Restoration of floodplain topography by sand-splay complex formation in response to intentional levee breaches, Lower Cosumnes River, California

Restoration of sustainable geomorphic processes that create floodplain topography through development of sand-splay complexes at intentional breaches is one method to promote variability in physical structure needed for habitat restoration. The topography of splay complexes provides a range of floodplain elevations that creates local variability in (i) inundation duration and frequency and depth to ground water that influence riparian vegetation establishment; and (ii) flow depth and velocity that create refuge for fish. Two intentional levee breaches along the lowland Cosumnes River, Central Valley, CA, were evaluated during water years 1999 and 2000 in order to document changes in morphology and relief associated with deposition of sand-splay complexes. During the study period, annual peak-flow recurrence intervals ranged from ∼1 to 3 years, and water flowed through the breaches for a minimum of 55 days during water year 1999 and 53 days during water year 2000. At the two study sites, rapid vertical accretion and scour occurred within the first several years after intentionally breaching the levee at the Accidental Forest floodplain (constructed in 1995) and at the Corps Breach floodplain (constructed in 1997). Splay complexes are organized into a variety of landforms, including lateral levees and lobes separated by new floodplain channels. Maximum deposition measured on the splay surface is 0.36 m/year, while maximum scour in channels is 0.27 m/year. Juxtaposition of floodplain splay deposition and adjacent channel scour creates relief ranging from ∼1.6 to 0.25 m that decreases with distance from the breach and that becomes more pronounced over time as higher magnitude floods scour channels in the old floodplain sediment and deposit new sand and silt onto the surface of the splay. The ratio of splay complex height to depth of formative flow is estimated as ∼0.4. Progradation of main and secondary splay channels takes place by down-floodplain sand transport (25 m/year maximum). Large wood recruited onto the floodplain through the breach promotes local scour and deposition that enhances topographic variability. At one of the study sites, initial grading of a low setback berm prior to opening the breach forced a change in floodplain flow direction and the geometry of the splay complex. Additionally, progradation of the complex is arrested by an excavated pond that creates a sediment trap. We present a conceptual model that describes the importance of floods in constructing and modifying sand-splay complexes that create floodplain topography. The potential habitat variability created as floodplain topography evolves is the linkage between physical and ecological processes that are critical for restoration.