Citation:

LUBBERS, H. R., A. ROY, K. M. FRITZ, AND A. DYBAS. IMPACTS OF LAND USE ON HYDROLOGIC FLOW PERMANENCE IN HEADWATER STREAMS. Presented at 2007 Annual Meeting of the North American Benthological Society (NABS), Columbia, SC, June 03 - 07, 2007.

Impact/Purpose:

To inform the public

Description:

Extensive urbanization in the watershed can alter the stream hydrology by increasing peak runoff frequency and reducing base flows, causing subsequent impairment of stream community structure. In addition, development effectively eliminates some headwater streams, being piped and filled during residential and commercial development, yet due to inadequate mapping, loss of headwater streams is not typically documented. We randomly chose 150 streams from 6,686 possible stream origins in Hamilton County, Ohio. Representative stream origins were mapped to determine origins of ephemeral, intermittent, and perennial flow. For each sampled stream, ArcGIS was used to calculate subcatchment area and land cover, density of sewers and roads, soil type, geology, and relief. There was a wide range in subcatchment area across stream origins and means were lower than what has previously been reported as typical catchment areas of streams with different flow regimes. Channel origin subcatchment areas ranged from 0.0002 to 0.95 km2 (mean: 0.046), intermittent origins from 0.0003 to 0.37 km2 (mean: 0.055), and perennial origins from 0.008 to 43.3 km2 (mean: 1.77). This study contributes to the understanding of the effects of urbanization on headwater streams and provides essential information to help define jurisdictional waters under the Clean Water Act.

Record Details: