3. Hydraulic Effects of Beaver Dams

Beaver dams and ponds fundamentally alter how water moves through a stream reach. Semi-porous dams can impound water, leading to backwatering, floodplain inundation, and overall changes in wetted area, depth, and velocity.

For this part of the study, USGS:

1. assessed hydraulic changes caused by beaver dams across a range of flows using a hydraulic model
2. assessed the rate-of-change of continuous wetted area during storm events
3. estimated water residence time with continuous conductance data.

These findings will be helpful for evaluating the effects of beaver dams and ponds on stormwater run-off and habitat diversity.