stream ecosystem assessment group 1 camp caesar august 2003
TRANSCRIPT
Stream Ecosystem AssessmentGroup 1
Camp Caesar
August 2003
Group 1 Study Sites
• Birch River
• Craig’s Run
• Big Rough Run
• South Fork Cranberry River
Birch River – General Description
• Watershed– Elk River– 48.41 km^2– Mixed (Ag., Forest, Residential)– Moderate NPS; low local erosion
• 3rd Order• Perennial• Coldwater stream• LB: Forest (Sycamore, Alder);RB: Narrow Riparian Zone
(due to road)• Low LWD• Aquatic Veg. (Sedge: 2%, Biofilm: 85%)• Sediment Type – Boulder/Cobble Bed
Birch River – General Description
• Geology– Stream origin: Non-Glacial Montane– Rock types:
• Pottsville sandstone – low buffering cap.• Conemaugh shale – moderate buffering cap.
Birch River – General Description
• Sampling Conditions– Cloud Cover: 90%– Air Temp: 75 F– Hvy rainfall in last several days
• Visual Condition– High canopy cover– Low erosion stream banks adj. road
Birch River - Stream Flow
• Channel Data– Wetted width = 9 m– Avg depth = 0.28 m– Cross sectional area = 2.45 m^2– Avg velocity = 0.36 m^2
• Discharge Q = 1.05 m^3/sec
Birch River – Water Quality
Stream/ Time pH Temp. Cond. DO TDS Acidity Total Hard Ca Hard Mg Hard AlkalinitySite # (oC) (μS/cm) (mg/L) (g/L) Mg/L Grains/gal Grains/gal Grains/gal Mg/L
Birch River down stream 1.1 12:35 7.23 18.84 314 9.83 0.204 0 10 6 4 60Birch River down stream 1.2 12:00 7.58 18.93 315 9.76 0.205 0 80Birch River down stream 1.3 13:54 7.68 19.11 315 9.75 0.205 0 80Birch River down stream 1.4 13:15 7.58 18.93 315 9.76 0.205 0 60
AVERAGE 7.52 18.95 314.75 9.78 0.20 0 10 6 4 70
Birch RiverEPA Rapid Visual Habitat Assessment
• Epifaunal Substrate/Vegetative Cover• Embeddedness• Velocity/Depth Regime• Sediment Deposition• Channel Flow Status• Channel Alteration• Frequency of Riffles• Bank Stability• Vegetative Protection• Riparian Vegetative Zone Width
151420151713209/96/67/5Total = 156 (78%)
Birch River – Benthic Invertebrates
Indices Score% EPT Abundance 71.3
EPT Richness 10% Generally Tolerant 12.5
% Ephemeroptera 9.7Modified Hilsenhoff Index 4.7
% Dominance 50.0Taxa Richness 18
78.860.6
Site Name Stream Rating Scale - SCIExcellent Good Marginal Poor
Birch river > 85.0 85.0 - 70.0 69.9 - 55.0 < 55.0Site Code Stream Rating Scale - S0S
Excellent Good Marginal Poor0 > 22.0 17.0-22.0 11.0-16.0 < 11.0
% Correlation95.183.379.710.0
Acid SCI
84.940.090.0
WVSCI
Birch River – Fish
Stream NameBIRCH RIVER
# NATIVE CYPRINID SPECIES 7# BENTHIC SPECIES 10
PROPORTION COTTIDS 2SENSITIVE SPECIES RICHNESS 10
PROPORTION TOLERANT INDIVIDUALS 9PROPORTION NON-INDIGENOUS INDIVIDUALS 10
PROPORTION I-P INDIVIDUALS 10PROPORTION MACRO-OMNIVORES 10
PROPORTION CG SPECIES 10
FINAL IBI SCORE 87
COLDWATER IBI SCORE 0
Birch River – Overall Condition Score
Observed ComponentReference Data Score
Ca:H > 100 3377 100Conductivity (microsiemens /cm2/s) < 150 315 53Manganese Conc. (mg/L) < 0.15 0.03 100Fecal Coliform < 100 2 100
EPA RVHA > 170 178 100
WV SCI (STANDARD) > 85 79 93WV SCI (ACID) > 85 61 72
MAH IBI > 85 87 100Overal Site Condition GENERAL IMPACT 89Overal Site Condition ACID (PRECIP) 93Overal Site Condition ACID (AMD) 85
Overall Stream Condition Score
Group 1.4Sue Byrd & Renee Fleshman
Big Rough Run
Stream Assessment
Big Rough RunGeneral Description
• Cranberry River
• 6.99 km2 basin area (1.05 m3/s)
• Pottsville Sandstone
• Cranberry Wilderness
• Impacted by road
Big Rough RunWater Quality
• pH= 4.96
• Conductivity = 27 µs/cm3
• Total Hardness = 34 mg/l CaCO3
• Alkalinity = 0 mg/l CaCO3
• Indicates sterile acidic conditions
Big Rough RunEPA Rapid Visual Habitat Assessment
• Epifaunal Substrate/Vegetative Cover• Embeddedness• Velocity/Depth Regime• Sediment Deposition• Channel Flow Status• Channel Alteration• Frequency of Riffles• Bank Stability• Vegetative Protection• Riparian Vegetative Zone Width
1912169712207/79/99/6Total = 142 (71%)
Big Rough Run – Benthic Invertebrates
Indices Score % Correlation
% EPT Abundance 72.1 96.1
EPT Richness 10 83.3
% Generally Tolerant 1.1 100.0
% Ephemeroptera 31.5 63.1
Modified Hilsenhoff Index 3.5 100.0
% Dominance 33.0 60.5
Taxa Richness 13 65.0
WVSCI 84.2
Acid SCI 74.4
Site Name Stream Rating Scale - SCI
Excellent Good Marginal Poor
Big Rough Run > 85.0 85.0 - 70.0 69.9 - 55.0 < 55.0
Site Code Stream Rating Scale - S0S
Excellent Good Marginal Poor
0 > 22.0 17.0-22.0 11.0-16.0 < 11.0
Big Rough Run(Absence of Fish)
Site Code .
Stream NameBIG ROUGH
RUN# NATIVE CYPRINID SPECIES 1
# BENTHIC SPECIES 1PROPORTION COTTIDS 1
SENSITIVE SPECIES RICHNESS 1PROPORTION TOLERANT INDIVIDUALS 10
PROPORTION NON-INDIGENOUS INDIVIDUALS 10PROPORTION I-P INDIVIDUALS 1
PROPORTION MACRO-OMNIVORES 10PROPORTION CG SPECIES 1
FINAL IBI SCORE 40
Coldwater IBI Score 0
Big Rough Run
Observed ComponentReference Data Score
Ca:H > 100 0 10Conductivity (microsiemens /cm2/s) < 150 27 100Manganese Conc. (mg/L) < 0.15 . .Fecal Coliform < 100 10 100
EPA RVHA > 170 142 53
WV SCI > 85 84 99WV SCI (ACID) > 85 74 88
MAH IBI > 85 40 47Overal Site Condition GENERAL IMPACT 80Overal Site Condition ACID (PRECIP) 49Overal Site Condition ACID (AMD) 72
Overall Stream Condition Score
Stream Ecosystem AssessmentGroup 1.2
CRAIGS RUN
Camp Caesar
August 2003
Craigs Run – General Description
• Williams/Gauley Watershed
• 8.71 km2 Basin Area (Discharge = 0.04m3/s)
• Forest Land Use (Monongahela National Forest)
• Aggrading Stream: Cobble/Gravel
• Mauch Chunk & Pottsville Geology
Craigs Run – Water Quality
•pH – 7.47
•Conductivity – 32 microsiemens/cm^3
•Total Hardness – 17 mg/L CaCO3
•Alkalinity – 20 mg/L CaCO3
•Data Indicates Relatively Sterile Basin
Craigs RunEPA Rapid Visual Habitat Assessment
• Epifaunal Substrate/Vegetative Cover• Embeddedness• Velocity/Depth Regime• Sediment Deposition• Channel Flow Status• Channel Alteration• Frequency of Riffles• Bank Stability• Vegetative Protection• Riparian Vegetative Zone Width
1819105714196/48/810/10Total = 138 (69%)
Craigs Run– Benthic Invertebrates
Indices Score% EPT Abundance 90.1
EPT Richness 10% Generally Tolerant 3.3
% Ephemeroptera 9.4Modified Hilsenhoff Index 3.4
% Dominance 42.7Taxa Richness 17
85.965.0
Site Name Stream Rating Scale - SCIExcellent Good Marginal Poor
craigs run > 85.0 85.0 - 70.0 69.9 - 55.0 < 55.0Site Code Stream Rating Scale - S0S
Excellent Good Marginal Poor
0 > 22.0 17.0-22.0 11.0-16.0 < 11.0
% Correlation100.083.3100.010.0
Acid SCI
100.046.885.0
WVSCI
Craigs Run - Fish
Stream NameCRAIG'S
RUN
# NATIVE CYPRINID SPECIES 1# BENTHIC SPECIES 3
PROPORTION COTTIDS 4SENSITIVE SPECIES RICHNESS 1
PROPORTION TOLERANT INDIVIDUALS 2PROPORTION NON-INDIGENOUS INDIVIDUALS 10
PROPORTION I-P INDIVIDUALS 10PROPORTION MACRO-OMNIVORES 10
PROPORTION CG SPECIES 1
FINAL IBI SCORE 47
COLDWATER IBI SCORE 0
CRAIGS RUN
Observed ComponentReference Data Score
Ca:H > 100 502 100Conductivity (microsiemens /cm2/s) < 150 32 100Manganese Conc. (mg/L) < 0.15 0 100Fecal Coliform < 100 0 100
EPA RVHA > 170 138 48
WV SCI (STANDARD) > 85 86 100WV SCI (ACID) > 85 65 76
MAH IBI > 85 47 55Overal Site Condition GENERAL IMPACT 81Overal Site Condition ACID (PRECIP) 70Overal Site Condition ACID (AMD) 76
Overall Stream Condition Score
Stream Ecosystem AssessmentGroup 1.3
(G. Boyd, A. Dobson, D. Redgate)
South Fork Cranberry River
August 2003
South Fork Cranberry River – General Description
• Cranberry River
• 45.81 km2 basin area (1.07 m3/s)
• Mauch Chunk Shale & Sandstone
• Cranberry Wilderness
• Dominated by headwater bog – humic acids
South Fork Cranberry River – Water Quality
• pH= 7.53
• Conductivity = 34.75 µs/cm3 (Average)
• Total Hardness = 1 mg/l CaCO3
• Alkalinity = 0.4 mg/l CaCO3
• Circum-neutral, softwater stream
South Fork Cranberry River -EPA Rapid Visual Habitat Assessment
• Epifaunal Substrate/Vegetative Cover• Embeddedness• Velocity/Depth Regime• Sediment Deposition• Channel Flow Status• Channel Alteration• Frequency of Riffles• Bank Stability• Vegetative Protection• Riparian Vegetative Zone Width
161615151617199/89/99/9Total = 166 (83%)
South Fork Cranberry River – Benthic Invertebrates
Indices Score% EPT Abundance 83.5
EPT Richness 11% Generally Tolerant 1.2
% Ephemeroptera 20.5Modified Hilsenhoff Index 3.4
% Dominance 22.2Taxa Richness 18
95.382.6
Site Name Stream Rating Scale - SCIExcellent Good Marginal Poor
South Fork Cranberry River > 85.0 85.0 - 70.0 69.9 - 55.0 < 55.0Site Code Stream Rating Scale - S0S
Excellent Good Marginal Poor
0 > 22.0 17.0-22.0 11.0-16.0 < 11.0
% Correlation100.091.7100.040.9
Acid SCI
100.090.390.0
WVSCI
South Fork Cranberry River – Fish
Stream NameSOUTH FK
CRANBERRY
# NATIVE CYPRINID SPECIES 5# BENTHIC SPECIES 4
PROPORTION COTTIDS 1SENSITIVE SPECIES RICHNESS 10
PROPORTION TOLERANT INDIVIDUALS 3PROPORTION NON-INDIGENOUS INDIVIDUALS 1
PROPORTION I-P INDIVIDUALS 10PROPORTION MACRO-OMNIVORES 7
PROPORTION CG SPECIES 10
FINAL IBI SCORE 57
COLDWATER IBI SCORE 40
South Fork Cranberry River
Observed ComponentReference Data Score
Ca:H > 100 3456 100Conductivity (microsiemens /cm2/s) < 150 34.75 100Manganese Conc. (mg/L) < 0.15 0.02 100Fecal Coliform < 100 250 66
EPA RVHA > 170 166 93
WV SCI (STANDARD) > 85 93.5 100WV SCI (ACID) > 85 83.6 98
MAH IBI > 85 56 66Overal Site Condition GENERAL IMPACT 85Overal Site Condition ACID (PRECIP) 89Overal Site Condition ACID (AMD) 92
Overall Stream Condition Score
Summary
• Birch River
• Craig’s Run
• Big Rough Run
• South Fork Cranberry River