Station Locations

A wadeable stream reach is defined as a section of stream no deeper than waist deep (except pools); most of the reach are at depths between the thigh and the waist or shallower. Streams from first through fourth orders most commonly fall into this category. Some higher order streams may have wadeable sections.The sampling locations on a stream should be a minimum of 50-yards upstream from a road or bridge crossing. Being upstream of these or other types of human encroachments minimizes the effects on stream velocity, channel shape and size, and overall habitat quality. In other words your reach should be as representative as possible of the natural characteristics of the stream. Additionally, no major tributaries (2nd order or higher) should be discharging within the reach.

Determine Average Width and Depth of the Features

Once the length is determined and set it should remain the same throughout the life of the station. Use flagging or natural features to mark the upper and lower boundaries of the reach. For the first few visits it is a good practice to measure the length of the reach by laying an open-reel tape measure along the banks (not in the stream). The tape measure provides you with many points of reference along the length and is very useful for marking the location of pebble count transects and other notable habitat features such as point bars, islands, or eroding banks that may occur within the reach. The latitude and longitude (X-site) of your reach is determined at the downstream end of the reach. If you are using a GPS and cannot get a reading at the downstream end, do not move your tape measure once it is in place. Walk up stream until a signal is received and then indicate the location of the signal on your survey data sheet (i.e. middle reach, upper reach etc.). WV Save Our Streams prefers latitude and longitude readings in the degrees-minutes-seconds format.

How Often Should I Monitor My Stations?

Your study design should help you answer this question, but in general, typical surveys are performed two times within an index period. If there is a reason, volunteers may monitor water quality at a station more frequently such as seasonal or even monthly depending upon the situation. At a minimum the station can be monitored only once within the index period. The program's index period is spring through fall. Site considerations are based upon the purpose. See examples below.

• Characterization

Sites ara typical sections of the river/stream that interests the group. Site have a variety of features that represent those of the watershed (baseline). Sites may have a special natural of historical significance. Sites may be the location of previous monitoring activitiy.

• Impact Assessments

Control site is established upstream of the potential impact. In some cases the reference may be in an adjacent watershed or it may be theoretical. Impact site is set-up slightly downstream from the impact. Recovery site is downstream far enough that recovery may be likely.

Station Locations

The number and location of your stations depends on what questions your monitoring study has been designed to answer. Table 2 provides some general considerations based upon two types of common monitoring criteria. Prior to selecting the site in the field use a topographic map to do preliminary selection of sites that meet your criteria. Always visit the site before making final determinations to make sure the site is easily and safely accessible and that it is on public access areas whenever possible. Site codes are important for keeping track of your stations and for reporting purposes. WV Save Our Streams recommends that you use a code consisting of series of numbers and letters that easily designate the site locations and allow for more sites to be added. For example, you have decided on three stations along Spruce Creek. The stations could be coded as follows:

• SP-001

The most downstream site on the stream.

• SP-010

About 1 mile from the mouth.

• SP-015

About 1.5 miles from the mouth.

The number to the far right is 0.1-mile, the next place to the left is 1.0-miles, the next is 10.0-miles etc. (SP) is the first two-letters of the stream name; (001) is the miles from the mouth of the stream.

Choose the site that best fit the type of monitoring your group would like to perform. Most volunteer monitoring groups choose sites that determine baseline conditions and will be used to establish long-term or short-term trends. These sites are visited on a regular basis and the information collected is compared to determine if changes are occurring. The other type is for analysis of a particular impact or activity that is occurring on the stream. In this situation the stations are compared against a reference/control to determine the extent of the impact or activity.

Resources

• Reach

  The typical stream reach has riffles, pools and runs and should be perennial. The X-site (X) is the furthest downstream location, it is usually where the latitude and longitude readings are taken.