Presentation given by Joe Harrington at the SILTFLUX workshop, UCD, Dublin, February 2016

1. Suspended Sediment Measurement on the
Rivers Bandon and Owenabue, Ireland
Dr. Joe Harrington
Cork Institute of Technology
SILTFLUX Workshop No. 3, UCD
17th February 2016

2. Study Catchments

3. River Bandon Catchment

4. Parameter Detail Parameter Detail
River Details: Station: Curranure
Catchment Bandon
Station Catchment
Area
424 km-2
Catchment Area 608 km-2 Length to Station 52.55 km
River Length 77 km Station Type Data Logger & Turbidity Probe
Altitude at source 320m OD Body Responsible Office of Public Works & CIT
Average Slope 4.16 m km-1 (from OS maps) Co-ordinates 51.74N, -8.68W
Average Flow Rate 15 m³ s-1 Staff Gauge Zero 6.94 m O.D.
Annual Average Rainfall 1207 mm/year (Cork Airport) Records Available 1975 - Date
Land Use Tillage, pasture, forestry, urban Turbidity Data 2010 – 2015
River Bandon – Summary Data

5. River Bandon – Data Collection
Manual Sampling Programme –
Suspended Sediment Sampling
Primary focus of work is at the Curranure
Hydrometric Gauging Station
Samples tested for:
SSC since 2004 (turbidity since 2007)
Nutrient Parameters - Nov. 2009 to 2012
Automatic water sampler installed in late
2014
SSC and bed sediment sampling
undertaken since 2012 at a number of
additional locations along the river –
approximately monthly ‘spot’ data

6. River Bandon – Data Collection
Continuous Monitoring Programme
- Turbidity data at 15 minute resolution
(February 2010 – December 2015)
- Campbell Scientific OBS 3+ probe
- Stage data at 15 minute resolution
Challenges Experienced
- Exposed location
- On-going maintenance issues
- Weather conditions
- Flood events (December, 2015)

7. River Bandon – Automatic Sampler Results
Date QMax
(m3/sec)
SSCMin
(mg/l)
SSCMax
(mg/l)
27/10/2014 22.88 5.9 29.9
19/12/2014 47.5 0.6 15.9
09/03/2015 71.3 3.5 334.3
11/03/2015 73.8 9.23 32.68
29/06/2015 10.03 1.73 14.72
28/10/2015 17.68 1.05 16.7
29/10/2015 16.27 1.26 10.68
06/12/2015 273.41 28.27 110.26

8. River Bandon – Recent Flood Events
• Recent Extreme Flood Events in
December, 2015
• Significant flooding within the town
of Bandon and the catchment
• Damage to measurement station
• Significant bed sediment movement
within the river system
2.85
3.568
2.971
3.101 3.233
2.877
4.216
2.851
3.388 3.56
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
GaugeLevel(m)
Date & Time

9. River Bandon – Bed Sediment Movement

10. River Owenabue Catchment

11. Parameter Detail Parameter Detail
River Details: Station:
Sub-Catchment (of the
Lee)
Owenabue
Station Catchment
Area
103 km-2
Sub-Catchment Area 105 km-2 Length to Station 19.05 km
River Length 22.71 km Station Type Data Logger & Turbidity Probe
Altitude at source 110m OD Body Responsible Office of Public Works & CIT
Average Slope 6.34 m km-1 (from OS maps) Co-ordinates 51.82N, -8.42W
Average Flow Rate 2.294 m³ s-1 Staff Gauge Zero 11.29 m O.D.
Annual Average Rainfall 1207 mm/year (Cork Airport)
Water Level Records
Available
1956 - Date
Land Use Tillage, pasture, forestry, urban Turbidity Data 2009 - Date
River Owenabue – Summary Data

12. River Owenabue – Data Collection
Q = 13.6 m3 s-1 (Peak Flow of Event)
SSC = 123 mg L-1 (4 hours after peak)
Manual Sampling Programme
At the Ballea Bridge Upper Station
Samples tested for:
SSC since 2004
Turbidity 2007 to 2012
(and Summer 2015)
Range of Nutrient Parameters
2007 to 2012 (and Summer 2015)
Continuous Monitoring Programme
Turbidity data at 15 minute resolution
(Sept. 2009 – date)
Campbell Scientific OBS 3+ probe
Stage data at 15 minute resolution

13. Acknowledgements
• Funding Sources
IOTI Technological Sector Research Programme
Office of Public Works & ByrneLooby PHMcCarthy
• River Data
Office of Public Works, EPA
• SiltFlux Project
• Postgraduate Research Team