Geomorphic effects of gravel augmentation and bank re-erosion on the Old Rhine River downstream from the Kembs dam (France, Germany)

International audienceThe Old Rhine is a 50 km bypassed reach downstream from the Kembs diversion dam in the Alsacian plain (France/Germany). It has been impacted by engineering works since the 19 th century. This reach exhibits poor ecological functionalities due to severe geomorphological alterations (e.g., channel bed stabilization, narrowing, degradation and armoring, sediment deficit). In the frame of the Kembs power plant relicensing (2010), Électricité de France has undertaken two gravel augmentations (18 000 and 30 000 m 3) and three controlled bank erosions following riprap protection removal over ~300 m bank length to enhance bedload transport and habitat diversification. A first pilot gravel augmentation was also implemented in 2010 (23 000 m 3). A geomorphological monitoring based on bedload tracking, grain size analyses and topo-bathymetric surveys has been performed on the 3 gravel augmentation reaches and one of the controlled bank erosion sites to assess the efficiency and sustainability of these actions (2010-2017). Results show that augmented gravels are entrained for a Q2 flood. Gravels moved several hundred meters for moderate floods and up to one kilometer for more intense floods (Q15), while sediment deposition mainly diffused within the channel. Morphological and grain size diversification, including sediment refinement, are still relatively limited following gravel augmentation. Furthermore, sediment armoring reestablished once the sediment wave moved more downstream, after only four to six years, due to the stability and the narrowness of the channel but also by the absence of upstream bedload supply. Habitat diversification was higher on the controlled bank erosion site thanks to the presence of two artificial groynes, even though eroded sediment volumes were lower than expected (less than 1500m 3 for a Q10 flood). This monitoring demonstrates gravel augmentations are not sufficient to really diversify geomorphological conditions of the Old Rhine. Channel enlargements by controlled bank erosion and other actions should be carried out downstream from gravel augmentations to create channel geometry conditions promoting bar development and habitat diversification