Effects of soil moisture dynamics on slope failure at Hyrum Reservior, Utah

AbstractField observations of shoreline conditions at Hyrum Reservoir, Utah, were conducted during the summers of 1991 to 1993. A process of bluff retreat is described for a multiple‐layered bluff environment of sand and clay layers. Failure is initiated by wetting and drying of clay sediments, which produces horizontal cracks within bluff material. These cracks appear to penetrate to a depth of approximately 100‐150 mm before initiating vertical cracking in the sediments. The vertical cracks are propagated by continued drying of the surface sediment, ultimately leading to failure of the bluff material. The physical dimensions of sediment blocks succumbing to this mechanism range from a few hundred millimetres up to 3 m on a side, with a depth of approximately 100‐150 mm. The mechanism described here appears to operate optimally when the supply of subsurface moisture is abundant and nearly continuous throughout the spring and early summer. Reservoir draw‐down, large capillary fringe effects in the bluff and periodic wetting from upslope undrained hollows are the dominant moisture controls at this site. Moisture delivery to the face is strongly influenced by anisotropy of saturated hydraulic conductivity in the alternating clay and sand layers and related differences in sediment texture.