Streamflow, sediment, and turbidity in the Mad River basin, Humboldt and Trinity Counties, California

Water-Resources Investigations Report 73-36
Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Army Engineer District, San Francisco
By:

Links

Abstract

The Mad River discharged an average suspended-sediment load of 2,710,000 tons per year during a 13-year period beginning October 1957. Preliminary analysis of data collected during the 1971 water year indicated that about 66 percent of the suspended sediment was derived from sources upstream from a proposed reservoir site on the Mad River near Butler Valley. The high rate of suspended-sediment discharge and the corresponding sediment-induced turbidity of the streamflow constitute potential problems in the operation of the proposed reservoir.

This study is part of an ongoing study by the U.S. Geological Survey intended to determine streamflow, sediment discharge, and turbidity characteristics as they relate to the proposed reservoir and the river system downstream from it. Data from 15 sites in the Mad River basin available through the 1970 water year were reviewed, and the collection of additional data at three of the sites was begun in the 1971 water year. Reconnaissance trips were made in 1971 and 1972 to locate existing or potential problem areas related to sediment and turbidity in the basin. This report presents the interpretations of the data available through September 1971, and indicates the intended direction of the ongoing study.

Study Area

Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Streamflow, sediment, and turbidity in the Mad River basin, Humboldt and Trinity Counties, California
Series title Water-Resources Investigations Report
Series number 73-36
DOI 10.3133/wri7336
Year Published 1973
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Description Report: v, 57 p.; 1 Figure: 29.78 x 22.55 inches
Country United States
State California
County Humboldt County, Trinity County
Other Geospatial Mad River Basin
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details