Reservoirs held behind dams affect many ecological aspects of a river. Rivers topography and dynamics depend on a wide range of flows, whilst rivers below dams often experience long periods of very stable flow conditions or sawtooth flow patterns caused by releases followed by no releases. Water releases from a reservoir including that exiting a turbine usually contain very little suspended sediment, and this, in turn, can lead to scouring of river beds and loss of riverbanks; for example, the daily cyclic flow variation caused by the Glen Canyon Dam was a contributor to sand bar erosion.
Reservoirs held behind dams affect many ecological aspects of a river. Rivers topography and dynamics depend on a wide range of flows, whilst rivers below dams often experience long periods of very ,stable flow conditions or sawtooth flow patterns caused by releases followed by no releases. Water releases from a reservoir including that exiting a turbine usually c!ontain very little su?spended sediment, and this, in turn, can lead to scouring of river beds and loss of riverbanks; for example, the daily cyclic flow variation caused by the Glen Canyon Dam was !a contributor to sand bar erosion.