Parametric methods for assessing the production of suspended sediment and its deposition in artificial lakes - an example of Lake Trakošćan, Croatia

Abstract

<p><strong>Abstract</strong>: A very common engineering task we encounter in practice is calculating the annual balance of sediments on some watercourse. This is particularly challenging when assessing the backfilling of river reservoirs that have a multifunctional function.</p><p>Trakošćan Lake was built in the period from 1850 to 1862 as a pond and landscape addition to the park and Trakošćan castle. The topographic catchment area of the lake is 10.7 km<sup>2</sup>, it is about 1.5 km long, and its area is about 17 hectares, with an average depth of about 2.5 meters. The lake's total volume was originally 400,000 cubic meters, and downstream from the dam, the water of the Čemernica stream flows into the Bednja River.</p><p>After 61 years, the lake was drained, and in 2022, work began on sediment excavation to improve the lake's ecological condition due to about 200,000 cubic meters of deposited silt in the lake. The projected depth of the lake after cleaning would be about 6 meters.</p><p>In the example of this artificial lake, an estimate of the annual sediment spread by empirical parametric methods was carried out. Furthermore, the results were compared with the results of previous analysis obtained based on geotechnical sediment investigation at Lake Trakošćan.</p>