Channel-Bank Conditions and Accumulations of Large Woody Debris along White River between Anderson and Indianapolis, Indiana, 2002

Background

In any river system, excessive loads of suspended sediment can be one of the primary degraders of aquatic habitat. In the case of White River, the problem of excessive suspended-sediment load is brought about by several factors. In most locations within the study area, the White River Watershed is underlain by fine-grained glacial deposits and agriculture is the dominant land use. These two characteristics combine to produce a river system that often is subjected to excessive loads of fine-grained sediment as runoff enters the river. Further compounding the suspended-sediment problem is the fact that natural channel meandering may lead to bank erosion that contributes additional fine-grained sediment to the river.

In early 2002, the IDEM, IDNR, and the USGS performed a reconnaisance investigation of channel-bank conditions and accumulations of large woody debris along White River between Anderson and Indianapolis. During this reconnaisance, reaches with stable channel banks were observed, but there were also many reaches where moderate to severe bank erosion was adding fine-grained sediment to the river.  Many trees growing along the river banks were being undermined and lost to bank-erosion processes.

Tree trunks, large tree branches, and root boles sloughed into the river tend to collect as accumulations of large woody debris (LWD) at sites where a channel feature acts as an obstruction to flow.  These LWD accumulations can pose a threat to public safety and cause further bank erosion by redirecting streamflow toward a vulnerable stream bank.

As a first step toward restoration and rehabilitation, the USGS, IDEM, IDNR, and USFWS entered into a cooperative project to map channel-bank conditions and accumulations of LWD along White River between Anderson and Indianapolis.

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U.S. Department of the Interior
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