Dale Mitchell concluded in his laboratory assignment on open channel hydraulics
 
“...We find it reasonable to conclude that when we change the physical character of a channel we can also change the conditions in the water system as well. Often it is necessary to tailor or alter the conditions of the channel to best serve the immediate or prescribed need.”

He noticed from the laboratory exercise using an open channel model that “changes in bed structure and gate position can have a profound affect on water velocity, can create increased or decreased head of the river at a given area and is also useful in creating conditions that control erosion.”