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https://hdl.handle.net/11681/29858| Title: | Environmental Baseline Descriptions for Use in the Management of Fort Carson Natural Resources. Report 4, Analysis and Assessment of Soil Erosion in Selected Watersheds |
| Authors: | Keown, Malcolm West, Harold W. Mobility and Environmental Systems Laboratory (U.S.) |
| Keywords: | Environmental protection--Colorado--Fort Carson Wildlife conservation--Colorado--Fort Carson Water quality management--Colorado--Fort Carson Soil erosion--Colorado--Fort Carson |
| Publisher: | U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station |
| Series/Report no.: | Technical Report (U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station);no. M-77-4 Rept.4 |
| Abstract: | As part of the Army's continuing effort to maintain and enhance the natural resources of military installations, environmental quality managers must assess the impact of training activities on soil erosion. A methodology for use in assessing this environmental impact has been developed from studies conducted at Fort Carson, Colorado, by the U. S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station. Six watershed study areas were selected at Fort Carson, each having an existing sediment catchment basin. These watersheds were considered to be representative of the soil types, vegetation cover, topography, and land use in the Fort Carson region. Borings were made in the catchment basins to determine the accumulated sediment volume. These data were used with the age and area of the basin to estimate the average annual sediment yield for each watershed. A watershed erosion index reflecting the collective influence of rainfall, soil erodibility, topography, and land use was derived using the Universal Soil-Loss Equation as a basis for development. A plot then was constructed relating average annual sediment yield and the watershed erosion index for each of the watershed study areas. The resulting correlation provides an estimate of the remaining life of existing catchment basins and a capability for evaluating soil loss in terms of military training schedules and determining the percent of catchment basin sediment volume attributable to military activity. Although the assessment methodology was developed for Fort Carson, the general procedures for establishing the correlation and using the methodology to assess the impact of military training activities on soil erosion are applicable to any military reservation, where there are existing catchment basins. In addition to its use as an assessment tool, the methodology can be used as an engineering design aid for the development of new sediment retention structure design parameters in terms of physical parameters that can be measured in the watershed above the site of the proposed catchment basin. |
| Description: | Technical Report |
| Gov't Doc #: | Technical Report M-77-4 Report 4 |
| Rights: | Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/11681/29858 |
| Size: | 126 pages / 22.79Mb |
| Types of Materials: | PDF/A |
| Appears in Collections: | Technical Report |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Technical Report M-77-4 Rept 4.pdf | 23.34 MB | Adobe PDF |  View/Open |