Summary:

Knowledge of properties of materials deposited in beds of small reservoirs is important, as it can be used for a range of analytic works, concerning river rehabilitation and river management and other similar undertakings. Usually the one property - the d50 value can be obtained using in-situ measurements using sieves but in most cases of preliminary, large scale research may not be feasible. In this paper the Osuch empirical formula for determination of standard sediment grain sizes of d50 is presented. Besides the original formula an improved method of assessing of the slope value for that formula is proposed, which may greatly improve the usefulness of the original, unmodified method. The calculation results are then compared with the in-situ measurements done on many samples taken from the Trzebuńka dam reservoir. The dam was recently partially removed and partially rebuilt, so there was an unique and easy access to wide strata of different layers of sediments, accumulated across many years of dam operation in the exposed bed of partially emptied reservoir. Additionally, the Ratomski formula for riverbed slope determination near dams was used as a reference. The mentioned methods taken together can be used for preliminary analysis before significant works are to be done. The results are quite encouraging and can be a starting point for further method refinement.