| Sedimentation
Kansas Water Office. “Coming up with the most effective way of dealing with the solution is really fundamentally important for actually solving the problem.” Although an established technology, Water Injection
Dredging has never been used to manage sediment in a reservoir before. Acknowledging this is a new application, Olson said: “We know it works for sediment management in other situations. So, the test here is really, can we use it in a reservoir?”
Pilot project This is where the Water Injection Dredging pilot project
comes into play. A collaborative effort between USACE, the Kansas Water Office, other state and federal agencies, and multiple research universities, it is testing to see if WID is a potential alternative to traditional mechanical dredging sedimentation management within inland reservoirs, such as Tuttle Creek. The pilot project will consist of three dredging periods. The first one occurred from 17-26 September 2025 and the second took place from 17-27 March 2026, with the third set for this summer. During the demonstration period, USACE and its partners are closely monitoring the following key aspects: ● Sediment transport: analysing the movement and dispersal of sediment after injection.
● Environmental impacts: monitoring water quality, aquatic life and potential impacts on sensitive areas.
● Operational efficiency: evaluating the speed, cost and overall efficiency of the WID process.
Spreading out the dredging periods will allow the
project team to collect data to determine if there are seasonal impacts downstream. And as data has been collected from the downstream channel for a number of years to give a good baseline, this means any concerning changes can be detected when doing the pilot dredging. Preliminary data obtained from all three dredging periods will be analysed to determine if the project is an effective solution for managing sediment in a reservoir. However, even if it’s determined Water Injection Dredging is not feasible or effective for maintaining storage capacity at Tuttle Creek Reservoir, the pilot project will provide critical information for the sediment management industry. Totten said the team is keen to share this information and wants to help others as “a lot of people are working on sediment management worldwide”, and their research will be of great value for them as well. Indeed, if successful, Water Injection Dredging could be used in more reservoirs across the state, the country, and even the world.
Above middle: Laura Totten, planner and project manager with the Kansas City District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Col. Andrew Niewohner, are given a tour of the dredge.
Above: A demonstration of the Water Injection Dredging jet bar.
Left: Water Injection Dredging at Tuttle Creek Lake in 2025.
Left: Col. Andrew Niewohner, district commander of the Kansas City District, US Army Corps of Engineers, speaks at a VIP event held to celebrate the completion of the first test period.
www.waterpowermagazine.com | April 2026 | 37
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