Floodplain restoration increases hyporheic flow in the Yakima River Watershed, Washington

Hyporheic exchange between a river channel and its floodplain region assists in mediating processes such as nutrient removal and temperature regulation. Floodplain restoration in the form of levee setbacks are often carried out to improve the hyporheic exchange. In this study Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data were used along with the head data from observation wells and stage data from rivers to setup and calibrate a groundwater model for 458 km2 of area within Gap to Gap reach of the Yakima River, WA. This area has witnessed several efforts of floodplain restoration in the form of levee setbacks. The groundwater model was used to quantify hyporheic flow emerging from the Yakima River in steady and transient states during pre-restoration (using LiDAR data of 2008) and post-restoration period (after levee setback using LiDAR data of 2013). The comparison of results from the model runs during pre and post-restoration periods showed that the length of the pathlines increased after levee setback for both steady and transient state model simulations. The largest increase of about 62 m was noticed in the month of September 2014 (pre: 398 m and post: 460 m). The study also showed that the direction of the flow changed following levee setback, expanding the area for hyporheic flux exchange between surface and groundwater. The model run during transient state also suggested that pathlines were longer during drier months compared to wet months. Overall, the study showed that levee setbacks improved the hyporheic connection between surface and groundwater in the Yakima floodplain which demonstrates that levee setback can provide a valuable hydrologic tool to restore ecosystem processes in previously leveed rivers.