Continuous Reservoir Sedimentation Management: Cost-Effective Hydrosuction Dredging Demonstration at John Redmond Reservoir, Kansas
The focal area of this whitepaper is water for energy & energy for water: Advancing cost- and energy-efficient reservoir sedimentation management operations through hydrosuction dredging technology, sustained by leveraging an existing adjacent grid or developing integrated microgrid.
Substantial sedimentation since reservoir construction has reduced the storage capacity at John Redmond Reservoir by 44%. Without sustained sediment removal, the reservoir will lose its ability to store water, jeopardizing the continued function of Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant that relies on the reservoir for cooling water.
Immediate opportunities for addressing this challenge include: 1) Investigating optimal design and operating conditions of a hydrosuction system and 2)Finding solutions to power hydrosuction for continuous sediment removal.
Success for these efforts can be measured specifically for restored water storage capacity, the reduced unit cost of the sediment removal operation ($/yd^3), and the economic benefits of the nuclear plant near John Redmond Reservoir. More broadly, success can also be measured by identifying other U.S. reservoirs that can adopt the hydrosuction dredging technology.
Citation Formats
TY - DATA
AB - The focal area of this whitepaper is water for energy & energy for water: Advancing cost- and energy-efficient reservoir sedimentation management operations through hydrosuction dredging technology, sustained by leveraging an existing adjacent grid or developing integrated microgrid.
Substantial sedimentation since reservoir construction has reduced the storage capacity at John Redmond Reservoir by 44%. Without sustained sediment removal, the reservoir will lose its ability to store water, jeopardizing the continued function of Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant that relies on the reservoir for cooling water.
Immediate opportunities for addressing this challenge include: 1) Investigating optimal design and operating conditions of a hydrosuction system and 2)Finding solutions to power hydrosuction for continuous sediment removal.
Success for these efforts can be measured specifically for restored water storage capacity, the reduced unit cost of the sediment removal operation ($/yd^3), and the economic benefits of the nuclear plant near John Redmond Reservoir. More broadly, success can also be measured by identifying other U.S. reservoirs that can adopt the hydrosuction dredging technology.
AU - Lee, Jiyong
A2 - Shelley, John
A3 - Hansen, Carly
A4 - Chu, Antonia
A5 - Hill-Nelson, Sarah
A6 - Olson, Joshua
DB - Energy-Water Resilience
DP - Open EI | National Laboratory of the Rockies
DO -
KW - reservoir sedimentation
KW - water storage
KW - energy for sediment mitigation
KW - reservoir
KW - sedimentation
KW - hydrosuction
KW - dredging
KW - grid
KW - microgrid
KW - integration
KW - John Redond Reservoir
KW - Kansas
LA - English
DA - 2026/01/15
PY - 2026
PB - ORNL
T1 - Continuous Reservoir Sedimentation Management: Cost-Effective Hydrosuction Dredging Demonstration at John Redmond Reservoir, Kansas
UR - https://ewr.openei.org/submissions/97
ER -
Lee, Jiyong, et al. Continuous Reservoir Sedimentation Management: Cost-Effective Hydrosuction Dredging Demonstration at John Redmond Reservoir, Kansas . ORNL, 15 January, 2026, Energy-Water Resilience. https://ewr.openei.org/submissions/97.
Lee, J., Shelley, J., Hansen, C., Chu, A., Hill-Nelson, S., & Olson, J. (2026). Continuous Reservoir Sedimentation Management: Cost-Effective Hydrosuction Dredging Demonstration at John Redmond Reservoir, Kansas . [Data set]. Energy-Water Resilience. ORNL. https://ewr.openei.org/submissions/97
Lee, Jiyong, John Shelley, Carly Hansen, Antonia Chu, Sarah Hill-Nelson, and Joshua Olson. Continuous Reservoir Sedimentation Management: Cost-Effective Hydrosuction Dredging Demonstration at John Redmond Reservoir, Kansas . ORNL, January, 15, 2026. Distributed by Energy-Water Resilience. https://ewr.openei.org/submissions/97
@misc{EWR_Dataset_97,
title = {Continuous Reservoir Sedimentation Management: Cost-Effective Hydrosuction Dredging Demonstration at John Redmond Reservoir, Kansas },
author = {Lee, Jiyong and Shelley, John and Hansen, Carly and Chu, Antonia and Hill-Nelson, Sarah and Olson, Joshua},
abstractNote = {The focal area of this whitepaper is water for energy \& energy for water: Advancing cost- and energy-efficient reservoir sedimentation management operations through hydrosuction dredging technology, sustained by leveraging an existing adjacent grid or developing integrated microgrid.
Substantial sedimentation since reservoir construction has reduced the storage capacity at John Redmond Reservoir by 44\%. Without sustained sediment removal, the reservoir will lose its ability to store water, jeopardizing the continued function of Wolf Creek Nuclear Power Plant that relies on the reservoir for cooling water.
Immediate opportunities for addressing this challenge include: 1) Investigating optimal design and operating conditions of a hydrosuction system and 2)Finding solutions to power hydrosuction for continuous sediment removal.
Success for these efforts can be measured specifically for restored water storage capacity, the reduced unit cost of the sediment removal operation ($/yd^3), and the economic benefits of the nuclear plant near John Redmond Reservoir. More broadly, success can also be measured by identifying other U.S. reservoirs that can adopt the hydrosuction dredging technology. },
url = {https://ewr.openei.org/submissions/97},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Energy-Water Resilience, ORNL, https://ewr.openei.org/submissions/97},
note = {Accessed: 2026-04-05}
}
Details
Data from Jan 15, 2026
Last updated Jan 15, 2026
Submitted Jan 15, 2026
Contact
Jiyong Lee
Authors
Keywords
reservoir sedimentation, water storage, energy for sediment mitigation, reservoir, sedimentation, hydrosuction, dredging, grid, microgrid, integration, John Redond Reservoir, KansasDOE Project Details
Project Name White Papers on Ideas to Advance Energy-Water Resilience
Project Lead
Project Number WP-097