Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID WY_2023_64_Madson

High Resolution Upland and Riverbank Erosion Monitoring to Inform Best Management Practices that Seek to Reduce Sediment Accumulation at the Willwood Dam

Institute: Wyoming
Year Established: 2023 Start Date: 2023-07-01 End Date: 2026-06-30
Total Federal Funds: $15,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $27,129

Principal Investigators: Austin Madson

Project Summary: Increased sediment content within the Shoshone River can negatively impact both human and natural uses. This is especially true for the stretch of the Shoshone River downstream of the Buffalo Bill Reservoir and beyond the Willwood Dam (WD). Increases in sediment in the river can have a harmful impact on a wide variety of important aquatic invertebrate and fish species as well as downstream human use. Sediment deposition behind dams can drastically reduce storage volumes and cost considerable time and money to remediate. This work seeks to quantify and examine erosion rates for different land use types within selected high priority sediment contributing areas to better understand the sources of the sediment loads above the WD. Further, this work will provide significant research benefits to the associated local, state, and federal agencies by aiding them in their long-term goal of implementing BMPs to reduce sediment accumulation at the WD.