Stream and Watershed Information

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Stream and Watershed Information

• Who has it?
• What does it consist of?

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Examples of where to locate national data for
watersheds and streams

• Watershed data
• EPA Surf your watershed http//www.epa.gov/surf/
• Climate data (national and international)
• http//www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/ncdc.html
• Washington http//www.wrcc.dri.edu/summary/climsmw
  a.html

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Examples of where to locate national data for
watersheds and streams

• Stream data- quantity and quality
• USGS Water Resources Data http//water.usgs.gov/da
  ta.html
• Soils data
• http//soils.usda.gov/
• Aquatic biologic indicators
• http//www.epa.gov/bioindicators/

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Local resources for watershed assessment
information

• Juanita Creek habitat assessment methods
• http//dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/waterres/lakes/methods.
  pdf
• Bastyr University Master Plan EIS
• http//www.cityofkenmore.com/dept/cd/Bastyr/
• bastyr.html
• Lake Washington WRIA 8
• http//dnr.metrokc.gov/wrias/8/index
• Slope stability and erosion hazard
• http//www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/landslides/maps
  /maps.html

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Watersheds and Hydrology

• Whats Water Got to Do with It?
• More water moves through ecosystems than any
  other material
• The materials that it carries and deposits and
  the energy that it expends are major drivers in
  shaping the contour of the land and the habitat
  availability/suitability for organisms.

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Watersheds and Hydrology

• Where do we find water?
• What is the hydrologic cycle?
• How many dimensions does a stream have?
• 4 How do we characterize stream water?
• 5 What do we want to know about stream flow?

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Question 1

• Where do we find water?

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Global distribution of freshwater Water
storage bins

• Atmosphere 25 mm
• Lithosphere 12 mm
• Biosphere 0.1 mm
• Hydrosphere
• Ice 5100 mm
• Lakes 25 mm
• Rivers 0.25 mm

9.3
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Global distribution of freshwater
9.4
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Global distribution of freshwater Another way
to think about global water distribution
1 gallon All water
3/8 cup freshwater
2 tablespoons surface water
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Watersheds and Hydrology

• Where do we find water?
• What is the hydrologic cycle?
• How many dimensions does a stream have?
• 4 How do we characterize stream water?
• 5 What do we want to know about stream flow?

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Question 2What is the hydrologic cycle?

• What is the hydrologic cycle?

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Watersheds and Hydrology

• Where do we find water?
• What is the hydrologic cycle?
• How many dimensions does a stream have?
• 4 How do we characterize stream water?
• 5 What do we want to know about stream flow?

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Question 3

• How many dimensions does a stream have?

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Question 3

• Describe the 4 dimensions of river ecosystems
• Longitudinal
• Lateral
• Vertical
• Temporal

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Longitudinal Changes in Streams

• Certain characteristics of streams change
  predictably from upstream to downsteam
• Channels become wider
• Flow becomes slower, but greater in volume
• Streams become deeper

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Longitudinal Changes Reach Scale

• Longitudinal changes are also observed at shorter
  scales than the entire river length
• We call this shorter scale the reach scale
• One example of reach scale changes is the
  pool-riffle pattern found in many streams
  draining areas with medium gradient like our area
• Riffle is an area of rapid flow over coarse
  substrate (rocks) whereas the pool is a slower
  flowing stretch with finer substrate

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Lateral Patterns

• There are also some predictable changes laterally
• The stream has its low flow channel, the low
  point of which is the thalweg
• The stream has banks which define its frequent
  flow limit
• The stream has a floodplain which defines its
  flow limit on less frequent events, annual or
  lesser frequency

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Lateral Patterns

• Some streams and rivers will have a single
  dominant channel while others will have a network
  of interwoven channels

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Lateral Features

• As rivers increase in size they will develop a
  complex floodplain system

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Vertical dimensions

• Velocity changes with depth in stream channel

Diagram byEric G. Paterson Department of
Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering The
Pennsylvania State University
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Vertical Features

• Hyporheic (below stream) inter-actions
• Exchanges occur with groundwater just below the
  stream

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Lateral and Vertical Patterns

• In many large alluvial valleys, creatures that
  live in ground water and hyporheic water can be
  found in the subsurface water kilometers from the
  stream. In other words the stream extends well
  beyond its channel.

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Temporal dimension

• Stream flow changes
• Second by second
• Hourly
• Daily
• Monthly
• Seasonally
• Annually
• Milleniumly

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How species are distributed in space and time? --
Environments contributing to riverine biodiversity
Surface water
Subsurface water
Riparian system
Springs
Confined Reaches
Unconfined Reaches
Streams
Lakes
Hyporheic Zone
Ground Water
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Selected Important Habitat Factors

• Substrate
• Temperature
• Oxygen levels
• Flow velocity
• Food availability
• pH
• Nutrient and sediment regimes
• Organic input and transport

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How species are distributed in space and time
Species Richness
100
Percent of mainstem richness
0
River -----------------------?
Floodplain Edge
(Ward and Tockner 2001 fig. 9.3)
9.9
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Watersheds and Hydrology

• Where do we find water?
• What is the hydrologic cycle?
• How many dimensions does a stream have?
• 4 How do we characterize stream water?
• 5 What do we want to know about stream flow?

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Question 4
What are the major physical, chemical, and
biological components used to characterize water
quality?
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Commonly measured substances related to water
quality

• Light
• Temperature
• Dissolved ions
• Suspended solids
• Nutrients and gases
• Toxics such as metals and pesticides/herbicides
• Biological features
• PPCPs

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10.3 Effect of latitude on stream degree days
(Modified from Vannote and Sweeney 1980)
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Influence of temperature on growth rates
1.0
Midges
Daily Growth Rate (mg/mg/day)
0.5
Blackflies
Mayflies
0
0
8
16
24
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Temperature C
Modified from Benke 1993
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Watersheds and Hydrology

• Where do we find water?
• What is the hydrologic cycle?
• How many dimensions does a stream have?
• 4 How do we characterize stream water?
• 5 What do we want to know about stream flow?

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What do we want to know about stream flow?
Question 5

• Magnitude - how much?
• Frequency - how often?
• Timing - when?
• Duration - how long?
• Rate of change how fast?

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Unregulated
Regulated
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Discharge
Q
Stage
H
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How much water is enough?

• Depends on who or what is using the water
• Historically managed for minimum flows (what is
  the minimum flow that keeps fish alive)
• Legal issue of water rights complicates situation

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Stream flow functions

• Medium where aquatic organisms live and propagate
• Provide the forces that create and maintain
  in-channel and off-channel habitat, riparian
  patch communities, etc.
• Rejuvenate floodplain soils and vegetation and
  recharge groundwater

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Stream flow functions

• Medium where aquatic organisms live and propagate
• Needs vary by species and life stage
• Focusing flow requirements on single species can
  result in unintended harm to other species
• Plays a role in stream temperature and oxygen
  levels

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Stream flow functions

• 2. Provides the forces that create and
  maintain in-channel and off-channel habitat,
  riparian patch communities, etc.
• New channel formation
• Wood recruitment and distribution
• Sediment recruitment and transport
• Removal of fines

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Stream flow functions

• 3. Rejuvenates floodplain soils and vegetation
  and recharge groundwater
• Maintain connectivity with hyporheic zones
• Redistribute soil and nutrients to floodplain
  forest
• Distribute seeds and prepare seed beds

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Take home messages

• Flow regimes play a major role in habitat
• Land-use alters flow paths and storage components
  and hence, flow regimes
• Effects vary with spatial and temporal scales
• Research on which aspects of flow are most
  critical to various biotic responses are in
  progress
• Dont forget the basic processes involved