Sedimentation

Established in 2002, the International Sediment Initiative (ISI) is a global initiative to assess erosion
and sediment transport to marine, lake or reservoir environments aimed at the creation of a holistic
approach for the remediation and conservation of surface waters, closely linking science with policy
and management needs.

Sedimentation can have major negative sociological, economic and environmental effects on water
resources management. Examples include the following:

 reduction of reservoir capacity due to the interception of river solid transport

 need for repeated dredging of waterways and ports
 increase of flooding risk produced by the bed aggradation of piedmont rivers
 potential collapse of structures along rivers subject to degradation
 erosion of beaches near the mouth of rivers with sediment depletion
 pollution of water bodies by sediment-borne contaminants.
 Negative effects of sedimentation tend to become more and more relevant on a global scale
due to population growth, the increasing vulnerability of many territories, and more severe
climatic conditions, which facilitate soil erosion.

Sedimentation is the process of depositing sediment. It is a treatment process in which the

velocity of the water is lowered below the suspension velocity and the suspended particles
settle out of the water due to gravity, centrifugal acceleration or electromagnetism.
Sedimentation has been used to treat wastewater for millennia.
 Negative effect of Sedimentation

Large sediment accumulations can cause upstream flooding, or deflect the flow into the
adjacent stream bank or even onto adjacent land, causing further erosion. In addition sediment
can fill the deep permanent pools of rivers to ruin this critical refuge habitat.