An experimental assessment of the effectiveness of gravel cleaning operations in improving hyporheic water quality in potential salmonid spawning areas

Dissolved oxygen (DO) conditions within the hyporheic zone were investigated in a gravel stream (River Sieg) in North Rhine Westphalia, Germany, populated in the spawning season by recurring migratory fish species, like Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar L.) and sea trout ( Salmo trutta trutta L.). The gravel bed was cleaned at three sites in an area of approximately 150 m 2 to a depth of 50 cm, reducing the quantity of grains <2 mm to below 0.2%. DO concentrations in cleaned and uncleaned sediments were monitored in situ at 10, 20 and 30 cm sediment depth from the end of November 2001 to the end of April 2002. DO showed only minor fluctuations at the cleaned sites and steadily decreased at all uncleaned sites over time. Fine sediment accumulation over 5 months in the cleaned sites was comparable to the proportion of material within the bed prior to the experimental cleaning and probably influenced the DO concentrations of the hyporheic water. Decreasing DO concentrations at all sites coincided with increasing water temperatures towards the end of the study period. The cleaning operation significantly improved the conditions of DO in the hyporheic zone of the three study sites.