본 연구에서는 낙동강에서 보운영에 의한 유사이송능력에 영향을 주는 수리학적 특성변화를 분석하고, 낙동강 주요 4개 지점(낙동, 구미, 왜관, 진동)의 유량-유사량 실측값을 분석하여, 각 지점별 지수형 유량-유사량 관계식을 유도하였다. 모든 지점에서 유사이송능은 감소할 것으로 예측되 었으며 실제로 4대강 사업 이후인 2013년도 실측결과 사업 이전에 비해 유사이송 능력이 확연히 감소된 것을 확인하였다. GUIDE 프로그램에서 제공하는 9개 범용 유사이송능 산정기법의 적용성을 검토하여 4개 지점별로 적용 가능한 기법을 선정, 제시하였다. 주요 9개 지류를 포함한 낙동강 전 구간에 대한 유사수지분석 결과 전체적으로 퇴적이 우세한 것으로 나타났다. 유사이송능 산정기법으로는 Engelund-Hansen 공식이 가장 작은 오차를 보였으며 이는 4개 지점별 유사이송능 산정기법 적용성 검토 결과와도 일치한다. 한편 유사수지분석이 내포하는 오차가 낙동강 9개 지류로 부터 유입되는 유사량 오차보다 더 작게 나타나 낙동강의 경우 지류의 유입유사량 산정기법에 대한 정밀도 향상이 시급한 과제임을 확인하였다.

General features of sediment budget for the Nakdong River before the Four Rivers Restoration Project were analyzed using surveying, dredging, and mining data for the past 20 years, as well as sediment data measured from the tributaries, and numerical modeling, etc. As a result of the sediment budget analysis of the Nakdong River before the Four Rivers Restoration Project, sediment inflow supplied from the watershed is 2,100,000 m3/yr and sediment outflow including mining and dredging volumes is 10,180,000 m3/yr. Therefore, the bed change volume estimated by the sediment budget analysis is -8,080,000 m3/yr of the bed erosion volume which is similar to the analysis result (-8,300,000 m3/yr) of natural and artificial bed changes using the surveyed data.

An EMERGY analysis of the main energy flows driving the economy of humans and life support systems consists of environmental energies, fuels, and imports, all expressed as solar emjoules. Total EMERGY use(720.0 E20 sej/yr) of the Nakdong River Basin is 96 per cent from imported sources, fuels and goods and services. EMERGY flows from the environment such as rain and geological uplift flux accounted for only 4 percent of total EMERGY use. Consequently, the ratio of outside investment to attracting natural resources was large, like other industrialized areas. EMERGY use per person in the Nakdong River Basin indicates a moderate EMERGY standard of living, even though the indigenous resources are very poor. Population of 6.66 million people in 1996 is already in excess of carrying capacity of the basin. Carrying capacity for steady state based on its renewable sources is only 0.226 million people. EMERGY yield ratio and environment loading ratio were 1.07 and 28.52, respectively. EMERGY sustainability index, a ratio of EMERGY yield ratio to environment loading ratio, is therefore less than one, which is indicative of highly developed consumer oriented economies. This study suggests that the economic structure of the Nakdong River Basin should be transformed from the present industrial structure to the social-economic structure based on an ecological-recycling concept for the sustainable use of the Nakdong River.