EFFECTIVE DISCHARGE CALCULATION GUIDE

1 mTRonvcnox: moareS Aun CoxcmSAJluvial rivers have the pOtenhal to adjust their shaPe and dimensions to all flows that tranSPOrtsediment, but Inglis (l94l) suggested that, for rivers that are in regime, a single steady flow could beidenhfied which would Produce the same bankfll dimensions as the natural sequence of events. Hereferrd to this now as the dondnan discharge.Wolman and Mller (l960) idenhfied that the flow doing most bed material transPort over a period ofyears may be taken tO…

EFFECTIVE DISCHARGE CALCULATION GUIDE

This paper presents a procedure for calculating the effective discharge for rivers with alluvial channels. An alluvial river adjusts the bankfull shape and dimensions of its channel to the wide range of flows that mobilize the boundary sediments. It has been shown that time-averaged river morphology is adjusted to the flow that, over a prolonged period, transports most sediment. This is termed the effective discharge. The effective discharge mayo be calculated provided that the necessary data are available or can be synthesized. The procedure for effective discharge calculation presented here is designed to have general applicability, have the capability to be applied consistently, and represent the effects of physical processes responsible for determining the channel. dimensions. An example of the calculations necessary and applications of the effective discharge concept are presented.