Modeling Sediment Yields and Stream Stability Due to Sediment-Related Disaster in Shihmen Reservoir Watershed in Taiwan

Abstract

Accurate and reliable estimates of sediment yields from a watershed and identification of unstable stream reaches due to sediment-related disaster are crucial for watershed management, disaster prevention, and hazard mitigation purposes. In this study, we added hydrodynamic and sediment transport modules in a recently developed model to estimate sediment yields and identify the unstable stream reaches in a large-scale watershed (> 100km2). The calibrated and verified models can well reproduce the flow discharge and sediment discharge at the study site, the Shihmen Reservoir Watershed in Taiwan, during several typhoon events. For the scenario applications, the results revealed that the contribution (> 96%) of landslides on sediment supply is much more significant than compared to soil erosion (< 4%). The sediment contribution from the upstream of the hydrological station-Yufeng is approximately 36–55% of the total sediment supply for the rainfall events of 25, 50, 100, and 200 years return period. It also indicates that 22–52% of sediment still remain at foot of the slope and the streams, which become a potential source for sediment hazards in the future. Combining with the bed erosion and deposition depths, flow-induced shear stress from the SRH-2D model, and probability of slope failure within 250 m of stream reaches, the relatively stability of stream reaches can be identified. The results could provide the water resource authorities for reference to take precautionary measures in advance on the stream reaches with high-degree instability.