SEDIMENTATION PROFILES IN LAKE TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA, 2000 

By Victor E. Stricklin

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

OPEN-FILE REPORT 01-317

Prepared in cooperation with the 

CITY OF TUSCALOOSA

Montgomery, Alabama 

2001
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

GALE A. NORTON, Secretary

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

CHARLES G. GROAT, Director

For additional information, contact: Copies of this report can be purchased from:

District Chief U.S. Geological Survey

U.S. Geological Survedy Information Services

2350 Fairlane Drive, Suite 120 Box 25286, Federal Center

Montgomery, AL 36116 Denver, CO 80225
CONTENTS

Abstract....................................................................... 1

Introduction.................................................................... 1

Purpose and scope.......................................................... 1

Previous investigations ...................................................... 1

Data-collection methods..................................................... 1

Description of the study area ...................................................... 2

Sedimentation.................................................................. 2

Summary...................................................................... 4

Selected references.............................................................. 4

FIGURES

1. Map showing location of study area and lake cross sections ..................... 5

2-15. Graph showing cross section:

2. BC2 in Binion Creek basin .......................................... 6

3. BC5 in Binion Creek basin........................................... 7

4. BRC1 in Brush Creek basin .......................................... 8

5. BRC4 in Brush Creek basin .......................................... 9

6. BRC7 in Brush Creek basin .......................................... 10

7. CC2 in Carroll Creek basin .......................................... 11

8. CCS in Carroll Creek basin........................................... 12

9. CCS in Carroll Creek basin........................................... 13

10. DC2 in Dry Creek basin ............................................. 14

11. TC1 in Tierce Creek basin ........................................... 15

12. TC4 in Tierce Creek basin ........................................... 16

13. TC7 in Tierce Creek basin ........................................... 17

14. TRC2 in Turkey Creek basin ......................................... 18

15. TRC 5 in Turkey Creek basin......................................... 19

TABLE

1. Estimated maximum sediment deposition at Lake Tuscaloosa cross sections

from 1969 to 1982, 1982 to 1986, and 1986 to 2000 .......................... 3

in
SEDIMENTATION PROFILES IN LAKE TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA, 2000

By Victor E. Stricklin

Abstract

Lake Tuscaloosa, created in 1969 by the 

impoundment of North River, is the primary water 

supply for the cities of Tuscaloosa and Northport, 

Alabama, and surrounding areas. In 1982, 17 

cross-sections were established in the principal 

tributaries of the lake, which include North River, 

Dry Creek, Turkey Creek, Binion Creek, Tierce 

Creek, Carroll Creek, and Brush Creek. These 

cross-sections were resurveyed in 1986 to determine the amount of sedimentation or scour 

occurring in the lake at these areas. In May 2000, 

14 of the 17 cross-sections were located for 

resurveying to determine the amount of sedimentation or scour since 1986.

The maximum amount of sediment 

deposition determined from the 2000 survey 

occurred in the upper end of the Carroll Creek 

tributary at cross-section CCS (3.0 feet). The 

maximum amount of scour occurred in the Turkey 

Creek tributary at cross-section TRC2 (7.0 feet). 

Of the 14 cross-sections, 6 indicated increased 

amounts of sediment deposition, 5 indicated 

scouring of bottom sediments, and 3 indicated little 

or no change.

INTRODUCTION

Lake Tuscaloosa (fig. 1), created in 1969 by 

the impoundment of North River, provides the 

primary water supply for the cities of Tuscaloosa 

and Northport and surrounding areas. The lake is 

also used for recreation and shoreline residential 

development. Land-use practices in the basin, such 

as coal mining, agriculture, timber harvesting, and 

residential development, have caused concerns 

about the possible changes in the rate of 

sedimentation in the lake. This report has been 

prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey in 

cooperation with the city of Tuscaloosa.

Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this report is to describe the 

amount of sedimentation or scour at selected sites 

in Lake Tuscaloosa. Cross-section comparisons in 

May 2000 were made at 14 locations on 7 principal 

tributaries previously measured in 1982 and 1986.

Previous Investigations

Previous investigations within the Lake 

Tuscaloosa basin include Kenner and others 

(1975), Hubbard (1975, 1976a, 1976b), Cole 

(1985a, 1985b), and Slack (1987,1988). Seventeen 

cross-sections were established by Cole to compare sedimentation in 1982 to pre-impoundment 

conditions. Slack resurveyed the 17 cross-sections 

annually to determine sedimentation rates from 

1982 to 1986.

Data-Collection Methods

Cross-sections were established in the lake 

in 1982 to determine the amount of sedimentation 

occurring at 17 locations in Lake Tuscaloosa. The 

cross-sections were surveyed and monumented so 

that they could be accurately relocated for future 

surveys. Cross-sections were selected on seven 

principal tributaries and located near points of 

inflow to the lake where streamflow velocity 

decreases and the greatest amount of sediment 

deposition should occur. For convenience of the 

reader each of the cross-sections are referenced to 

its contributing tributary. . 

Bottom profiles were recorded at each crosssection using a fathometer in 1982, 1986, and 

2000. The fathometer produces a pen trace of the 

lake bottom through reflection of a sonic signal 

which provides a good method for comparison for 

the two previous surveys with the 2000 survey. The 

accuracy of this method is ±1.0 feet.
DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY AREA

Lake Tuscaloosa is located in north-central 

Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, and receives surface 

runoff from 423 square miles. The principal 

tributaries to Lake Tuscaloosa are North River, 

Binion Creek, Brush Creek, Carroll Creek, Dry 

Creek, Tierce Creek, and Turkey Creek. North 

River and Binion Creek provide up to approximately 85 percent of the inflow to the lake (Slack, 

1987).

The study area has a subtropical climate 

characterized by warm, humid weather, with a 

mean annual temperature of 62°F (Frentz and 

Lynott, 1978) and mean annual precipitation of 

approximately 55 inches. Precipitation is mainly in 

the form of rain with little or no snowfall.

Approximately 75 percent of the land in the 

study area is forested (Slack, 1987). Some areas 

have been cleared for crop production and pasture 

land. It has been estimated that less than 5 percent 

of the total drainage area has been disturbed due to 

surface coal mining. Residential development near 

the lake has steadily increased since the lake was 

formed.

Relatively impermeable sandstone, shales, 

and siltstone from the Pottsville Formation of 

Pennsylvanian age underlies the entire study area. 

The Pottsville is mainly exposed in the north, 

northeastern part of the study area. Beds of coal 

and underclay are also present in parts of the 

formation. Ground water usually occurs in 

openings along joints, fractures, and bedding 

planes, and in coal seams.

The more permeable Coker Formation of 

Cretaceous age crops out in the southern and 

western parts of the study area. Although the upper 

300 feet of the Coker Formation consists chiefly of 

clay (Metzger, 1965), the permeable sand and 

gravel beds in the lower 100 feet provide significant quantities of base flow to streams and are the 

principal source of water from wells in much of the 

Lake Tuscaloosa area (Cole, 1985a).

SEDIMENTATION

Sedimentation damages a reservoir if the 

decreased storage capacity prevents supplying the

full service for which it was designed. Sufficient 

capacity must be maintained in domestic watersupply reservoirs to assure continuity of supply 

during periods of prolonged drought and to meet 

expected increases in water demand. If such 

reservoirs are built with capacities far in excess of 

reasonable requirements, the additional cost 

represents in effect prepaid insurance against loss 

by sedimentation. If the capacity is only equal to 

the reasonable requirements, any reduction by 

sedimentation represents a direct damage which 

involves both an accumulating loss of service 

value and a future replacement cost (Brown, 1950).

As tributaries enter Lake Tuscaloosa, there is 

a reduction of flow velocity and a corresponding 

reduction in transport capacity. This velocity 

reduction results in a progressive deposition of 

sediment load from coarsest near the point of 

inflow to finest toward the dam. As deposition in 

the lake continues, the resulting delta front will 

move progressively down into the lake. The greater 

the percentage of coarse sediments, the larger will 

be the volume and extent of the delta, and 

therefore, the larger the proportion of material 

deposited in the upper ends of the reservoir. 

However, large fluctuations in lake water levels, 

such as occurred during 2000, causes the formation 

of multiple delta fronts due to point of reduced 

velocity occurring farther down the tributary into 

the lake during periods of lower lake levels. As a 

consequence, the greatest thickness and often the 

greatest volume of sediment deposition can vary 

throughout the tributary as a result of variations of 

lake levels during the time of deposition.

Sediment movement and deposition in Lake 

Tuscaloosa is a continuing process. Sediment 

supply rates are influenced by physiography, soils, 

precipitation, and land use. Areas with steep slopes 

and soils with high erosion potential have rapid 

runoff and increased sediment yield. Areas with 

dense vegetation cover have reduced erosion rates. 

Logging, agriculture, construction, and activities 

associated with surface coal mining, such as 

removal of the vegetative cover, building and 

maintaining haul roads, and creation of spoil piles 

subject to weathering and erosion, can increase 

sediment yields and reduce reservoir storage 

capacity.
Bottom profiles were measured at 14 

locations in Lake Tuscaloosa in 2000 and 

compared to 1986 profiles (figs. 2-15). The 

maximum sediment deposition and scour values 

reported in table 1 were calculated by assuming 

that profiles of troughs were the most accurate and 

that maximum change occurred in troughs. The 

reader is cautioned that the value was calculated 

for a single point in the cross section usually 

located in the main trough and does not necessarily 

represent changes in sedimentation within the 

entire cross section or upstream or downstream of 

the cross section. Because of the variability of boat

speed and angle, uncertainty of water level at a 

given location, and inconsistency of measurement 

error, it is not possible to determine exactly how 

much deposition is occurring in the lake.

The greatest change occurred in Turkey 

Creek (TRC2) with 7.0 feet of scour (table 1). The 

greatest amount of fill occurred at Carroll Creek 

(CCS) with 3.0 feet of fill. Scour was indicated at 

five sites, fill at six sites, and three sites indicated 

little or no change since the previous survey. These 

changes show the dynamic processes of 

sedimentation in the lake.

Table 1 .-Estimated maximum sediment depositions at Lake Tuscaloosa cross sections from 1969 to 1982,1982 to 

1986, and 1986 to 2000 

[-, no change]

Lake cross 

section3

BC2

BC5

BRC1

BRC4

BRC7

CC2

CCS

CC8

Contributing basin

Binion Creek

Binion Creek

Brush Creek

Brush Creek

Brush Creek

Carroll Creek

Carroll Creek

Carroll Creek

Principal formation 

drained

Coker

Coker

Pottsville

Pottsville

Pottsville

Coker

Coker

Coker

Maximum sediment deposition (feet)

1969-82b

2

2

3'

13

20

3

<1

4

1982-86°

1.0

-1.8

3.5

3.0

-1.0

.8

.0

-1.2

1986-2000

1.5

1.5

-3.0

-3.5

-3.5

-2.0

-

3.0

DC2 Dry Creek Pottsville .0 2.5

NR2

NR5

NR8

TC1

TC4

TC7

TRC2

TRC5

North River

North River

North River

Tierce Creek

Tierce Creek

Tierce Creek

Turkey Creek

Turkey Creek

Pottsville

Pottsville

Pottsville

Pottsville

Pottsville

Pottsville

Pottsville and Coker

Pottsville and Coker

8

11

8

4

-2

-2

7

15

-1.0

-1.5

-1.5

1.0

-1.2

-1.0

-.1

.4

d

d

d

_

-

1.5

-7.0

1.5

a Locations of cross sections are shown on figure 1. 

b From Cole (1985a). 

c From Slack and Pritchett (1988). 

Locations not resurveyed in 2000.
SUMMARY

Lake Tuscaloosa, created in 1969 by the 

impoundment of North River, is the primary water 

supply for the cities of Tuscaloosa and Northport, 

Alabama, and surrounding communities. 

Seventeen cross-sections were established by Cole 

(1985a) to determine amounts of sediment 

deposition to the lake since impoundment. Slack 

resurveyed these 17 cross-sections annually from 

1982 to 1986 to determine a rate of sedimentation 

into Lake Tuscaloosa. In May 2000, 14 of the 

original 17 cross-sections were resurveyed to . 

determine the amount of sediment deposition or 

scour at these points in the lake since 1986. Rates 

of sedimentation could not be determined 

accurately due to the amount of time since the last 

surveys, variability of boat speed and angle, 

uncertainty of water level at a given location, and 

measurement error.

It was determined that 6 of the 14 resurveyed 

cross-sections indicated increased amounts of 

sediment deposition with cross-section CCS 

(Carroll Creek) showing an increase of 3.0 feet. 

The greatest amount of change occurred at crosssection TRC-2 (Turkey Creek) which indicated 

7.0 feet of scour. Four additional cross-sections 

indicated scour since the previous survey. Three 

cross-sections in the lake indicated little or not 

change since the previous survey.

SELECTED REFERENCES

Brown, C.B., 1950, Sediment transportation in 

Engineering Hydraulics, Proceedings of the 

fourth hydraulics conference, Iowa Institute of 

Hydraulic Research, June 12-15, 1949, 

p. 825-833.

Cole, E.F., 1985a, Effects of coal mining on the 

water quality and sedimentation of Lake 

Tuscaloosa and selected tributaries, North 

River basin, Alabama: U.S. Geological 

Survey Water-Resources Investigations 

Report 84-4310, 53 p.

__1985b, Water-quality and sedimentation data 

from Lake Tuscaloosa and selected 

tributaries, North River Basin, Alabama--

water year 1983: U.S. Geological Survey 

Open-File Report 85-0091.

Culbertson, W.C., 1964, Geology and coal 

resources of the coal-bearing rocks of 

Alabama: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 

1182-B,79p.

Frentz, H.J., and Lynott, W.P., 1978, Baseline

study of the climate and air quality of Fayette, 

Walker, Jefferson, and Tuscaloosa Counties, 

Alabama: Science Applications, Inc., Report 

to the Bureau of Land Management (contract 

no. 1-022-03-080-62), 274 p.

Hubbard, E.F., 1975, Fathometer survey of Lake 

Tuscaloosa, Alabama: U.S. Geological 

Survey Open-File Report, 94 p.

__1976a, Sedimentation in Lake Tuscaloosa, 

Alabama: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File 

Report 76-158, 35 p.

__1976b, Water-quality reconnaissance of Lake

Tuscaloosa, Alabama, March-June 1975: 

U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 76- 

160, 34 p.

Kenner, M.J., Moore, J.D., and Hubbard, E.F., 

1975, Geologic and hydrologic investigation 

of the Lake Tuscaloosa drainage basin: 

Geological Survey of Alabama, Draft report 

to the City of Tuscaloosa (contract no. GSA75-15), 196 p.

Mertzger, W.J., 1965, Pennsylvanian stratigraphy 

of the Warrior basin, Alabama: Geological 

Survey of Alabama Circular 30, 80 p.

Slack, L.J., 1987, Water quality of Lake

Tuscaloosa and streamflow and water quality 

of selected tributaries to Lake Tuscaloosa, 

Alabama, 1982-86: U.S. Geological Survey 

Water-Resources Investigations Report 87- 

4002, 64 p.

Slack, L.J., and Pritchett, J.L., Jr., 1988,

Sedimentation in Lake Tuscaloosa,

Alabama:

U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources

Investigations Report 87-4256.
87° 37' 30" 87° 30' 00"

33° 30'

33° 22'30"

33° 15'

AB1 CROSS SECTION 

I AND NUMBER

DAM

Study 

Area

y

2 kilometers

Figure 1 .-Location of study area and lake cross sections
230

LLJ_J 220

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190

SPILLWAY ELEVATION

19821988

2000

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100 200 300 400 500

DISTANCE IN FEET FRplVI LEFT BANK 

Figure 2.-Cross section BC2 in Binion Creek basin

600
230

LLJ

220

CO LLJ§m

LLJ

> 200_J LLJ

190

SPILLWAY ELEVATION

19821988

2000

100 200 300

DISTANCE IN FEET FRplVI LEFT BANK 

Figure 3.-Cross section BC5 in Binion Creek basin

400
240 c-r-r

230

SPILLWAY ELEVATION

DISTANCE IN FEET FROM LEFT BANK 

Figure 4.~Cross section BRC1 in Brush Creek basin

600
230

SPILLWAY ELEVATION

200 300

DISTANCE IN FEET FROM LEFT BANK 

Figure 5.-Cross section BRC4 in Brush Creek basin

400
LEVEL SEA ABOVE FEET IN ELEVATION, 

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160

150

140 i i i I i i i i i i ii i I i t i i i i i i i I i

19821988

2000

100 200 300 400 500 600 700

DISTANCE IN FEET FROM LEFT BANK 

Figure 7.-Cross section CC2 in Carroll Creek basin

800
to

230

SPILLWAY ELEVATION

100 200 300 400

DISTANCE IN FEET FRpM LEFT BANK 

Figure 8.-Cross section CCS in Carroll Creek basin

500
230

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SPILLWAY ELEVATION

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DISTANCE IN FEET FRplVI LEFT BANK 

Figure 9.--Cross section CCS in Carroll Creek basin

400
230

HI HI111

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200

SPILLWAY ELEVATION

1982

1988

2000

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100 200 300 400 500 600 700

DISTANCE IN FEET FROM LEFT BANK 

Figure 10.-Cross section DC2 in Dry Creek basin

800
LU 

LULU 

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230

220

210

200

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LU

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O£ 17°

LLI

160

150

SPILLWAY ELEVATION

19821988

2000

100 200 300

DISTANCE IN FEET FROM LEFT BANK 

Figure 11.-Cross section TC1 in Tierce Creek basin

400
230

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200 -

190 -

SPILLWAY ELEVATION

180 - 170

100 200 300 400

DISTANCE IN FEET FROM LEFT BANK 

Figure 12.-Cross section TC4 in Tierce Creek basin

500
230

180

SPILLWAY ELEVATION

100 200

DISTANCE IN FEET FROM LEFT BANK 

Figure 13.--Cross section TC7 in Tierce Creek basin

300
230

SPILLWAY ELEVATION

111 LU111 

CO

HIO 

CQ 

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HI 

HIO

1

HI

220

210

200

v......,.,..../-

19821988

2000

190 i i I t i itiiii i I t i t i i i i i i I i i i i i i i i i I i i i i i i i I I i i i i

100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800

DISTANCE IN FEET FROM LEFT BANK 

Figure 14.-Cross section TRC2 in Turkey Creek basin

900 1000
230

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SPILLWAY ELEVATION

1982

1988

2000

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100 200 300 400 500 600 700

DISTANCE IN FEET FROM LEFT BANK 

Figure 15.-Cross section TRC5 in Turkey Creek basin

800