Lake Wheeler Sedimentation, Wake County, NC
Haven, W.T. and Drake, T.G., Dept. of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences, NC State University
Substantial sediment has accumulated in Lake Wheeler, Wake County, North Carolina since its construction in 1954. Lake Wheeler lies within the Swift Creek drainage basin immediately upstream of Lake Benson, a former and future water supply for the City of Raleigh. Swift Creek drains land under considerable development pressure, and eventually flows into the Neuse River. Study goals are to provide an estimate of "background" sediment production in the drainage basin and changes in sediment production attributable to changes in land use within the basin. Detailed measurements of sediment thickness and lake bathymetry and lake-bottom morphology were made in Lake Wheeler with ground-penetrating radar, side-scan sonar and fathometers in conjunction with acquisition of global-positioning-system (GPS) data. Total volume of sediment and its areal distribution can be estimated from maps constructed using ArcInfo and ArcView GIS software. Because event-by-event measurement of sediment transport is exceedingly expensive, particularly over the requisite decades of interest, this method provides much-needed information about long-term sediment production in the NC piedmont. Data has also been gathered from several other lakes and ponds in the Swift Creek drainage basin, including Yates Mill Pond and smaller farm ponds.
This research is supported by the North Carolina Chapter of the Soil and Water Conservation Society, an NCSU Faculty Research and Professional Development Grant and the generosity of local pond owners.