PART IX:
WATER LEVEL
Problem Addressed
Water level
is a
reservoir improvement technique.
It is used to control some nuisance plants, to provide access to dams, docks,
and shorelines for repair and installation purposes, for fish management, for
sediment consolidation and removal, and for installation of sediment covers.
Culver, Triplett, and
Reviews of this procedure are found in Cooke
Triplett, Culver, and Waterfield
Ploskey
Waterfield
and Cooke et al. (1986).
Theory and Design
Water level
for control of nuisance macrophytes has been used
successfully against susceptible species in certain climates of the
The objective is to expose the plant to freezing-desiccation
United States.
or heat-desiccation for a period sufficient to destroy the
roots, and
rhizomes, and perhaps some reproductive structures.
Water may be withdrawn for several other simultaneous purposes, includ-
ing access to structures for repairs and installations or for sediment consol-
idation through drying or sediment removal with dredges or earth-moving
exposed sediments may also be
As described in detail in Part
equipment.
conveniently covered with screens to eliminate rooted plants.
Ploskey (1983) and Ploskey, Aggus, and Nestler (1984) provide detailed
Actions to
reviews of water level changes and their use in fish management.
benefit fisheries can also produce improvement in the
state of eutro-
phic reservoirs, except in instances when the management of the fish community
includes stocking of zooplanktivorous fish, such as gizzard shad, for game
As described in Part XI, elimination of algae-grazing
fish forage.
ton may result from this practice, and the reservoir may experience continued
Readers interested in the use of water level manipulations for
algal blooms.
fisheries should consult the above reports.
Prior to the use of a water level
to control nuisance aquatic
plants, a survey of the kinds of plants in the reservoir is necessary because
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