric survey was
performed in calm water to avoid the errors in water depth measurement due to waves. The
water surface elevations during the survey were recorded at the hydropower generation
station at the dam site and at the pumping station of North Al-Jazira project in the upper zone
of Mosul Reservoir. The recorded readings were between 319.75 and 319.96 m.a.s.l. These
elevations were used to convert the acoustic depth measurements to reservoir bottom
elevations during data processing. Figure 5 shows the details of the transect lines during the
bathymetric survey.
Fig. 5 Boat path of bathymetric survey for Mosul reservoir
90
3.2.2 Data Processing
The echo sounding survey system produces data files in (*slg) format containing acoustic
data and GPS data in a Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) system. Each (*slg) file was
converted to (x,y,z ) (*csv) excel file format by the Sonar Viewer 2.1.2 program. The water
depth values in (*csv) file was adjusted with respect to transducer depth.The value of bed-
elevation = water surface elevation – adjusted depth. The water surface elevation for each
survey date was used for each data set collected on that date. It should be mentioned
however, that the survey was conducted during calm period where the wave’s heights were
less than 10 cm. For this reason the effect of waves on the water depth measurement was
neglected. The bathymetric survey data were used to develop the TIN of the 2011 survey
using the same previous method as used in 1983 survey (Fig. 6).
Fig. 6 Mosul reservoir a TIN surface model generated using 2011 bathymetric survey
4. Results and Discussion
To illustrate the sediment distribution within the Mosul reservoir, longitudinal profiles
were plotted along the thalweg of River Tigris within the reservoir area for both the 1983 and
2011 surveys (Fig. 7).
350
340 Survey 2011
330
Bed level (m a.s.l.)
320 Survey 1983

310
300
290
280
270 Dam site
260
250
240
80000 70000 60000 50000 40000 30000 20000 10000 0
Distance from dam site (m)
Fig. 7 Comparison of thalweg longitudinal profiles for two surveys 1983 and 2011
91
The longitudinal profiles were established using 1983 topographic map, satellite image
and TINs of the two survey figures (4 and 6). The difference between the 1983 survey and
2011 survey represents the sediment deposited into the reservoir during this period. These
longitudinal profiles represent the deepest part of the reservoir bottom along the central
portion for 1983 survey. The drawing shows that the greatest volume of sediment was
deposited within the upper zone of the reservoir where the River Tigris enters the reservoir.
The overall bed slope changed from 0.65 m.km-1 to 0.71 m.km-1.
In addition to this, the reservoir area was divided by the Arc/map program into three
zones; upper, middle and lower zones to show the sedimentation rates within each (Fig. 8).
These divisions were based on the shape of the reservoir. The two bends within the general
shape of the reservoir were used to designate the borders between these zones.
Fig. 8 The Zones of the Mosul reservoir polygon
The storage capacities for these zones for each of the two surveys were computed by
Arc/GIS software and then sedimentation rate were computed (Table 1). This table indicates
that the sedimentation rate was relatively high in the area where the River Tigris enters the
reservoir. Generally, rate of sedimentation gradually diminishes toward Mosul dam. This
sequence is very logical in reservoirs (Fan and Morris, 1992).
Table 1 Storage capacity and sedimentation rate of all zones for Mosul reservoir dam for two
surveys.
Storage Capacity Storage Capacity Accumulated Sedimentation rate

Location
[km3] at 1986 [km3] at 2011 sediment [km3] [km3 yr-1]
Upper zone 1.538 0.938 0.600 0.024

Middle zone 2.85 2.55 0.300 0.012
Lower zone 3.361 3.12 0.241 0.00964
Total 7.749 6.606 1.143 0.04572
To show the changes in the reservoir bottom morphology with time due to erosion and
sedimentation processes, a TINs difference command within Arc/map program was used to
develop an erosion and sedimentation map for reservoir (Fig. 9). The TIN difference map
92
shows that the maximum deposition took place in the upper zone was 17.6 m. This pattern is
very logical for this is where the River Tigris transports 99.79 % of the sediments entering
the reservoir while 0.21 % of the sediment are contributed from the side valleys (Ezz-Aldeen
et al., 2012 a,b,c and 2013).
Fig. 9 Differences between two TINs for survey 2011 and 1983 of Mosul reservoir
The map highlights the areas of erosion, deposition and unchanged areas. Generally,
erosional areas are restricted mainly in the middle and lower zones of the reservoir where the
maximum depth was 9.6 m. They are believed to represent sinkholes and gypsum dissolved
areas (Tamplin and McGee 2005; Kelley et al., 2007; Wakeley et al., 2007). Some of these
sinkholes are about 15 m in diameter and more 15 m in depth (WII/BV, 2005). In addition,
flash flood from side valleys during rainy seasons can cause some erosion in places and
deposition in other places when it enters the reservoir. In the upper zone of the reservoir, the
erosional areas are mainly confined near the shore due to wave erosion or dissolved gypsum.
Field observation and data in figure 9 indicates that it is due to the huge accumulation of
sediment in the northern and middle parts of the reservoir in that area converting the main
flow to the south causing erosion near the banks. As previously stated, most of the sediment
are deposited in the upper zone of the reservoir and at the confluences of the side tributaries
(Fig. 9). In addition, deep areas are also characterized by accumulation of thick sediment.
Conclusion
Bathymetric surveys are the direct method for assessment of the sediment distribution
within the reservoir. In this study the bathymetric survey was conducted using echo sounder
sonar viewer. Two triangular irregular networks were established from the 2011 bathymetric
survey and 1983 topographic map. After 25 years of the dam operation following; the
thalweg bed slope of the River Tigris was changed from 0.65 m.km-1 before dam construction
to 0.71 m.km-1 during the 2011 survey. The sedimentation rate in the upper section of the
reservoir where the River Tigris enters the reservoir was greatest and gradually decreased
toward the Mosul dam site. The greatest deposition thickness was 17.6 m in the upper zone of
the reservoir. Furthermore, there are many areas in the middle and lower zones of the
reservoir that are exposed to erosion. This is believed to be due to the dissolution of gypsum
93
and limestones forming sinkholes that might reach about 20 m in diameter and 9.6 m in
depth.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their thanks to Professor John McManus for reading the
manuscript and his valuable suggestions. Lulea University of Technology provided all the
equipment required to conduct this work. Mosul Dam authority, especially the director
Abdulkhaliq Ayoub, and the Remote Sensing Center at Mosul University provided help and
support during the field survey and preparation of the initial data required.
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Tigris River and Euphrates River Basins, Iraq. U.S. Geological Survey, Data series 540,
154 pp.
Swiss consultants (1979). Mosul dam Project-planning report, State organization of dams.
Republic of Iraq, Ministry of Irrigation, 34 pp.
Tamplin, J. and McGee, R. (2005). Mosul Dam Bathymetric Survey, Mosul Dam Upstream
and Downstream Reservoir Survey. Provisional report no. 1, Seafloor Systems, Inc,
CA, USA, 43 pp.
USBR, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (1987). Design of small dams. Appendix A. Water
Resources Technical Publication, U.S. Government Printing Office & Washington,
D.C.
USACE, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (2004). Engineering and Design Hydrographic
Surveying. Department of Army, Washington, DC 20314-1000, Em1110-2-
1003/toc.htm.
Wakeley, L.D., Kelley, J.R., Talbot, C.A., Pearson, M.L. and Broadfoot, S.W. (2007).
Geologic Conceptual Model of Mosul Dam. U.S. Army Engineer Research and
Development Center, 61 pp.
WII/BV, Washington Group International and Black & Veatch (2005). Mosul Dam Study.
Final Report, Republic of Iraq, 50 pp., 2005.
95
PAPER VI
Evaluation and Modification of Some

Empirical and Semi-empirical Approaches
for Prediction of Area-Storage Capacity
Curves in Reservoirs of Dams
Authors:
Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N., Sherwany, G. and Knutsson, S.
Bibliography:
Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N., Sherwany, G. and Knutsson, S. (2014) Evaluation and Modification
of Some Empirical and Semi-empirical Approaches for Prediction of Area-Storage Capacity
Curves in Reservoirs of Dams, Submitted for publication in: Journal of Hydrologic
Engineering, ASCE, (under review).
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Powered by Editorial Manager® and ProduXion Manager® from Aries Systems Corporation
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1 Evaluation and Modification of Some Empirical and Semi-

2 empirical Approaches for Prediction of Area-Storage Capacity
3 Curves in Reservoirs
1
of Dams2 3 4
4 Issa E. Issa , Nadhir Al-Ansari , Govand Sherwany and Sven Knutsson
5 Abstract: The storage capacity of reservoirs is gradually reduced due to sediment accumulation that
6 causes changes in the area-storage capacity (ASC) curves. Establishing these curves and predicting
7 their future change is an important issue for planners, designers and operators of dams. Many
8 empirical and semi-empirical approaches have been suggested for establishing and predicting these
9 curves. In this study four empirical and semi-empirical methods were evaluated and three of them
10 were modified to predict the future changes on ASC curves due to sedimentation, based on the survey
11 data for 11 reservoirs in the USA. For evaluation these approaches were reviewed and used to
12 determine the ASC curves for the Mosul dam reservoir (MDR), which is the biggest hydraulic
13 structure on the River Tigris in northern Iraq. MDR started operating in 1986 with a storage capacity
14 of 11.11 km3 and a water surface area 380 km2 at normal operation stage (330 m a.s.l.). The results
15 obtained from these methods were evaluated using observed bathymetric survey data that had been
16 collected in 2011 after 25 years of the operation of the dam.
17 __________________________________________________________________________________
1
18 Ph.D. Student, Dept. of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Eng., Luleå University of Technology, e-
19 mail: issa.elias@ltu.se
2
20 Professor, Dept. of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Eng., Luleå University of Technology, e-mail:
21 nadhir.alansari@ltu.se
3
22 Assistant Professor, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research – KRG, Erbil, Iraq, e-mail:
23 govand.sherwani@mhe-krg.org
4
24 Professor, Dept. of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Eng., Luleå University of Technology, e-mail:
25 sven.knutsson@ltu.se
26 CE Database subject headings: Sedimentation of Reservoirs, Stage area curve, Stage capacity
27 Curve, Mosul Dam, Iraq.
28 __________________________________________________________________________________
1
29 The evaluation results showed three methods presented more accurate results for estimating water
30 depth or sedimentation depth at dam site with percentage error about 1.06% to 3.295%. Furthermore,
31 ASC and sedimentation depths at dam site of MDR for periods 50, 75, 100 and 125 years were
32 estimated using modification approach. The results of the modified methods provided reasonable
33 agreement when compared with the area reduction method proposed by the U.S. Bureau of
34 Reclamation and the agreement became better with the increase time period.
35 Keywords: Area-capacity curves; Reservoir sedimentation; Area reduction method; Mosul dam.
36 Introduction
37 Construction of dams across rivers for the development and management of water resources causes
38 changes in sediment transport regime that will lead to sediment accumulation in their reservoirs
39 (Garde and Raju, 1985; Morris and Fan, 1998; Jain and Singh, 2003; Garde, 2006). Reservoir
40 sedimentation is the main problem that directly affects the performance of dams due to the reduction
41 in their storage capacity. The distribution of the sediment deposited in reservoirs mainly depends on
42 several factors, but the most important are the grain size composition of the sediment inflow, amount
43 of sediment coming, the reservoir geometry and its age, the locations of the bottom outlets and the
44 reservoir operation mode (Annandale, 1987; Morris and Fan, 1998; Garde, 2006). The deposition of
45 sediment in a reservoir causes changes in its ASC curves (or stage-area curve and stage-storage
46 capacity curve) (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 1987; Morris and Fan, 1998; Mohammadzadeh-Habili et
47 al., 2009). These curves are very important for planners, designers and operators of dams and are
48 regarded as one of the most important physical characteristics of dams and their reservoirs. The ASC
49 curves are commonly used to determine the storage capacity and water surface area of the reservoir at
50 a given water elevation as well as to support flood routing, reservoir classification and operation
51 (Borland and Miller, 1958; Strand and Pemberton, 1982; Morris and Fan, 1998). Determination and
52 future prediction of these curves is an important issue for; estimating the sedimentation depth at a dam
53 site, determining the useful life of the dam (reservoir active storage capacity), designing the bottom
54 outlet elevation, determining the effect of backwater conditions on the flood level upstream of a
55 reservoir and assessing changes in the reservoir storage capacity with time of dam operation.
2
56 The complexity of sediment transport and the deposition of sediment in a reservoir has led to
57 development of numerous techniques to predict sediment distribution in the reservoirs. These
58 techniques can be classified as theoretical and empirical or semi-empirical approaches. Theoretical or
59 analytical methods are based on numerical solution of water and sediment continuity equations and
60 momentum or stream power and sediment transport equations using computer packages such as HEC-
61 6 (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 1993) and Gstars3 (Yang and Simões, 2002). Empirical and semi-
62 empirical methods have been developed using the sedimentation survey data collected for reservoirs.
63 The most commonly used empirical methods are “the area reduction” and “the area increment”
64 methods that were developed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation using resurvey data for 30 reservoirs
65 in the United States (Morris and Fan, 1998). The latter techniques are the most widely applied,
66 because they are relatively easy and quick to use and they require limited data. But their limitations
67 include their inability to identify the depth and location of the sedimentation (Annandale, 1984; Morris
68 and Fan, 1998) whilst the theoretical models require calibration and are costly sometimes.
69 In this study four different empirical and semi-empirical methods were evaluated. These methods
70 are; the area reduction method proposed by Borland and Miller (1958) that has been adopted by the
71 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the methods reported by Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. (2009),
72 Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour (2010) and Kaveh et al. (2013). The methods were reviewed
73 and applied to determine the ASC curves and maximum water depth or sediment deposited depth at
74 dam site for the MDR. The results provided by these methods were compared with bathymetric survey
75 data that were collected in 2011 after 25 year of operating MDR (Issa et al., 2013). Furthermore, the
76 last three methods that were mentioned before were modified to predict future changes in ASC curves
77 due to sedimentation, based on the survey data for 11 reservoirs in the USA. Thus, the main objectives
78 of this study were: evaluating these methods with reference to the bathymetric survey for determining
79 ASC curves and maximum sediment depth at dam site. In addition, the last three methods were
80 modified and applied to predict future changes in ASC curves for MDR for periods 50, 75, 100, 125
81 years and were compared with area reduction method. This can help decision makers, planners and
82 designers, to use these methods to determine the ASC curves for reservoirs that were used to estimate
83 their useful life. Moreover, this help to put prudent strategies for Iraqi water resources problems
3
84 because Iraq is facing serious water shortage now due to climate changes and increasing demand
85 (Droogers et al. 2012; Al-Ansari, 2013; Issa et al., 2014) and MDR is the biggest and the most
86 important strategic project in Iraq. Therefore, it is very important to know which technique is suitable
87 to adopt for MDR in the future.
88 The empirical and semi-empirical methods employed in the study
89 Empirical and semi-empirical techniques are used to determine the amount of sediment deposited
90 in a reservoir as a function of water depth or stage (or to determine ASC curves). These methods are
91 widely used for engineering purposes. Consequently, large numbers of empirical methods have been
92 reported (e.g. Borland and Miller, 1958; Borland, 1970; Szechowycz and Qureshi, 1973; Croley et al.,
93 1978; Garde et al., 1978; Chien, 1982; Annandale 1984; Rahmanian and Banihashemi, 2011), but the
94 most commonly used is the area reduction method that was developed and adopted by the U.S. Bureau
95 of Reclamation (Morris and Fan, 1998). The first empirical method was developed by Borland and
96 Miller (1958) referred to as “area increment method”. This method assumed that the reduction on
97 water surface area at any depth above the new zero depth is constant, meaning that an equal amount of
98 sediment will be deposited in each depth increment of the reservoir (Borland and Miller, 1958; Strand
99 and Pemberton, 1982). The following methods were used in this study:
100 The area reduction method
101 The area reduction method is the most commonly used method for predicting the impact of
102 sediment deposition in a reservoir or the change in the ASC curves with reservoir sedimentation. The
103 method was proposed by Borland and Miller (1958) based on analysis of sedimentation data for 30
104 reservoirs in the USA. This technique is based on the adjustment of the water surface area above zero
105 depth to a new area due to sedimentation that reflects the relationship between reduction in water
106 surface area and sedimentation rate and reservoir characteristics. Reservoirs are classified into four
107 categories based on the shape factor of the reservoir “ ” (Table 1). The shape factor represents the
108 reciprocal slope of the straight line for the relationship of reservoir depth at the dam site as the Y-axis
109 against the storage capacity as the X-axis presented as a logarithmic scale plot (Borland and Miller,
4
110 1958; Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al., 2009; Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour, 2010; Kaveh et
111 al. 2013).
112 Table 1. Reservoirs classification according shape factor “ ” (Borland and Miller, 1958).
113 The area reduction method involves four different sedimentation pattern curves that were
114 developed from the resurvey data assembled for 30 reservoirs (Fig. 1). These curves are dimensionless
115 and are used to determine the change in the ASC curves due to sedimentation. This technique is
116 usually used when the sedimentation rate and characteristics of the reservoir are available (for more
117 details see Strand and Pemberton, 1982; 1987).
118 Fig. 1. Type curves of reservoirs for area reduction method (modified Strand and Pemberton, 1987).
119 The Mohammadzadeh-Habili semi-empirical method
120 Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. (2009) proposed a dimensionless equation for the relationship
121 between water depth and storage capacity using the similarity between the natural logarithmic function
122 curve and the stage-storage capacity curve. This equation depends on only one unknown
123 dimensionless parameter called the reservoir coefficient “ ” as follows:
124 ………………….………….……………………………..……………. (1)
125 where is reservoir capacity at depth , is reservoir capacity at maximum pool level, is the
126 water depth above the streambed at the dam site and is the maximum water depth at the dam site.
127 The water surface area and reservoir coefficient equations were derived from equation (1) as follows:
128 ………………….……………………………… (2)
129 ………………………………………………………………………..………….. (3)
130 where is reservoir water surface area at depth , and is the water surface area of reservoir at
131 maximum pool level.
132 The equations obtained were compared with the resurvey data for 16 reservoirs. The comparison of
133 the results demonstrated good agreement, especially with reservoirs that had smoothed stage-storage
134 capacity curve (Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al., 2009). Furthermore, the results were used to develop
135 an empirical relationship between the reservoir shape factor“ ” and its coefficient (Eq. 4).
5
136 …………………………………………………….………………….………. (4)
137 In 2010 Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour modified the reservoir coefficient equation (Eq. 3)
138 based on the original and secondary ASC curves of 40 resurveyed reservoirs in United States as:

139 ……………………………………………………… (5)

140 where is the modified reservoir coefficient and is the reservoir coefficient obtained using
141 minimization of the sum of squares of the errors of the original normalized water depth-capacity
142 curve and curve from equation (3).
143 The Kaveh et al. (2013) method
144 A parabolic equation is used to represent the general form of the relationship between storage
145 capacity and depth which can be expressed as follows:
146 ……………………………………………………………….…………...… (6)
147 where are the coefficients that are usually computed using the ACAP computer program adopted
148 by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 1985; Ferrari, and Collins, 2006).
149 Kaveh et al. (2013) differentiated the simple dimensionless capacity equation using a parabolic
150 equation for reservoir capacity. Kaveh’s equation depends on one reservoir coefficient parameter as:
151 …………………………………………………………………….……... (7)
152 where is the reservoir coefficient proposed by Kaveh et al. (2013).
153 The water surface area equation for a reservoir at different elevations and the reservoir coefficient
154 equation were obtained as a derivative of the above equation (7) as follows:
155 ……..………………………………………………….…………………. (8)
156 ……………………………………………………………………………….... (9)
157 In addition Kaveh et al. (2013) derived a relationship between the reservoir coefficient and the shape
158 factor based on the above equations, which is:
159 ………………………………………….…………………………………………. (10)
6
160 It should be noted here, the three approaches suggested by Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. (2009),
161 Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour (2010) and Kaveh et al. (2013) that are described above
162 mainly depend on the dimensionless parameters ( or in their calculation which are called
163 reservoir coefficients. These coefficients depend on the dimensionless relationship between the ratio of
164 volume and ratio of water depth at dam site ( as stated in equations 1 and 7 for and
165 respectively. These coefficients depend on the sedimentation condition. Therefore, reservoir
166 coefficient value changes with time depending on these conditions too. It should be mentioned
167 however, that last three mentioned methods did not take into consideration future variation in this
168 relationship or reservoir coefficient in response to sedimentation.
169 The Mosul dam and available data
170 The MDR is one of the most important strategic projects in Iraq for the management of its water
171 resources. The project was constructed on the Tigris River in the north of Iraq, located 60 km north
172 west of Mosul city at latitude 36°37'44"N and longitude 42°49'23"E (Iraqi Ministry of Water
173 Resources, 2012) (Fig. 2). The dam is a multipurpose project and it started operating on July 7th, 1986
174 to provide water for three irrigation projects, flood control and hydropower generation. One of its
175 functions is provide water for an irrigation project known as “North Al-Jazira Irrigation project” that
176 covers an area of 625 km2. The pumping station for this project is located in the upper zone of Mosul
177 dam reservoir. In 1991 and 2005, the station stopped for several days due to sediment accumulation at
178 its inlets (Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources, 2012).
179 Fig. 2. The location of the Mosul dam.
180 The dam is an earth filled dam, 113 m high and 3650 m long including its spillway. The maximum,
181 normal and dead storage levels of the reservoir are 335, 330 and 300 m a.s.l respectively. The dam was
182 designed to impound 11.11 km3 of water at normal operation level, including 8.16 and 2.95 km3 of live
183 storage and dead storage respectively. The shape of the reservoir is elongated where the River Tigris
184 enters the upper zone and broadens close to the dam site. Its length is about 45 km, with width ranging
185 from 2 to 14 km at the normal level and a water surface area of 380 km2 (Iraqi Ministry of Water
186 Resources, 2012) (Fig. 2). The River Tigris provides the main source of the water and sediment
187 entering the reservoir. The catchment area of the River Tigris above the Mosul dam site is about
7
188 56,275 km2 shared by Turkey, Syria and Iraq (Swiss Consultants, 1979; Saleh, 2010). A bathymetric
189 survey of the MDR was conducted in 2011 after 25 years of dam operation (Issa et al., 2013). The
190 survey results showed that 1.143 km3 of sediment had accumulated over the period 1986-2011. This
191 represents an annual sediment deposition rate of 45.72 × 106 m3.yr-1. As a result, the reservoir lost
192 10.29% of its storage capacity during this period (Issa et al., 2013). The survey results were also used
193 to construct ASC capacity curves (Fig. 3). The results indicated that the water depth below the normal
194 operation level at the dam site was 83 m in 1986 and with sedimentation it became about 80 m in
195 2011. This suggests 3.0 m of sediment accumulated near the dam during the operational period of the
196 project (Issa et al., 2013).
197 Fig. 3. Area-storage capacity curves for the MDR.
198 Methodology and techniques used
199 All the methods employed assumed that the river behavior and the reservoir’s sedimentation
200 characteristics will remain constant in the future i.e. no change on the operation mode and
201 sedimentation conditions with time (Morris and Fan, 1998, Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour,
202 2010). Therefore the average sedimentation rate for MDR (45.72 × 106 m3.yr-1 during the past 25
203 years) was assumed to be constant in the future and it was used to calculate the amount of sediment
204 deposited within 50, 75, 100, and 125 years. Furthermore, the banks of reservoir at maximum
205 elevation were assumed stable (no sliding and wave erosion) and that the water stage in the reservoir
206 does not exceed the maximum operation level so that the water surface area at this level will be
207 constant with time (Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour, 2010).
208 The four methods described above were firstly applied to the MDR to generate ASC curves for the
209 reservoir after 25 years of dam operation. To apply the area reduction method, the first step
210 necessitated selecting the type of reservoir or type of sediment deposition pattern. This process
211 depends on the shape factor, the mode of operating the reservoir and the predominant grain size of the
212 sediment deposited (Morris and Fan, 1998). This information was used to select the appropriate
213 empirical curve that was used to predict the sediment distribution within the reservoir. The data for
214 MDR showed that the shape factor was 2.77, based on the slope of the original depth-capacity curve
215 on log-log paper. Its mode of operation is classified as moderate drawdown and the predominant grain
8
216 sizes of the sediment deposited was mainly silt, sand and clay (Al-Ansari et al., 2013). According to
217 these data, the MDR can be designated as type II, which represents the Flood plain–foothill reservoir
218 type (Table 1). To confirm the type of curve, the existing depth-capacity curves produced for two
219 previous surveys were plotted on the curves that were proposed by Borland and Miller (1958) for the
220 empirical area reduction method (Fig. 1). The empirical curve type II was used to develop a stage-
221 capacity curve and stage-area curve for 25 years (Figures 4 and 5). Also the area reduction method
222 was applied to predict the variation in those curves with sedimentation over 50, 75, 100, and 125 years
223 of dam operation (Figures 6 and 7). The method was also used to estimate the maximum water depth
224 at dam site for the same periods (Table 2).
225 Fig. 4. Stage-storage capacity curves for the MDR for 25 year of dam operation. (Habili et al. is
226 Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. and Habili and Heidarpour is Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour)
227 Fig. 5. Stage-area curves for the MDR for 25 year of dam operation. (Habili et al. is Mohammadzadeh-Habili
228 et al. and Habili and Heidarpour is Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour)
229 Fig. 6. Stage-storage capacity prediction curves for the MDR for periods 50, 75, 100, 125 years of
230 operation. (Habili et al. is Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. and Habili and Heidarpour is Mohammadzadeh-Habili and
231 Heidarpour)
232 Fig. 7. Stage-area prediction curves for the MDR for periods 50, 75, 100, 125 years of operation.
233 (Habili et al. is Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. and Habili and Heidarpour is Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour)
234 In addition to the above, the methods proposed by Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. (2009),
235 Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour (2010) and Kaveh et al. (2013) were used to determine ASC
236 curves and maximum water depth at dam site using sedimentation survey data for MDR as follow:
237 1. The dimensionless relationship of depth-capacity curve of MDR for 1986 and 2011 surveys were
238 used to calculate its reservoir coefficients ( and ) that were employed by Mohammadzadeh-
239 Habili et al. (2009) and Kaveh et al. (2013) respectively (Table 2).
240 2. The storage capacity for different elevations for MDR were computed using equations 1 and 7 based on its
241 reservoir coefficients that were computed from dimensionless relationship of its original depth-storage
242 capacity curve.
9
243 3. Equations 2 and 8 were used to compute the water surface area for the same elevations using the
244 same reservoir coefficients.
245 4. These results obtained from the above steps were used to construct the stage-storage capacity
246 (Fig. 4) and stage-area curves (Fig. 5).
247 5. Equations 3, 5 and 9 were used to determine water depth at the dam site for the methods of
248 Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. (2009), Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour (2010) and
249 Kaveh et al. (2013) respectively (Table 2).
250 Table 2. Variation of maximum water depth at dam site with sedimentation.
251 The last three methods suggested by Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. (2009), Mohammadzadeh-Habili
252 and Heidarpour (2010) and Kaveh et al. (2013) as mentioned in the previous section depend mainly on
253 reservoir coefficients in their calculations. The methods did not take into consideration future variation
254 of this coefficient with sedimentation during the determination of the ASC curves. Therefore, the
255 methods were modified in this study to predict the future changes in ASC curves using the original
256 and secondary surveys data for 11 reservoirs in USA. The details and the characteristics of these
257 reservoirs are tabulated in Table 3. The dams of these reservoirs are classified as “large dam”
258 according to the International Committee on Large Dams (ICOLD) classification (Morris and Fan,
259 1998). Accordingly, MDR falls within the same category. The data in table 3 for the original and
260 secondary surveys were used to compute the reservoir coefficients and using equations 3 and 9
261 that were proposed by Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. (2009), and Kaveh et al. (2013) respectively.
262 The results of field data surveys for the selected reservoirs (Table 3) indicated that there is small
263 variation of their reservoir coefficients ( and ) with time in general. This implies that there is a
264 small change in the conditions of the reservoir sedimentation with time. In addition, it was also noticed
265 that the Angostura and Nambe Falls dams had big variation in the first value of reservoir coefficient.
266 This might to the nature of sedimentation, the shape of these reservoirs and operation conditions. The
267 reservoir coefficient, might increase or decrease depending on the changes of sedimentation
268 conditions. Furthermore, the result showed that there is a linear relationship between the reservoir
269 coefficient (both or and time with the correlation coefficients R2 ranging from 0.65 to 0.995
270 (Figures 8 and 9).
10
271 Table 3. Original and secondary characteristics of the studied reservoirs.
272 Fig. 8. Variation coefficient of reservoir with time according to Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al.
273 (2009).
274 Fig. 9. Variation coefficient of reservoir with time according to Kaveh et al. (2010).
275 The calculated coefficients for MDR for the last surveys (1986 and 2011) were extrapolated to
276 compute their future values of and for 50, 75, 100, 125 years based on the linear relationship of
277 reservoir coefficient variation with time that was obtained from the resurveys data from 11 existing
278 reservoirs (Table 2). These coefficients were used to compute the maximum water depth at the dam
279 site by applying equations 3, 5, 9 for the methods of Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. (2009),
280 Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour (2010) and Kaveh et al. (2013) respectively (Table 2). In
281 addition, equations 1 and 7 were used to compute the storage capacity for different elevations using
282 these coefficients. Equations 2 and 8 were used to compute the water surface area for the same
283 elevations and same coefficients. These results were used to construct the stage-storage capacity and
284 stage-area curves for sedimentation periods of different lengths (Figures 6 and 7).
285 Results and discussion
286 The four methods described in the previous sections were evaluated by testing them against the
287 bathymetric survey data for the MDR obtained by a bathymetric survey conducted in 2011. The
288 percentage errors for the maximum water depth at the dam site for all methods based on the
289 bathymetric survey results are tabulated in Table 2. For estimating maximum water depth at the dam
290 site, the last three methods gave good results with error ranging between 1.062 to 3.295% but that of
291 Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidapour (2010) method gave very close results to those obtained by
292 the bathymetric survey. The other methods however, predicted water depth less than that provided by
293 the bathymetric survey. This implies that the deposition depth predicted by these methods is greater
294 than that represented by the actual sedimentation rate at the dam site. This might be due to the fact that
295 most of the sediment was deposited within the upper part of the reservoir because the MDR has an
296 elongated shape and the river Tigris enters the reservoir in its upper part. This is very normal in
297 reservoirs (Vanoni, et al., 2006).
11
298 The stage-storage capacity curves for 25 year (Fig. 4) show that the Kaveh et al. (2013) method
299 provided results that were in close agreement with the actual survey data, when compared to other
300 methods. The results showed that all methods converge and produce good agreement with the survey
301 data at elevations up to 318 m a.s.l (Fig. 4). Also the results provided by the Kaveh et al. (2013)
302 method were the closest to the 2011 survey for the stage-water surface area curve (Fig. 5). The results
303 of the ASC curves for 50, 75, 100 and 125 years (Figures 6 and 7) showed that the modified methods
304 using a linear relationship principle to determine the reservoir coefficient produced results in close
305 agreement with those provided by the method adopted by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (U.S.
306 Bureau of Reclamation, 1987) (area reduction method) and the agreement became even better when
307 time increased. The modification approach can be used if the sedimentation conditions and reservoir
308 operation mode in last period remain constant. The changing in reservoir coefficient reflects the
309 variations of the conditions of reservoir sedimentation. The survey data for 11 reservoirs indicated that
310 the change of reservoir coefficient with time will be very small if the variation of reservoir
311 sedimentation conditions is small and in such a case, even the average value can be used for this
312 purpose.
313 The reservoir shape factor changes with time due to the change in the stage-capacity curve caused
314 by sedimentation. This factor was computed via the slope of the depth-capacity curve for the surveys
315 of 1986 and 2011 according to the method proposed by Borland and Miller (1958) (Table 4). It was
316 also computed using the relationships proposed by Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. (2009) Kaveh et al.
317 (2013) using equations 4 and 10 respectively (Table 4). The results of these two methods showed that
318 Kaveh et al. (2013) method gave more accurate results with percentage errors of 1.08% and 5.24% for
319 the 1986 and 2011 surveys respectively (Table 4). According to the above results the method proposed
320 by Kaveh et al. (2013) is considered a good approach for computing and predicting the ASC curves
321 due to its accurate results and it is easy in use and .
322 Table 4. Shape factor variation with sedimentation for different methods
323 Conclusion
324 ASC curves are very important characteristics of reservoirs. Four empirical and semi-empirical
325 methods for deriving these curves were reviewed and applied to the MDR. These methods include the
12
326 area reduction method (Borland and Miller, 1958) and those proposed by Mohammadzadeh-Habili et
327 al. (2009), Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour (2010) and Kaveh et al. (2013). The results were
328 compared with those obtained using the bathymetric survey conducted in 2011 after 25 years of
329 operating MDR. The comparison of the results for establishing the ASC curves showed that the
330 method proposed by Kaveh et al. (2013) gave good agreement with bathymetric results. For maximum
331 water depth at the dam site or sedimentation depth the Mohammadzadeh-Habili and Heidarpour
332 (2010) and Kaveh et al. (2010) methods were more accurate for determining sedimentation depth at
333 the dam site. The percentage errors were 1.06% and 2.125% respectively. The methods also gave a
334 good result for computing shape factor of reservoir that was adopted in the area reduction method.
335 The last three methods (Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al., 2009; Mohammadzadeh-Habili and
336 Heidarpour, 2010 and Kaveh et al., 2013) had been proposed for determining the ASC curves. In this
337 study these methods were modified to enable them to be used for predicting the changes in the ASC
338 curves, based on data from the original and secondary surveys of 11 reservoirs in the USA. The results
339 of the reservoirs used showed that reservoir coefficients suggested by Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al.
340 (2009) and Kaveh et al. (2013) depends on the conditions of reservoir sedimentation. They change
341 linearly and slightly (increase or decrease) with time if the conditions of reservoir sedimentation are
342 steady. Therefore, this principle was applied to the MDR to predict the future ASC curves for 50, 75,
343 100 and 125 years. The curves predicted by these methods showed that there is good agreement with
344 the method adopted by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (area reduction method). It should be
345 mentioned however, that the differences in results between all methods decreased as the period of
346 sedimentation increased. Therefore, the principle of linear changed for reservoir coefficient can be
347 used for the prediction changing on the ASC curves using the last three methods. In case there are
348 more survey data for large reservoirs available in future, this will definitely improve this work.
349 Acknowledgement
350 The authors are very grateful to Professor Des Walling (University of Exeter, UK), Professor
351 George William Annandale (University of Pretoria, Pretoria, and South Africa) and Professor John
352 McManus (St. Andrews University, UK) for their fruitful comments, discussion and suggestions.
13
353 The research presented was supported financially by Luleå University of Technology, Sweden and
354 by the “Swedish Hydropower Centre - SVC” established by the Swedish Energy Agency, Elforsk
355 and Svenska Kraftnät together with Luleå University of Technology, The Royal Institute of
356 Technology, Chalmers University of Technology and Uppsala University. This support is gratefully
357 acknowledged. We would like to thank the Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources for supplying us with
358 some data concerning MDR.
359 References
360 Al-Ansari, N. A. (2013). “Management of Water Resources in Iraq: Perspectives and Prognoses.”
361 J. Engineering, 5, 667-684. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/eng.2013.58080
362 Al-Ansari, N. A., Issa, I. E., Sherwani, G., and Knutsson, S. (2013).”Sedimentation in the Mosul
363 Reservoir of Northern Iraq.” Journal of Environmental Hydrology, 21 (7), 1-10.
364 Annandale, G. W. (1984). “Predicting the distribution of deposited sediment in southern African
365 reservoirs.” Proc. of the Symposium on challenges in African hydrology and water resources,
366 IAHS, Harare, Zimbabwe, no. 144, 549-558.
367 Annandale, G. W. (1987). “Reservoir Sedimentation.” Elsevier Science Publisher B.V, Amsterdam,
368 122-146.
369 Borland, W. M., and Miller, C. R. (1958). ”Distribution of sediment in large reservoirs.” J. Hydr.
370 Div., 84 (2), 1587.1-1587.10.
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372 Water Resources Publications, Fort Collins, Colorado, 1-38.
373 Chien, N. (1982). “Reservoir Sedimentation.” Institute on Fluvial Process. Fort Collins, Colorado.
374 Croley, T. E., Raja Rao, K. N., and Karim, F. (1978). “Reservoir sedimentation model with
375 continuing distribution, compaction and slump.” IIHR Report no. 198, Iowa Institute of Hydraulic
376 Research. The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, 145 p.
377 Droogers, P., Immerzeel, W. W., Terink, W., Hoogeveen, J., Bierkens, M.F.P., van Beek, L.P.H.,
378 and Debele, B. (2012). “Water resources trends in Middle East and North Africa towards 2050.”
379 Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 16 (9), 3101-3114. doi:10.5194/hess-16-3101-2012
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380 Ferrari, R. L., and Collins, K. (2006). “Reservoir Survey and Data Analysis.” in: Bureau of
381 Reclamation, Erosion and Sedimentation Manual. Chapter 9, Sedimentation and River Hydraulics
382 Group, Denver, Colorado, 1-95. [Available at: http://www.usbr.gov/pmts/sediment accessed 30
383 July 2014].
384 Garde, R. J., Swamee, P. K., and Dalvi, M. E. (1978). “Estimation of progressive deposition in
385 reservoirs.” Proceedings of the 47th Research Session of the CBIP; Hubli-Dharwar, Karnataka
386 (India), Vol. 1. 208p.
387 Garde, R. J., and Raju, K. G. (1985). “Mechanics of Sediment Transportation and Alluvial Stream
388 Problems.” 2nd Ed. Wiley Eastern Limited, New Delhi, India, 393-409.
389 Garde, R.J., (2006). “River Morphology.” New Age International Ltd., New Delhi, India, 296-310.
390 Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources, Water Resources, Mosul dam. [Available at:
391 http://dams.mowr.gov.iq/node/11 accessed 11 May 2012].
392 Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N. A., and Knutsson, S. (2013). ”Sedimentation and New Operational Curve
393 for Mosul Dam, Iraq.” Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (7), 1–11.
394 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2013.789138
395 Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N. A., Sherwany, G., and Knutsson, S. (2014). “Expected Future of Water
396 Resources within Tigris-Euphrates Rivers Basin, Iraq.” Journal of Water Resource and Protection,
397 6, 421-432. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jwarp.2014.65042
398 Jain, S. K., and Singh, V. P. (2003). “Water resources systems planning and management.”
399 Elsevier Science B.V, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 681-741.
400 Kaveh, K., Hosseinjanzadeh, H., and Hosseini, K. (2013). “A new equation for calculation of
401 reservoir’s area-capacity curves.” KSCE Journal of Civil Engineering, 17(5), 1149-1156.
402 doi:10.1007/s12205-013-0230-3.
403 Mohammadzadeh-Habili, J., Heidarpour, M., Mousavi, S. F., and Haghiabi, A. H. (2009).
404 “Derivation of reservoir’s area-capacity equations.” J. Hydrol. Eng., 14(9), 1017-1023.
405 http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0000074
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406 Mohammadzadeh-Habili, J., and Heidarpour, M. (2010). “New Empirical Method for Prediction of
407 Sediment Distribution in Reservoirs.” J. Hydrol. Eng., 15(10), 813-821.
408 http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)HE.1943-5584.0000259
409 Morris, G. L., and Fan, J. (1998). “Reservoir sedimentation handbook, Design and management of
410 dams, reservoirs, and watersheds for sustainable use.” McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 10.31-
411 10.41.
412 Rahmanian, M. R., and Banihashemi, M. A. (2011). “Sediment distribution pattern in some Iranian
413 dams based on a new empirical reservoir shape function.” Lake and Reservoir Management, 27(3),
414 245-255. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07438141.2011.602510
415 Saleh, D. K. (2010). “Stream Gage Descriptions and Stream flow Statistics for Sites in the Tigris
416 River and Euphrates River Basins, Iraq.” U.S. Geological Survey, Data series 540, 154 p.
417 [Available at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/540/pdf/ds540.pdf accessed 10 April 2011].
418 Strand, R. I., and Pemberton, E. L. (1982). “Reservoir sedimentation.” Technical Guideline for
419 Bureau of Reclamation, Technical Services Engineering and Research Center, Bureau of
420 Reclamation’s Sedimentation and River Hydraulics Group, Denver, Colorado, , 55 p.
421 Strand, R. I., and Pemberton, E. L. (1987). “Reservoir Sedimentation.” in: Design of Small Dams,
422 3rd Ed., Technical Service Center, Denver, Appendix A, 529-564.
423 Swiss Consultants (1979). “Mosul dam Project-planning report.” State organization of dams:
424 Republic of Iraq, Ministry of Irrigation, Vol. 1, 34 p.
425 Szechowycz, R. W., and Qureshi, M. M. (1973). “Sedimentation in Mangla Reservoir.” J. Hydraul.
426 Div., 99 (9), 1551-1572.
427 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (1993). “HEC-6 scour and deposition in rivers and reservoirs.”
428 user’s manual, Hydrologic Engineering Center, Davis, CA 95616-4687, 288 p.
429 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (1985). “Surface Water Branch, ACAP85 User’s Manual.” Technical
430 Service Center, Surface Water Branch, Denver Colorado.
431 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (2009). “Gibson reservoir 2009 Bathymetric Survey.” Technical
432 Service Center, Denver, Colorado, Technical Report No. SRH-2012-01, 39 p.
16
433 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (2010). “Heron Reservoir 2010 Bathymetric Survey.” Technical
435 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (2011). “Swanson Lake–Trenton Dam 2011 Bathymetric Survey.”
436 Technical Service Center, Denver, Colorado, Technical Report No. SRH-2012-22, 35 p.
437 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (2013). “Nambe Falls Reservoir 2013 Bathymetric Survey.” Technical
439 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (1987). “Design of Small Dams.” 3rd Ed., Technical Service Center,
440 Denver, Colorado, 529-563.
441 Vanoni, Vito A. (2006). “Sedimentation Engineering”. ASCE Manuals and Reports on Engineering
442 Practice No. 54. American Society of Civil Engineers. Reston, VA.
443 Yang, C. T., and Simões, F. J. M. (2002). “User’s manual for Gstars3 (Generalized sediment
444 transport model for alluvial river simulation version 3.0).” U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Technical
445 Service Center, Denver, Colorado, 344 p.
446
17
7DEOH
&OLFNKHUHWRGRZQORDG7DEOH7DEOHVGRF[
Table 1. Reservoirs classification according shape factor “ ” (Borland and Miller, 1958).
Type of reservoir Classification Shape factor
I Lake 3.5 – 4.5
II Flood Plain–Foot hill 2.5 – 3.5
III Hill 1.5 – 2.5
IV Gorge or normally empty 1.0 – 1.5
Table 2. Variation of maximum water depth at dam site with sedimentation

According
Mohammadzadeh- Mohammadzadeh- Area reduction
Year of to Survey Kaveh et al. (2013)
Habili et al. (2009) Habili and Heidapour (2010) method
dam (2011)
operation % % %
(m) (m) (m) (m) (m) % error
error error error
0 83 0.73 __ __ 0.51 __ __ 0.51 __ __ __ __
25 80 0.67 78.30 2.125 0.47 77.364 3.295 0.47 80.85 -1.062 71.42 10.725
50 77 0.61 76.134 1.125 0.43 74.863 2.775 0.43 78.24 -1.610 63.6 17.403
75 74 0.55 73.50 0.676 0.39 71.85 2.905 0.39 75.10 -1.486 54.4 26.486
100 71 0.49 70.23 1.099 0.35 68.15 4.014 0.35 71.22 -0.310 46.5 34.507
125 68 0.43 66.03 2.891 0.31 63.50 6.634 0.31 66.35 2.460 38.2 43.853
% average
1.563 3.757 -1.398 24.635
of error
Table 3. Original and secondary characteristics of the studied reservoirs
Year of Area Capacity
Max.
Dam sedimentation Reference of data
depth 6 2
survey (10 m ) (106m3)
1949 40.56 23.46 268.529 0.391 0.564
Mohammadzadeh-
1965 26.853 23.46 242.035 0.533 0.768
Angostura 0.645 Habili and
1982 25.329 23.46 231.983 0.541 0.781
Heidarpour (2010)
2004 23.805 23.46 222.466 0.552 0.797
1903 23.30 32.415 258.09 0.474 0.683 Mohammadzadeh-
Belle
1949 21.346 32.537 237.673 0.474 0.684 0.771 Habili and
Fourche
2006 19.812 32.537 213.236 0.459 0.662 Heidarpour (2010)
1938 23.47 46.668 427.693 0.541 0.781
Mohammadzadeh-
1981 20.422 46.668 408.912 0.595 0.858
Caballo 0.826 Habili and
1999 20.422 46.668 402.944 0.586 0.846
Heidarpour (2010)
2007 18.898 46.668 400.8 0.630 0.909
1929 54.556 5.492 129.343 0.598 0.863
U.S. Bureau of
1973 53.035 5.245 122.197 0.609 0.879
Gibson 0.894 Reclamation
1996 50.902 5.245 119.003 0.618 0.891
(2009)
2009 50.899 5.398 121.729 0.614 0.886
1957 49.378 95.789 1418.213 0.416 0.600 Mohammadzadeh-
Glendo 1972 49.378 95.789 1415.819 0.415 0.599 0.995 Habili and
2003 48.128 95.789 1376.301 0.414 0.597 Heidarpour (2010)
1927 28.956 9.733 91.043 0.448 0.646 Mohammadzadeh-
Guernsey 1947 21.336 9.656 60.626 0.408 0.589 0.962 Habili and
1957 19.812 9.64 55.26 0.401 0.579 Heidarpour (2010)
1949 32.888 23.391 246.616 0.444 0.641
1951 30.45 25.111 243.604 0.442 0.637 Mohammadzadeh-
Harry
1962 29.535 23.265 240.322 0.485 0.699 0.845 Habili and
Strunk
1981 27.554 23.407 239.394 0.515 0.742 Heidarpour (2010)
2006 27.066 23.407 238.087 0.521 0.752
1972 71.81 24.88 531 0.412 0.596 U.S. Bureau of
Heron 1984 67.96 24.88 530 0.439 0.627 0.66 Reclamation
2010 67.296 24.88 528.38 0.437 0.631 (2010)
1952 34.351 83.855 784.396 0.378 0.545 Mohammadzadeh-
Keyhole 1978 33.132 83.855 775.124 0.387 0.558 0.979 Habili and
2003 31.638 83.855 768.855 0.402 0.580 Heidarpour (2010)
1976 43.523 0.299 3.574 0.381 0.549 U.S. Bureau of
Nambe
2004 30.41 0.299 3.444 0.525 0.758 0.974 Reclamation
Falls
2013 24.075 0.299 3.208 0.618 0.891 (2013)
1953 28.558 40.631 446.288 0.533 0.769 U.S. Bureau of
Swanson
1982 25.327 40.611 436.687 0.589 0.849 0.702 Reclamation
Lake
2011 25.327 40.611 434.208 0.585 0.844 (2011)
Table 4. Shape factor variation with sedimentation for different methods

Mohammadzadeh-
Borland and Miller (1958) Kaveh et al. (2013)
Year Habili et al. (2009)
% error % error
1986 2.77 2.74 1.083 2.28 17.70
2011 3.15 2.985 5.24 2.49 20.95
100
Mosul dam 1986
90 Type I
Type II
80 Type III
Type IV
% of reservoir depth
70 Area-increment
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
% of sediment deposited
484
485 Fig. 1. Type curves of reservoirs for area reduction method (modified Strand and Pemberton,
486 1987).
487
488
489 Fig. 2. The location of the Mosul dam.
490
20
Area km2
360 320 280 240 200 160 120 80 40 0
340 340
330 330
320 1986 320
310 2011 310
Stage m a.s.l
Stage m a.s.l
300 300
290 290
280 280
270 270
Stage-Capacity Stage-Area
260 260
250 250
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
491
492
493 Fig. 3. Area-storage capacity curves for the MDR.
494
340
330
320
310
Elev. m a.s.l
300
290
280 25 yr Kaveh
25 yr Habili et al.
260 1986
2011
250
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Capacity km3
495
496 Fig. 4. Stage-storage capacity curves for the MDR for 25 year of dam operation. (Habili et al. is
498
21
340
330
320
310
Elev. m a.s.l
300
290
280 25 yr Kaveh
25 yr Habili et al.
260 1986
2011
250
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
Area km2
499
500 Fig. 5. Stage-area curves for the MDR for 25 year of dam operation. (Habili et al. is
502
340 340
503
330 330
320 320
504 310 310
Elev. m a.s.l
Elev. m a.s.l
300 300
505 290 290
50 yr Kaveh 75 yr Kaveh
280 50 yr Habili et al. 280 75 yr Habili et al.
50 yr Habili and Heidarpour
506 270
50 yr area-reduction 270 75 yr Habili and Heidarpour
260 1986 260 1986
2011 2011
250
507 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
250
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
340 Capacity km3 340 Capacity km3
508 330 330
320 320
310 310
509
Elev. m a.s.l
Elev. m a.s.l
300 300
290 290
510 100 yr Kaveh 125 yr Kaveh
270 100 yr Habili and Heidarpour 270 125 yr Habili and Heidarpour
100 yr area-reduction 125 yr area-reduction
511 260 1986 260 1986
2011 2011
250 250
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Capacity km3 Capacity km3
512
513 Fig. 6. Stage-storage capacity prediction curves for the MDR for periods 50, 75, 100, 125
514 years of operation. (Habili et al. is Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. and Habili and Heidarpour is Mohammadzadeh-
515 Habili and Heidarpour)
516
517
22
518
519 340 340

330 330
320 320
520 310 310
Elev. m a.s.l
Elev. m a.s.l
300 300
521 290 290

50 yr Kaveh 75 yr Kaveh
270 50 yr Habili and Heidarpour 270 75 yr Habili and Heidarpour
522 50 yr area-reduction 75 yr area-reduction
260 1986 260 1986
2011 2011
250 250
523 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
340 Area km2 340 Area km2
330 330
524
320 320
310 310
525
Elev. m a.s.l
Elev. m a.s.l
300 300
290 290
526 280
100 yr Kaveh
280
125 yr Kaveh
125 yr Habili et al.
100 yr Habili et al.
100 yr Habili and Heidarpour 270 125 yr Habili and Heidarpour
270 125 yr area-reduction
527 260 1986 260 1986
2011 2011
250 250
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
528 Area km2 Area km2
529 Fig. 7. Stage-area prediction curves for the MDR for periods 50, 75, 100, 125 years of
530 operation. (Habili et al. is Mohammadzadeh-Habili et al. and Habili and Heidarpour is Mohammadzadeh-Habili and
531 Heidarpour)
532
1
Angostura
Belle Fourche
0.9 Caballo
Gibson
0.8 Glendo
Guernsey
0.7 Harry Strunk
Heron
ࡺ
0.6 Keyhole
Nambe Falls
0.5 Swanson Lake
0.4
0.3
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Time (year)
533
534 Fig. 8. Variation coefficient of reservoir ܰ with time according to Mohammadzadeh-Habili et
535 al. (2009).
23
1
Angostura
Belle Fourche
0.9 Caballo
Gibson
0.8 Glendo
Guernsey
0.7 Harry Strunk
Heron
0.6 Keyhole
ࡺ‫כ‬
Nambe Falls
0.5 Swanson Lake
0.4
0.3
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Time (year)
536
537 Fig. 9. Variation coefficient of reservoir ܰ‫ כ‬with time according to Kaveh et al. (2010).
538
539
24
PAPER VII
Monitoring and Evaluating the

Sedimentation Process Using Trap
Efficiency Approaches
Authors:
Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N., Knutsson, S. and Sherwany, G.
Bibliography:
Issa, I. E., Al-Ansari, N., Knutsson, S. and Sherwany, G. (2014) Monitoring and Evaluating
the Sedimentation Process Using Trap Efficiency Approaches, Submitted for publication in:
Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, (under review).
0DQXVFULSW
&OLFNKHUHWRGRZQORDG0DQXVFULSW0DQXVFULSWGRF[
1 Monitoring and Evaluating the Sedimentation Process Using trap

2 efficiency approaches
3
4 Issa E. Issa1, Nadhir Al-Ansari2, Sven Knutsson3 and Govand Sherwany4
5 Abstract: The reservoirs are usually exposed to sediment accumulation problems that will lead to
6 reduction in their storage capacity. This problem directly affects the performance of the dams and
7 causes shortage of their useful life. To estimate the sediment deposition rate, there are many empirical
8 and semi-empirical methods that have been developed using the sedimentation survey data. The
9 simplest technique is using sediment rating curve with sediment trapping efficiency (TE) of the
10 reservoir. TE is an expression or index reflects the ability of reservoir to impound the sediment that is
11 usually used for estimating the amount of sediment deposited, sedimentation rate and useful life of the
12 dam. Many empirical and semi-empirical approaches have been suggested for to determine this term
13 depending on the annual inflow rate, reservoir characteristics and features of the catchments area. In
14 this study six different empirical methods depending on the residence time principle (water retention
15 time) were used. These approaches were reviewed and applied to determine TE of Mosul dam
16 reservoir (MDR) for period 1986 to 2011. MDR is the biggest hydraulic structure on the River Tigris
17 in northern Iraq and started operating in 1986 with a storage capacity of 11.11 km3 and a water surface
18 area of 380 km2 at normal operation stage (330 m above sea level).
19 __________________________________________________________________________________
1
20 Ph.D. Student, Dept of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Eng, Luleå University of Technology, and
21 Department of Dams and Water Resources Engineering, University of Mosul, Iraq e-mail: issa.elias@ltu.se
2
22 Professor, Dept of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Eng, Luleå University of Technology,
23 e-mail: nadhir.alansari@ltu.se
3
24 Professor, Dept of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Eng, Luleå University of Technology,
25 e-mail: sven.knutsson@ltu.se
4
26 Assistant Profesor, Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research – KRG, Erbil, Iraq,
27 e-mail: govand.sherwani@mhe-krg.org
28 CE Database subject headings: Water harvesting, Optimization technique, Iraq, Sinjar, Supplementary Irrigation.
29 __________________________________________________________________________________
30 The monthly operating data for inflow, outflow and water elevations for MDR were used to determine
31 monthly TE and long-term TE for whole period of MDR using the mentioned methods. Furthermore,
32 the monthly inflow rate for River Tigris upstream MDR, its sediment rating curve and sediment
33 feeding from valleys around MDR were used to estimate the amount sediment coming to the reservoir.
34 The results provided by these methods for TE with sediment coming to MDR were used to compute
35 the amount of sediment deposited in MDR on monthly bases during this period. The results obtained
36 were evaluated using observed bathymetric survey data that had been collected in 2011 after 25 years
37 of the operation of the dam. The results showed all the mentioned methods gave convergent results
38 and they were very close to the bathymetric survey results for estimating the volume of sediment
39 deposited especially that proposed by Ward (1980) which gave 0.368% percentage error.
40 Furthermore, the result computed using monthly TE gave good agreement if compared with that long-
41 term TE where the percentage error was ranging between -3.229 to 1.674% for monthly adopted data
42 and -4.862 to -2.477% for whole period data. It is believed that this work will help others to use this
43 procedure on other reservoirs.
44 Keywords: Losing storage capacity; Mosul dam; Reservoir sedimentation; Sediment trap efficiency.
45 1- Introduction
46 Dams are designed to serve several aspects such as water storage for irrigation, flood control,
47 domestic uses and recreational purposes as well as hydropower generation (Morris and Fan, 1998;
48 Jain and Singh, 2003; Garde, 2006). Generally, the total water storage of reservoirs in the world has
49 been mentioned by various sources. One such reported forms about 5% of total runoff (Yang, 2003)
50 whilst others said the global gross storage capacity till 2004 was 6000 km3 (Sumi, et al., 2004;
51 Basson, 2008; Annandale, 2013). Regardless of the purpose, reservoirs formed after dam
52 construction causes changes in flow regime (or sediment transport regime) which decrease their
53 storage capacity (Garde and Raju, 1985; Morris and Fan, 1998; Jain and Singh, 2003; Garde, 2006).
54 Reservoir sedimentation is a major problem affecting directly the performance of dams and their
55 useful life due to the reduction in the storage capacity of their reservoirs. Thus, the global loss rate or
56 sedimentation rate of the reservoirs is around 1% of their storage capacity due to sedimentation
57 (Yang, 2003; Basson, 2008). Therefore, to ensure prudent management and operation of the dams it
58 is necessary to estimate the quantity of sediment deposited in their reservoirs. Sediment movement
59 and deposition is a complicated phenomenon that can be affected by multiple hydraulic and
60 hydrological factors. The dominant factors that influence the sedimentation process are sediment
61 properties, water and sediment incoming to the reservoir, the reservoir characteristics and the mode
62 of operating the reservoir (Annandale, 1987; Morris and Fan, 1998; Garde, 2006).
63 The complexity of sediment transport and the deposition of sediment in a reservoir led to develop a
64 numerous techniques to predict sediment distribution in reservoirs. These techniques can be divided
65 as direct and indirect methods but the last techniques can be classified into theoretical and empirical
66 or semi-empirical approaches. The empirical relationships are most commonly used than theoretical
67 for determining the deposition rate or the reduction in the storage capacity of the reservoir because
68 these techniques are developed depending on the field data. In addition, the empirical methods are
69 relatively easier and quicker to be used and they require limited data. Furthermore, the theoretical
70 approaches or models are hard to be calibrated (Morris and Fan, 1998). Therefore, many empirical
71 and semi-empirical methods have been developed using the sedimentation survey data collected for
72 reservoirs. The simplest technique is the one where sediment rating curve with trap efficiency (TE)
73 of the reservoir are used to estimate the sediment deposition rate. The TE is an important term that is
74 used to estimate the amount of sediment deposited, sedimentation rate and useful life of the dam. It is
75 an expression or index that reflects the ability of reservoir to impound the sediment. Many empirical
76 methods were developed to determine this term depending on the annual inflow rate, reservoir
77 characteristics and features of the catchments area (Smith, 1990; Maneux, et al., 2001).
78 In this study six different empirical methods were reviewed and applied to determine monthly TE of
79 Mosul dam reservoir (MDR) for period 1986 to 2011. These methods depend on the residence time
80 principle (water retention time) that are reported by; Brune (1953), Dendy (1974), Gill (1979), Ward
81 (1980), Heinemann (1981) and Jothiprakash and Garg (2008) (hereafter referred to as Brune, Dendy,
82 Gill, Ward, Heinemann and Jothiprakash and Garg, respectively). The monthly operation data for
83 inflow, outflow and water elevations for MDR were used to determine monthly TE using the
84 mentioned methods. Furthermore, the monthly inflow rate for River Tigris upstream MDR, its
85 sediment rating curve and sediment feeding from valleys around MDR were also used to estimate the
86 amount sediment entering the reservoir. The results provided by these methods for TE with sediment
87 entering MDR were used to compute monthly amount of sediment deposited during the studied period.
88 In addition, to the above TE of MDR for the whole period of its operation were computed using the
89 same technique to find out the time of dam operating. These results were compared with bathymetric
90 survey data that were collected in 2011 after 25 year of operating Mosul dam (Issa, et al., 2013). Thus,
91 the specific aims of this study were evaluating these methods with reference to the bathymetric survey
92 for determining the amount of sediment deposited during this period and to monitor the sedimentation
93 process in MDR which is the biggest and the most important strategic projects in Iraq.
94 This project provides water for three irrigation projects that cover an area about 2500 km2 (Al-Ansari,
95 2013). This study can help decision makers and planners to put prudent planning for Iraqi water
96 resources problems especially Iraq is recently facing serious water shortage problems due to climate
97 changes and increasing demand (Droogers, et al., 2012; Al-Ansari, 2013; Issa, et al., 2014: Al-Ansari,
98 et al., 2014 &2015) where, the annual reduction of the water inflow for the Tigris and Euphrates
99 Rivers before entering Iraqi territory is 0.1335 km3.yr -1 and 0.245 km3.yr-1 respectively (Issa, et al.,
100 2014). In view of the foregoing, it is very important to know which technique is most suitable to adopt
101 for MDR in the future to determine its actual storage capacities and rate of reduction of storage
102 capacity.
103 2- Methods used to estimate trap efficiency
104 TE of sediment is an expression or indicator for the ability of reservoir to impound sediment and
105 reflects the characteristic of reservoir to trapping or collecting the sediment. It plays an important role
106 on estimating the fraction of sediment deposited within the reservoirs, determining the useful life of
107 the dam (reservoir active storage capacity), and assessing changes in the reservoir storage capacity
108 with time of dam operation (Smith, 1990; Maneux, et al., 2001). Therefore, it is very important
109 parameter for planners, designers and operators of dams (Heinemann, 1981; Yang, 1996; Morris and
110 Fan, 1998; Garde, 2006; Jothiprakash and Garg, 2008). TE of sediment is the index of the portion of
111 the deposited sediment in reservoirs to the total inflowing sediment which is usually expressed in
112 percentage (Verstraeten and Poesen, 2001; Jothiprakash and Garg, 2008; Garg and Jothiprakash, 2008)
113 and can be expressed as:-
்௢௧௔௟௜௡௙௟௢௪௦௘ௗ௜௠௘௡௧ି்௢௧௔௟௢௨௧௙௟௢௪௦௘ௗ௜௠௘௡௧
114 Ψ ൌ ͳͲͲ ቂ ்௢௧௔௟௜௡௙௟௢௪௦௘ௗ௜௠௘௡௧
ቃ …………………………………………(1)
115 The sediment TE is a function of many factors from flow conditions in the river and reservoir,
116 sediment amount and properties, geometry of reservoir and its age, location of spillway, location and
117 depth of outlets and operation mode of reservoir (Garde and Raju, 1985; Morris and Fan, 1998;
118 Espinosa-Villegas and Schnoor, 2009). The complexity of sedimentation process led to the
119 development of many approaches for determining the TE within the reservoirs. Some of them are
120 direct while others are indirect. The former uses bathymetric survey and sedimentology data and the
121 latter uses hydrological data and reservoir features (Espinosa-Villegas and Schnoor, 2009; Lewis, et
122 al., 2013). Historically, several methods for calculating TE were developed but the most commonly
123 are the empirical methods that were developed based on survey data for some reservoirs. All these
124 methods were established based on three principles. These are; reservoir storage capacity and
125 catchment area relationship that were suggested by Brown (1944), sedimentation index of reservoir
126 (ratio of water retention time to the mean velocity in the reservoir) proposed by Churchill (1948) and
127 hydraulic residence time principle (or inflow storage capacity ratio) by Brune (1953). All empirical
128 methods had been taken in their account the capacity of reservoir, annual inflow rate, feature of
129 catchment area and reservoir geometry (Morris and Fan, 1998; Espinosa-Villegas and Schnoor, 2009).
130 These methods are widely used for engineering purposes. Consequently, large numbers of empirical
131 methods have been reported, but the most commonly are:
132 The method proposed by Brown (1944) is the first empirical curve representing the relationship
133 between the capacity of reservoir (C) and catchment area upstream the dam (A). The method is
134 expressed by the general equation (Gill, 1979) as:
ଵ
135 ୆୰୭୵୬ ൌ ͳͲͲ ቈͳ െ ቆ ቇ቉ ………………………………………………………..…………….(2)
ి
ଵା୏
ఽ
136 where C in acre-feet, A in square miles and K is factor depends on retention time and particle size of
137 sediment which varies between 0.046, 0.1 and 1 for fine, medium and coarse sediment respectively
138 (Gill, 1979; USACE, 1989). This method is used for catchment area that has one dam. Churchill
139 (1948), developed a concept of sediment release efficiency and proposed a relationship for this based
140 on sedimentation index and total load of incoming sediment (fig. 1). The curve integrates both water
141 residence time and flow velocity to calculate a “sedimentation index” for the reservoir. The method is
142 suitable to estimate release efficiency of sediment for reservoir continuously sluiced such as stilling
143 basin, small reservoirs and flood controlling structures (Morris and Fan, 1998; Jothiprakash and Garg,
144 2008).
145 Figure 1. Churchill’s (1948) release efficiency curve (Morris and Fan, 1998)
146 The above two methods were based on the reservoir capacity, catchment area and sedimentation
147 index principles of reservoir but the following approaches depend on the hydraulic residence time
148 principle. Brune established an empirical relationship curve for estimating long-term trap efficiency of
149 reservoirs based on correlation between reservoir capacity and inflow ratio ሺȀሻ that was developed
150 using the data of 44 reservoirs in the USA (Fig. 2). The method is widely adopted, easy to apply and
151 requires small amount of data and is suitable for large storage capacity with normal pond reservoirs
152 (Morris and Fan, 1998; USACE, 1989; Espinosa-Villegas and Schnoor, 2009).
153 Figure 2. Brune’s curve for estimating sediment trapping (Brune, 1953)
154 This relation was expressed as an empirical equation by Gill as follow:
ଵ
155 ୆୰୳୬ୣ ൌ ͳͲͲ ቂͳ െ ଵାହ଴ሺେȀ୍ሻቃ ………………………………………………………...…………….(3)
156 where C is in m3 and I is the water inflow in m3 sec-1. Dendy suggested algebraic equation by adding
157 more data of 17 small reservoirs (A 60 km2) to Brune’s curve as:
ౢ౥ౝሺిȀ౅ሻ
158 ୈୣ୬ୢ୷ ൌ ͳͲͲ ቂͲǤͻ͹଴Ǥଵଽ ቃ ……………………………………………………………………(4)
159 Gill derived three equations from Brune’s curves for fine (Eq. 5), medium (Eq. 6) and coarse sediment
160 (Eq. 7):
ሺେȀ୍ሻయ
161 ୋ୧୪୪ ൌ ሾଵǤ଴ଶ଺ହହሺେȀ୍ሻయ ା଴Ǥ଴ଶ଺ଶଵሺେȀ୍ሻమିଵଷଷሺେȀ୍ሻା଴Ǥଵൈଵ଴షఱ ሿ…………………………………….………….(5)
ሺେȀ୍ሻ
162 ୋ୧୪୪ ൌ ሾ଴Ǥ଴ଵଶାଵǤ଴ଶሺେȀ୍ሻሿ ……………………(6)
ሺେȀ୍ሻమ
163 ୋ୧୪୪ ൌ ሾ଴Ǥଽଽସ଻଴ଵሺେȀ୍ሻమ ……………………………………………...………..(7)
ା଴Ǥ଴଴଺ଶଽ଻ሺେȀ୍ሻା଴Ǥଷൈଵ଴షఱሿ
164 Ward modified Brune’s equation depending on the hydraulic water residence time for largest world
165 reservoir as:
଴Ǥ଴ହ
166 ୛ୟ୰ୢ ൌ ͳͲͲ ൤ͳ െ ൫ ൨ ……………………………………………………………………………(8)
ξο୲൯
167 Where ο is (C/I) residence time in year, C and I are in hectare-m and m3.yr-1 respectively.
168 Heinemann developed a new relationship for determining TE slightly difference of Brune’s curve
169 based on data of 20 ponded reservoirs in the USA (eq. 9).
ଵଵଽǤ଺ሺେȀ୍ሻ
170 ୌୣ୧୬ୣ୫ୟ୬୬ ൌ ቂെʹʹ ൅ ቃ ………………………………………………………………(9)
଴Ǥ଴ଵଶାଵǤ଴ଶሺେȀ୍ሻ
171 Jothiprakash and Garg developed two empirical equations to estimate TE for medium and coarse
172 sediment depending on the related by Brune’s curves for medium (Eq. 10) and coarse sediment
173 particle (Eq. 11) as follow:
ሺେȀ୍ሻ
174 ୎୭୲୦୧୮୰ୟ୩ୟୱ୦ୟ୬ୢୋୟ୰୥ ൌ ൣ଴Ǥ଴଴଴ଵଷା଴Ǥ଴ଵሺେȀ୍ሻା଴Ǥ଴଴଴଴ଵ଺଺ൈ …….…………………………………. (10)
ඥେȀ୍൧
଼଴଴଴ିଷ଺ሺେȀ୍ሻషబǤళఴ
175 ୎୭୲୦୧୮୰ୟ୩ୟୱ୦ୟ୬ୢୋୟ୰୥ ൌ ሾ଻଼Ǥ଼ହାሺେȀ୍ሻషబǤళఴሿ
…………………………………………………………. (11)
176 The mentioned equations did not take into consideration the effect of future variation or reservoir age
177 on the TE. In this study the methods established based on the hydraulic residence time were used to
178 evaluate and monitor monthly sedimentation processes within MDR.
179 Site description
180 The Mosul dam is one of the most important strategic projects in Iraq. The project was constructed
181 on the Tigris River in the north of Iraq, located 60 km north west of Mosul city at latitude 36°37'44"N
182 and longitude 42°49'23"E (Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources, 2012) (Fig. 3). The dam is a
183 multipurpose project and it started operating in 1986 to store water, flood control and hydropower
184 generation but the main purpose was to provide water for three irrigation projects that cover 2500 km2
185 of agricultural area. The dam is an earth filled dam, 113 m high and 3650 m long including its spillway
186 (Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources, 2012).
187 Figure 3. The location of the Mosul dam
188 The MDR was constructed to impound 11.11 km3 of water at normal operation level (330 m a.s.l),
189 including 8.16 and 2.95 km3 of live storage and dead storage respectively. The maximum and dead
190 storage operation levels of its reservoir are 335 and 300 m a.s.l respectively. The length of reservoir is
191 about 45 km, with width ranging from 2 to 14 km at the normal level and a water surface area of 380
192 km2 while its shape is elongated where then River Tigris enters the upper zone and broadens close to
193 the dam site (Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources, 2012) (Fig. 3). The River Tigris is the main source of
194 the water and sediment entering the reservoir. In addition, there are ten tributary valleys feed the
195 MDR, seven from the left (northeast) side and three from the right (southwest) side (Ezz-Aldeen, et
196 al., 2012; Al-Ansari, et al., 2013). The catchment area above Mosul dam site is about 56275 km2
197 shared by Turkey, Syria and Iraq (Swiss Consultants, 1979; Saleh, 2010; Issa, et al., 2013).
198 3- Available data (Material used)
199 4.1 Operating data
200 The water level fluctuation in MDR reservoir is small through the year. The hydropower generation
201 and pump stations of the north Al-Jazeera project are the important structures within MDR. The
202 power-generation facilities are located on and in the right abutment of the main dam (Fig. 3). The
203 power house is located in the toe of the dam embankment and includes four turbines with total
204 generating capacity of 750 MW. The Al-Jazeera pump station is located in the upper zone of the
205 reservoir (latitude 36°49'20"N and longitude 42°30'31"E) with a maximum water discharge 45 m3.sec-1
206 (Fig. 3) (Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources, 2012). The long terms records of water inflow and
207 outflow of Tigris River were provided by these stations (Fig. 4). The discharges data showed that the
208 annual inflow and outflow rates were 563 and 543 m3 sec-1 respectively. In addition the water
209 elevations in MDR were recorded during operation period (Fig. 5).
210 Figure 4. Average monthly inflow and outflow discharges of MDR.
211 Figure 5. Average monthly water elevations of MDR.
212 4.2 Sedimentation record data
213 Tigris River is one of the two most important rivers in Iraq and is the main source of water for
214 Mosul dam reservoir. Four major tributaries (Batman, Garzan, Botan and Al-Khabur) feed the Tigris
215 River north of MDR from the left bank (Al-Ansari and Knutsson, 2011). The catchment area upstream
216 MDR is about 54,900 km2 shared by Turkey, Syria and Iraq (Swiss Consultants, 1979; Saleh, 2010)
217 while the valleys surrounding the reservoir drains an area of about 1375 km2 (Ezz-Aldeen, et al.,
218 2012; Issa, et al., 2013). Long term sedimentation record data were measured in the River Tigris
219 before the construction of the dam were carried out on three gaging stations by Harza engineering
220 company and Binnie and Partners (1964). These stations are; Mosul at dam site, Tusan and Zakho
221 which were upstream MDR (table 1). The sediment rating curve for Tigris River is shown in figure 6.
222 The sediment particle size on the river bed at this region before the construction of the dam had a
223 median grain size diameter of d50=18 mm (Swiss Consultants, 1979; Najib, 1980). In 2009, Dijla
224 Company for Engineering Design provided a study for the same region of Tigris River. In that study, it
225 was noted that the sediment size was d50=12.4 mm and the specific gravity for the bed material was
226 Gs=2.65 (ECB, 2010). In addition, the annual sediment delivered by right and left valleys of MDR
227 were 42.7 × 103 ton and 702 × 103 ton respectively (Ezz-Aldeen, et al., 2012; 2013).
228 Figure 6. Sediment rating curve of Tigris River under natural condition in three gaging stations (ECB,
229 2010) (Hint: Mosul station at Mosul dam site)
230 Table 1. Locations of the gaging stations
231 4.3 Bathymetric survey data
232 A bathymetric survey of the reservoir was conducted in 2011 after 25 years of dam operation. The
233 survey results showed that 1.143 km3 of sediment had accumulated over the period 1986-2011. This
234 represents an annual sediment deposition rate of 45.72 × 106 m3.yr-1. As a result, the reservoir lost
235 10.29% of its storage capacity during this period (Issa, et al., 2013). The survey results were also used
236 to construct area-storage capacity curves (Fig. 3). The results indicated that the water depth below the
237 normal operation level at the dam site was 83 m in 1986. Later in 2011 it was about 80 m due to
238 sedimentation. This suggests that, 3.0 m of sediment accumulated near the dam during the operational
239 period of the project (Issa, et al., 2013).
240 Figure 7. Area-storage capacity curves for the Mosul dam.
241 4- Methodology and techniques used
242 All the empirical methods that e mentioned above did not take into account the variation of TE with
243 time due to changes in the factors affecting it. That means, the river behavior, the reservoir’s
244 characteristics and operation mode will remain constant in the future. Therefore, in this study, average
245 monthly data of MDR were considered during the calculation of its TE. The calculations were
246 performed as follow:
247 1. Average monthly data of water elevations in MDR with stage-storage capacity curve at 1986 (Fig.
248 7) were used to determine the average monthly storage capacity of its reservoir (Fig. 8).
249 2. The monthly data of storage capacity and inflow rate were employed to compute monthly TE of
250 MDR by using the six previously mentioned methods that are represented by equations (3, 4, 6, 8, 9
251 and 10) (Fig. 9).
252 Figure 8. Monthly variation of storage capacity for MDR
253 Figure 9. Average monthly TE for MDR
254 3. The inflow rate data were used with sediment rating curve for River Tigris and rate of sediment for
255 surrounding valleys to compute average sediment entering MDR (Fig. 6).
256 Figure 10. The monthly rate (discharge) of sediment load coming to MDR
257 4. The sedimentation data (Fig. 10) and the monthly TE (Fig. 9) were used to determine the
258 amount of sediment deposited in the MDR.
259 5. The deposition data were employed to correct the storage capacity of MDR after
260 sedimentation (Fig. 8). Thus the adjusted data of storage capacity were used to correct
261 monthly TE of MDR (Fig. 11).
262 6. The corrected data of TE were used again to determine monthly sediment deposited in the
263 MDR during its operating that will be used to compute accumulative sediment deposited in
264 MDR during 25 year of its operating (Fig. 12).
265 Figure 11. Adjusted TE for MDR
266 Figure 12. Accumulative sediment coming and deposited in the MDR during 25 years
267 5- Results and discussion
268 The six methods mentioned in the previous sections were evaluated by testing them against the
269 bathymetric survey data for Mosul reservoir which were obtained by the survey conducted in 2011.
270 The total volume of sediment deposited in the MDR was 1.143 km3 (Issa, et al., 2013) and total
271 sediment coming to the reservoir was 1.199 km3 which were computed from sediment rating of River
272 Tigris (1.17684 km3) and surrounding valleys (0.02216 km3) (Table 2). Therefore, the real TE of MDR
273 is 95.329%. The total volume of sediment deposited in the MDR were also computed using average
274 monthly data for inflow and storage capacity via these empirical methods (Table 2). Furthermore, to
275 identify the effect of monthly operation on TE, the long term TE of MDR were also computed by
276 these empirical methods depending on the average inflow and storage capacity of MDR during its
277 operation period (25 years). The long term TEs were used to estimate the volume of sediment
278 deposited in MDR (Table 2). The percentage errors for sediment volume deposited in MDR for all
279 methods based on monthly average data and average of whole data (long term TE) are tabulated in
280 table 2. The results for all methods showed good agreement with bathymetric survey, with a
281 percentage error ranging between -3.237 to 1.662% for monthly adopted data and -4.549 to -2.450%
282 for whole period data (Table 2). It should be mentioned however, that Ward (1980 method) was giving
283 very good result relative to the other methods with percentage error 0.350%. In addition, convergent
284 results were obtained for determining monthly storage capacity (Fig. 4) and volume of sediment
285 deposited in the MDR (Fig. 8).
286 Table 2. Total sediment coming and deposited in the MDR during 25 years
287 6- Conclusion
288 Trap efficiency (TE) is one of the most informative parameter that represents the sedimentation
289 characteristics in reservoirs. It is that proportion of trapped or deposited to the total incoming sediment
290 in the reservoir which is usually expressed in percentage. Six empirical methods for determining this
291 term were reviewed and applied for MDR. These methods depend on the water retention time
292 principle. They are; Brune (1953), Dendy (1974), Gill (1979), Ward (1980), Heinemann (1981) and
293 Jothiprakash and Garg (2008). The empirical methods were applied to compute TE of MDR
294 depending on average monthly data and whole data for dam operation (25 years). The results were
295 used to determine the volume of sediment deposited in the MDR. These results were compared with
296 those obtained using the bathymetric survey conducted in 2011 after 25 years of dam operation. The
297 comparison of the results showed that the method proposed by Ward (1980) gave good agreement
298 with minimum percentage error (0.350%). The results depending on the monthly TE data produced
299 good results relative to the long term TE for estimating the volume of sedimentation.
300 Acknowledgement
301 The research presented was supported financially by Luleå University of Technology, Sweden and
302 by the “Swedish Hydropower Centre - SVC” established by the Swedish Energy Agency, Elforsk
303 and Svenska Kraftnät together with Luleå University of Technology, The Royal Institute of
304 Technology, Chalmers University of Technology and Uppsala University. This support is gratefully
305 acknowledged.
306
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348 18. Garde, R. J., and K. G. Raju (1985), Mechanics of Sediment Transportation and Alluvial Stream
349 Problems, 2nd Ed., Wiley Eastern Limited.
350 19. Garde, R. J. (2006), River Morphology, New Age International Ltd., New Delhi, India, 502 pp.
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352 pp. 89-95.
353 21. Harza engineering company and Binnie and Partners (1964). Hydrological Survey of Iraq:
354 Appendix A, Hydrologic Network and Data, The government of Iraq, Ministry of Agriculture,
355 Baghdad, Iraq, Final report, Vol. II, 486p.

356 22. Heinemann, H. G. 1981. “A new sediment trap efficiency curve for small reservoirs.” Water
357 Resour. Bull., 175, 825–830.
358 23. Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources (2012), Water Resources, Mosul dam. [Available at:
359 http://www.mowr.gov.iq/cwaterresourceview.php?id=54, accessed 11 May 2012].
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361 for Mosul Dam, Iraq, Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (7), 1–11.
362 25. Issa IE, Al-Ansari NA, Sherwany G, Knutsson S (2014) Expected Future of Water Resources
363 within Tigris-Euphrates Rivers Basin, Iraq. Journal of Water Resource and Protection 6: 421-432.
364 http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jwarp.2014.65042.
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366 Science B.V.
367 27. Jothiprakash, V. and Garg, V. (2008). Re-took to Conventional Techniques for Trapping
368 Efficiency Estimation of a Reservoir. International Journal of Sediment Research, Vol. 23, No. I,
369 pp. 76-84.
370 28. Lewis, S. E., Z. T. Bainbridge, P. M. Kuhnert, B. S. Sherman, B. Henderson, C. Dougall, M.
371 Cooper, and J. E. Brodie (2013), Calculating sediment trapping efficiencies for reservoirs in
372 tropical settings: A case study from the Burdekin Falls Dam, NE Australia, Water Resour. Res.,
373 49, doi:10.1002/wrcr.20117.
374 29. Maneux, E., J. L. Probst, E. Veyssy, and H. Etcheber (2001), Assessment of dam trapping
375 efficiency from water residence time: Application to fluvial sediment transport in the Adour,
376 Dordogne, and Garonne River Basins (France), Water Resour. Res., 37(3), 801–811,
377 doi:10.1029/2000WR900195.
378 30. Morris, G.L., and J. Fan (1998), Reservoir sedimentation handbook, Design and management of
379 dams, reservoirs, and watersheds for sustainable use, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 805 pp.
380 31. Najib, Y. E., 1980. Characteristics of Tigris River at Mosul. MSc thesis, College of Engineering,
381 University of Mosul, 95p.

382 32. Saleh, D.K. (2010), Stream Gage Descriptions and Stream flow Statistics for Sites in the Tigris
383 River and Euphrates River Basins, Iraq, U.S. Geological Survey. Data series 540, 154 pp.
384 [Available at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/540/pdf/ds540.pdf, accessed 10 April 2011].
385 33. Smith, S. E., A revised estimate of the life span for Lake Nasser, Environ. Geol. Water S ci., 15,
386 123-129,1990.
387 34. Sumi, T., Okano, M., and Takata, Y. (2004). Reservoir sedimentation management with bypass
388 tunnels in Japan, in Proceedings of 9th International Symposium on River Sedimentation, ii, 1036–
389 1043, Yichang, China
390 35. Swiss Consultants (1979), Mosul dam Project-planning report, State organization of dams:
391 Republic of Iraq, Ministry of Irrigation, Vol. 1, 34 pp.
392 36. USACE (1989). Engineering and Design: Sedimentation Investigations of Rivers and Reservoirs.
393 Engineering Manual 1110-2-4000, Washington, D.C.
394 37. Vaibhav Garg & V. Jothiprakash F.ISH (2008) TRAP EFFICIENCY ESTIMATION OF A
395 LARGE RESERVOIR, ISH Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, 14:2, 88-101, DOI:
396 10.1080/09715010.2008.10514907
397 38. Verstraeten, G. and Poesen, J. (2001), Modelling the long-term sediment trap efficiency of small
398 ponds. Hydrol. Process., 15: 2797–2819. doi: 10.1002/hyp.269
399 39. Ward, P. R. B., Sediment transport and a reservoir siltation formula for Zimbawe-Rhodesia, Die
400 Siviele Ingenier in Suid-Afrika, pp. 9-15, January, 1980.
401 40. Yang C. T. 1996, Sediment transport: Theory and Practice, McGraw-Hill, New York.
402 41. Yang Xiaoqing. 2003, Manual on sediment management and measurement, World Meteorological
403 Organization, Operational Hydrology Report No. 47, WMO-No. 948, Secretariat of the World
404 Meteorological Organization–Geneva, Switzerland.

7DEOH
&OLFNKHUHWRGRZQORDG7DEOH7DEOHVGRF[
Table 1. Locations of the gaging stations
Station Easting Northing

Zakho 42° 41ƍ 00Ǝ 37° 08ƍ 00Ǝ
Tusan 42° 28ƍ 00Ǝ 37° 00ƍ 00Ǝ
Mosul 42° 49ƍ 03Ǝ 36° 37ƍ 57Ǝ
Table 2. Total sediment coming and deposited in the MDR during 25 years
Depending the monthly TE Depending the long-term TE

Total
sediment Total Total
Methods Average
coming sediment Average sediment
3 % Error % Error
(km ) TE deposited TE deposited
3 3
(km ) (km )
Brune 1.199 97.818 1.173 -2.625 99.573 1.194 -4.462
Dendy 1.199 96.880 1.162 -1.662 99.003 1.187 -3.850
Gill 1.199 97.708 1.172 -2.537 98.759 1.184 -3.587
Ward 1.199 94.975 1.139 0.350 97.686 1.171 -2.450
Heinemann 1.199 93.729 1.124 1.662 99.960 1.199 -4.899
Jothiprakash and
1.199 98.403 1.180 -3.237 99.646 1.195 -4.549
Garg
)LJXUH
&OLFNKHUHWRGRZQORDG)LJXUH)LJXUHVGRF[
Figure 1. Churchill’s (1948) release efficiency curve (Morris and Fan, 1998)
Figure 2. Brune’s curve for estimating sediment trapping (Brune, 1953)
Tigris River
Mosul Dam reservoir
North Al-Jazeera
pumping station
Hydropower generation
Dam site
Figure 3. The location of the Mosul dam

3500
Inflow discharge
3000 Outflow discharge
2500
2000
m3 sec-1
1500
1000
500
0
Feb
Feb
Jun
Feb
Jun
Feb
Feb
Feb
1986 Oct
1990 Oct
1994 Oct
Jun
1998 Oct
Jun
2002 Oct
Jun
2006 Oct
Jun
2010 Oct
Month
Figure 4. Average monthly inflow and outflow discharges of MDR.
350
Water Elev.
340
330
320
Elev. m a.s.l
310
300
290
280
270
260
250
Feb
Feb
Feb
Feb
Feb
Feb
Jun
Jun
1986 Oct
Jun
1990 Oct
1998 Oct
Jun
2002 Oct
Jun
2006 Oct
Jun
2010 Oct
1994 Oct
Month
Figure 5. Average monthly water elevations of MDR.

Figure 6. Sediment rating curve of Tigris River under natural condition in three gaging stations (ECB,
2010) (Hint: Mosul station at Mosul dam site)
Area km2
360 320 280 240 200 160 120 80 40 0
340 340
330 330
320 320
1986
310 2011 310
Stage m a.s.l
Stage m a.s.l
300 300
290 290
280 280
270 270
Stage-Capacity Stage-Area
260 260
250 250
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Figure 7. Area-storage capacity curves for the Mosul dam.

Ψ
90
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
91
100
1986 Oct Capacity Km3
Aug
10
12
14
0
2
4
6
8
Jun
1986 Oct
Apr
1987Oct
Feb
Gill
1988Oct
Dec
Brune
1989Oct
1991Oct
1990Oct
Aug
Heinemann
1991Oct
Ward
Dendy
Jun
1992Oct
Figure 9. Average monthly TE for MDR

Apr
1993Oct
Feb
1994Oct
Dec
1995Oct

Without sedimentation
1996Oct
1996Oct
Aug
1997Oct
Jun
1998Oct

Apr
Months
1999Oct
Ward
Figure 8. Monthly variation of storage capacity for MDR
Feb
Gill
Dendy
2000Oct
Brune
Dec
2001Oct
2001Oct
Heinemann
2002Oct
Aug
2003Oct
Jun
2004Oct
Apr

2005Oct
Feb
2006Oct
Dec
2007Oct
2006Oct
2008Oct
Aug
2009Oct
Jun
2010 Oct
Apr
Feb
Dec
Ψ
90
91
92
93
94
95
97
98
99
96
100
1986 Oct
Jul
Sediment load X 109 (kg)
Apr
100
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
0
Jan
1989Oct 1986 Oct
Jul
Feb
Ward
Apr
Dendy
Figure 11. Adjusted TE for MDR

Jan Jun
1992Oct 1990Oct
Jul
Apr
Feb
Jan Jun

1995Oct 1994Oct
Jul
Apr Feb
Jan Jun
1998Oct 1998Oct
Months
Gill
Jul
Brune
Apr Feb

Jan Jun
Heinemann
2001Oct
Jul
2002Oct
Apr Feb
Jan Jun
2004Oct
Jul
2006Oct
Apr Feb
Jan Jun
2007Oct
sediment load
Jul
2010 Oct
Figure 10. The monthly rate (discharge) of sediment load coming to MDR
Apr
Jan
2010 Oct
Jul
Sediment load (km3)
0.2
0.4
0.8
1.2
1.4
0.6
0
1
1986 Oct
1987Oct
1988Oct
1989Oct
1990Oct
1991Oct
1992Oct
1993Oct
1994Oct
1995Oct
1996Oct
1997Oct
Months
1998Oct
1999Oct
2000Oct
2001Oct
2002Oct
2003Oct
Gill
Brune
Ward
2004Oct
Dendy
2005Oct
Heinemann
2006Oct
2007Oct
Coming sediment
2008Oct
2009Oct
2010 Oct
Figure 12. Accumulative sediment coming and deposited in the MDR during 25 years

Sedimentological and Hydrological Investigation of Mosul Dam Reservoir

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DOC TOR A L T H E S I S

Department of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering

Issa Elias Issa

Sedimentological and Hydrological Investigation of Mosul Dam Reservoir

Elevation Survey 1986

Issa Elias Issa

ISSA ELIAS ISSA

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

Examination Committee: Professor Björn Klöve, Water Resources and Environmental

Professor Ronny Berndtsson, Center for Middle Eastern Studies and

Reader Jillian Labadz, Collage of Arts and Science, School of Animal

Supervisors: Professor Sven Knutsson and Professor Nadhir Al-Ansari, Division of

Co-supervisors: Dr. Moayad Khaleel, Department of Dams and Water Resources

Special thanks to my friends and relatives in Luleå for their support.

Indirect approaches using several empirical and semi-empirical techniques to determine

Keywords: Area-storage capacity curves; Area reduction method; Bathymetric survey;

The thesis based on the following articles:

 Factor used in general equation for storage capacity of reservoirs

1.1 Background ………………………………………..………………………. 1

2.1 Mosul dam …………………………….……….………………………….. 13

3.1 Topographic Map …………………………………………………………... 19

4.1 Useful Life of Mosul Dam Reservoir ………………...……………………….. 37

5.1 Direct Assessment …………………………………………………..……… 57

6.1 Conclusion ……………………………………………………..………….. 61

PART II APPENDED PAPERS ……………………………………………. 73

Figure 1.4: Global sedimentation rate (After Basson, 2008).

1.2 Determination the Sedimentation Rates

1.2.1 The Direct Methods

I- Sediment Mass Balance

II- Sub-bottom Profiling

IV- Spud Surveys

VI- Reservoir Surveys

Reservoir survey or hydrographic survey is a direct measurement technique used to determine

The advantages are as follows:

The limitations are:

1.2.2 The Indirect Methods

1.3 Objectives and Achievements of the Work

2.1 Mosul Dam

Mosul Dam reservoir

Figure 2.1: Location of Mosul dam with main facilities.

2.2 River Tigris and Catchment Area of Mosul Dam

Discharge m3. sec -1

2.3 Mosul Dam Reservoir

2.4 Climatic Features

Sedimentation in the Mosul Dam Reservoir

3.1 Topographic Map

Figure 3.2: ASC curves of MDR by IVO (After IVO, 1968).

Figure 3.3: ASC curves for MDR before dam construction.

3.2.1 Field Techniques and Collecting Data

Figure 3.5: Shows a typical chart logged during the survey.

3.2.2 Data Processing

I- Storage Capacity and Sediment Accumulation

Storage Survey Survey % Survey Survey Difference %

II- New Area- Storage Capacity Curves

Figure 3.8: New ASC curves for MDR.

III- Sedimentation Pattern or Bottom Morphology

Water spread area at D.L

Elevation Survey 1983

Figure 3.13: 3-Dimensional bed profiles of MDR at elevation 330 m a.s.l.

3.3 Sediment Survey

3.3.1 Sediment Grain Size and its Classification

Empirical and Semi-empirical Approaches to Assess the

4.1 Useful Life of Mosul Dam Reservoir

Factor used in general equation for storage capacity of reservoirs

where is in m3 and is the water inflow in m3.sec-1.

0 83 0.73 0.51 0.488