Influence of Loess Plateau check dams on catchment flood hydrology across varying stages of lifespan

The over 100,000 check dams constructed across the Loess Plateau for soil and water conservation may have substantially changed the hydrological processes in the region, which, however, has not been understood yet. As a critical step towards revealing the lumped effect of check dams at the regional scale, this study explored the modified flood hydrology induced by check dams in Wangmaogou catchment, a representative small Loess Plateau watershed. A coupled hydrological and hydraulic modeling approach was applied to simulate the flooding process for different stages of deposition and topographic changes in the check dam reservoir. The results suggest a paradigm shift of the dam effect on flood attributes, which transits from a total interception in the early stage of the dam to peak reduction and flood detention, rather than a complete loss of flood control functions, when it approaches the maximum capacity of sedimentation. Under a given level of deposition, the reduction to a minor flood by a check dam was higher than that to a major flood. With the progression of siltation behind the check dam, the flood peak reduction rate, flood volume reduction rate, and flood lag time decreased accordingly. Although the check dam with a reservoir fully filled by sediment lost its ability of intercepting floods, it still exhibited a considerable ability to reduce the peaks of floods. The topographical changes contributed to the reduction of flood peak appreciably by reducing the flow velocity and retarding the flood propagation. Noticeably, this reduction augmented with the advancement of siltation and the topographic change, indicating the persistence of the hydrologic effect of check dams in a long run. As a result of hydrological changes, the reduction in flood flow velocity due to check dam suggests a substantial reduction in sediment transport and channel erosion during floods. In addition, a dam system containing multiple, cascading check dams exhibits much more significant effect in modifying both hydrologic and hydraulic properties of flood than individual dams. The current research provides a mechanistic understanding of the check dam effect on watershed hydrology under heavy rainstorms in small catchments, which sheds light on evaluating the upscaled effect of the large number of check dams on Loess Plateau regional hydrology and water resources.