Sediment retention by check dams in the Hekouzhen-Longmen Section of the Yellow River

Coarse sediment retention by check dams is analyzed for five typical catchments in the Hekou-Longmen section of the midstream of the Yellow River, which is an area of high coarse sediment concentration. The catchments are the Huangfuchuan, Kuye, Wuding, Sanchuan and Qiushui River Basins. The amount of coarse sediment retained by check dams in these areas for different periods was measured. Sediment reduction due to check dams is compared with other soil conservation measures and the results show that check dams are the most effective to rapidly reduce the amount of coarse sediment entering the Yellow River. If the average percentage of the drainage area with check dams for the five typical catchments reaches 3.0%, the average sediment reduction ratio can reach 60%. Therefore, to rapidly and effectively reduce the amount of sediment, especially coarse sediment, entering the Yellow River, the area percentage of check dams in the Hekou-Longmen section should be kept around 3%. The Kuye and Huangfuchuan River Basins are the preferred main catchments in which such water conservation measures are implemented.