Stream Measuring & Mapping
Training Workshop
August 3, 2014
Outline for Today

Introduction to the Huron River Watershed
Council and the Adopt-A-Stream Program

Why Measure and Map?

The measurements

Team organization

To the stream!
The Huron River Watershed Council…
…is a nonprofit coalition of communities and
residents.
…was established under state law in 1965.
…protects the Huron River and its tributary
streams, lakes, wetlands, groundwater and
watershed.
What does HRWC do?
 Citizen education & stream monitoring
 Work with local governments
Stormwater Requirements
Planning
 Mass media education and information
 Stream restoration projects
 Run a statewide monitoring network (MiCorps)
 Defend the river, wherever it is needed
Huron
RiverisWatershed
What
a Watershed?
A watershed (or basin) is the area of surrounding land that
drains into a river or creek.
• 900 square miles • 63 communities
• 7 counties • >525,000 people
Adopt-A-Stream Program
River RoundUp
Aquatic Insects Tell Us
the Condition of the River
And
Habitat conditions can help us
understand the aquatic insects
Outline for Today

Introduction to the Huron River Watershed
Council and the Adopt-A-Stream Program

Why Measure and Map?

The measurements

Team organization

To the stream!
Measuring and Mapping
You will be
assessing the
quality of the stream
habitat.
The measurements you take
will be used to. .
 look for immediate problems
 document changes in quality
 interpret the biological data

Diagram from Aquatic Entomology by
W.P.McCafferty and A.V Provonsha
compare sites
Measuring the severity of human impacts to the physical
environment of the stream
•
•
•
•
Channel cutting and widening; erosion
Sedimentation (too much sand and fine particles)
Channelization- loss of microhabitats
Loss of vegetation- riparian and instream
Major cause: Hydrology alteration
•Impervious surface
•Flashiness
Outline for Today

Introduction to the Huron River Watershed
Council and the Adopt-A-Stream Program

Why Measure and Map?

The measurements

Team organization

To the stream!
Logistics of
“Measuring and Mapping”
• Attend this training
• Join a team
• The team picks a date for the event
• Do the event (2-3 hours)
• Return the gear
What You’ll Look For
150 feet of Transects
Shape of channel & bank
Substrate for hiding places
300 feet of Observations
The way the water flows
(Pools, Riffles, Bends)
Bare or eroded banks
Plants in stream and on bank
What is a transect?
Stretch the tape measure across the stream
Transects – Depth and substrate
•10 transects, 15
feet apart.
• Measure depth
and bottom type at
intervals across
each transect.
•Aim to have 10-15
measurements per
transect (divided
up evenly)
Boulder -- more than 10” length or width or diameter
Bigger or equal to adult head
Cobble -- 2.5 - 10”
Size of a fist Child’s head
Rock -- 1 - 2.5”
Half of a finger Size of a small fist
Gravel -- up to about an inch
Child and Adult Fingernails
Sand -- fine particles, all about the same tiny size, gritty
Fines: Clay or Muck -- finer than sand and not gritty,
can’t even see individual grains
(Tape measure)
Hashmark is a “substrate check”
Overview
Transects – Waters edge width, active
channel width
Active Edge
The waters edge width is the width of the water.
The active channel is the area of normal water flow.
The active channel edge is the bottom edge of vegetation on the
bank.
Example: Active Channel on Arms Creek
Transects – Bank angle
Bank Angle
Transects – Bank angle
Bank Angle
Transects – Bank angle (undercut banks)
Bank Angle
What You’ll Look For
150 feet-Transects
Shape of Channel – Transects
Substrate for Hiding Places
Bank Angles
300 feet- Observations
The way the water flows
(Pools, Riffles, Bends)
Bare or Eroded Banks
Plants in Stream and on Bank
Pools. An area of water
deeper and slower than
average. Often found on
outside of bends where
there is more erosion.
Pools, riffles, bends
2 bends
pool
pool
This is an idealized rule of thumb
Riffle. An area of choppy or turbulent
water. Often shallower water than the
average depth of stream. Often
caused by rocks or obstructions in
the water. Sometimes on the inside of
bends where it tends to be shallow.
Pools, riffles, bends
2 bends
This is an idealized rule of thumb
III.Stream Substrate: Embeddedness
Tips:
1) Look in a riffle (preferred) or fast moving area
2) Pull a cobble or boulder out to see how much
of it is buried
V. Bank Stability: % Bare Banks
What % of the banks are bare (showing soil) ABOVE the Active Edge?
Look at the bank bare
areas above the Active
Edge
Active
Edge
Where to look for bare areas
Shaded area
Bare areas are shaded and appear to be about 25% of
the area between the Active Edge the top of the bank
How is all of this used?
Survey Protocol for Wadable Streams and
Rivers
How is all of this used?
1) Your direct observations tell us of immediate
problems.
2) Tracking long term changes
– 11 Metrics Add up to 200 points
– Divide by 2
– Final Score:
5 (Habitat really poor) –
100 (Habitat is excellent)
Metrics include:
Flashiness
Riparian Vegetative Zone Width
Maintained Flow Volume
Bank Stability
Velocity and Depth
Erosion Resistance
Sediment Deposition
Channel Alteration
Embeddedness
Habitat Variety
Bottom Substrate, Available Cover
Mapping Your Stream
You will have
access to
previous maps.
A new map is
only needed if
the old one is
inaccurate, ugly,
or hard to
understand.
In that case- do
a better job than
your
predecessor!
TAKE PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And give them to us!
Be sure to include
people and faces in
your pictures as well as
pictures of the creek.
Safety
 Measure and map during low water levels
You will need to wait 2 days or so after really
torrential downpours. Minor rain doesn’t
matter.
Do only what you feel comfortable doing
What not to wear on your feet
If you expect to stay dry, wear waders.
Tall boots are not good enough on
95% of the streams we are studying.
Doing a study with boots filled with
water is NOT fun.
You may NOT go barefoot
Do NOT wear flip-flops.
You MUST wear waders in Ann Arbor
area and also Mill Creek.
1) Wear Waders OR 2) wear shoes/secure sandals that can get wet
Outline for Today

Introduction to the Huron River Watershed
Council and the Adopt-A-Stream Program

Why Measure and Map?

The measurements

Team organization

To the creek!
Team Positions
Goal: 3-5 people
• 1 Mapper/Picture Taker
• 1 Note taker
• 2-3 Measurers (holding and moving
tape measure, taking substrate
samples)
Meet your team
 In the next 10 MINUTES: Gather with your
team by your site name.
 Introduce yourselves again
 Get your binder from Paul
 Make sure your contact info is right.
 Everyone take a color map
 The binder is holding your blank datasheets
Fill out the team form
 If your whole group is here today, you can fill
out the team form (your date, who does
what, etc…)

Give Paul or Jason a copy of the filled out form
 In your whole team isn’t here, in the next two
days, email each other to answer the
questions on your team form.
•
Email psteen@hrwc.org and jfrenzel@hrwc.org with your final decisions.
Planning your dates
 Measurements MUST be done under NORMAL
or LOW FLOW conditions. Plan a rain date, and
keep it open in case of high water.
ALSO: Please try to do 2 outings if possible! After
your first outing, talk to your team about another
date that would work and be in touch with Jason
and Paul who will assign you a different site.
Day of the event:
• Come to back door of this building
• Find the hidden key to the shed
• Get equipment from the shed (make sure you put in
your wader/foot size to whoever picks up the
equipment)
• Return the hidden key to its location
• Return your equipment ASAP.
• Leave your binder and its contents in the shed
Outline for Today

Introduction to the Huron River Watershed
Council and the Adopt-A-Stream Program

Why Measure and Map?

The measurements

Team organization

To the creek!
But first, let’s take a walk to the shed.
At the creek, bring your pink datasheet with you.