This document provides an overview of stream morphology assessment and restoration. It discusses why stream restoration is important, common causes of stream impairment, and key components of restoration projects. The document also describes stream ecosystems and processes, including watersheds, hydrology, fluvial geomorphology, sediment transport, channel patterns, dimensions, and classification. The goal is to understand stream form and function in order to properly assess conditions and plan successful restoration efforts.

1. Stream Morphology AssessmentGreg Jennings, PhD, PEProfessor, Biological & Agricultural EngineeringNorth Carolina State Universityjennings@ncsu.eduBarbara Doll, PEJan Patterson, PEJason Zink, PEZan Price, PEKris Bass, PEJustin Church, PEMike Geenen, EIMike Shaffer, EIKaren HallDave Penrose

2. Why Restoration?Water quality impairments

3. Habitat loss

4. Ecosystem degradation

5. Land loss

6. Safety concerns

7. Infrastructure damage

8. Flooding

9. AestheticsStream InsultsStraightening & dredging

10. Floodplain filling

11. Watershed manipulation

12. Sedimentation & stormwater

13. Pollution discharges

14. Utilities & culverts

15. Buffer removal

16. Disdain & neglectStream Impairment Causes (US EPA)PathogensSedimentNutrientsHabitat AlterationsOrganic EnrichmentMetalsPCBsTemperatureFlow AlterationsMercury

17. Restoration ComponentsChannel morphology & floodplain connection

18. In-stream structures

19. Streambank bioengineering

20. Riparian buffers & habitat enhancements

21. Stream crossings

22. Stormwater/watershed management

23. Monitoring & maintenance

24. Public access & educationStream Morphology AssessmentFluvial Processes & FormsStreams & WatershedsStream EcosystemsStream MorphologyStream ClassificationAssessment of Condition

25. Fluvial Processes and LandformsHow do stream systems work?What determines stream size & shape (i.e. morphology)?

26. Fluvial Geomorphology:study of landforms and the fluvial processes that shape them

27. Fluvial Processes:associated with flowing water, including sediment erosion, transport, and deposition

28. Hydrologic CycleStream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices. 1998. Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group.

29. Fluvial FormsBar

30. Channel

31. Confluence

32. Cutoff channel

33. Delta

34. Floodplain

35. Gorge

36. Gully

37. Meander

38. Oxbow lake

39. Pool

40. Riffle

41. Stream

42. Valley

43. Waterfall

44. WatershedWhat is a Stream?… a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and streambanksSynonyms: bayou, beck, branch, brook, burn, creek, crick, kill, lick, rill, river, rivulet, run, slough, sykeStreams are conduits in the water cycle and also important habitatsPhoto Credit: Eve Brantley, Auburn University

45. Watershed

46. Watershed: “Area of land that drains water, sediment, and dissolved materials to a common outlet at some point along a stream channel” Dunne and Leopold, 1978Watershed form is influenced by:ClimateGeology & SoilsFluvial GeomorphologyVegetationLand Uses

47. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) :Watershed, n [Cf. G. wasserscheide; wasserwater + scheidea place where two things separate, fr. scheidento separate.]The whole region or extent of country which contributes to the supply of a river or lake.The line of division between two adjacent rivers or lakes with respect to the flow of water by natural channels into them; the natural boundary of a basin.Other Terms: Catchment, Drainage basin, River basin

48. North Carolina River Basins

49. Watershed Functions:Transport & Storage:WaterSedimentDissolved MaterialsHabitat:AnimalsPlantsHumans

50. Water Transport & StorageHydrology: The study of the flow of the earth’s waters through the hydrologic cycleHydrograph: Displays change in flow (discharge over timePeak FlowRising LimbFalling LimbMean Daily Flowwww.Geology.com

51. PrecipitationRunoffInfiltrationEvapotranspiration

53. Extreme Weather!

54. Water Transport to StreamsStream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices. 1998. Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group.

55. Land use in a watershed affects:- water quality- water quantity- ecosystem services

56. Watershed Stream NetworkNeuse River Basin, NC

57. Strahler Stream OrderStream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices. 1998. Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group.

58. USGS Topographic Map – 1:24,000 scaleCourtesy of John Dorney and Perianne Russell, NC Division of Water Quality

59. How to determine stream origins?h2o.enr.state.nc.us/ncwetlands

61. Contributing Drainage Areas for Stream Origins(Ephemeral to Intermittent/Perennial)Courtesy of John Dorney and Perianne Russell, NC Division of Water Quality

62. Problems with Contiguous USGS MapsHeadwater stream shown on one map and not the otherTributaries shown on one map and not the otherMcDaniel Bald and Marble Quadrangles, Cherokee County, NCCourtesy of John Dorney and Perianne Russell, NC Division of Water Quality

63. Groundwater Influences StreamflowLosing Stream Gaining StreamGroundwater Recharge Groundwater DischargeStream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices. 1998. Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group.

64. EphemeralIntermittentPerennial

65. Stream: A system of fluvial forms & habitatsChannel (bed & banks)

66. Floodplain

67. Water

68. Sediment

69. Plants & animalsPhoto Credit: Eve Brantley, Auburn University

70. Streams are ecosystemsCommunities of organisms and their physical, chemical, and biological environmentsCourtesy of Francois Birgand, NCSU

71. Ecosystem ServicesProvisioning – food, energy, industry

72. Regulating – climate, waste, nutrients

73. Supporting – water quality, pest control

74. Cultural – recreation, inspiration

75. Preserving – species diversitySelf-Design The reorganization, substitution and shifting of an ecosystem (dynamics and functional processes) whereby it adapts to the environment superimposed upon it. (Mitsch & Jorgensen, Ecological Engineering)

76. Fish Biodiversity411851501954125032236792154

77. River Continuum ConceptConnectionsWatershed to Corridor to Stream

78. Biological communities upstream and downstreamStream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices. 1998. Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group.

79. Field InvestigationsWhat is living in the stream?What are the physical and chemical conditions of the stream?

80. Food Web

81. Stream EcosystemsMostly downstream fluxes of energy and matterLateral and vertical connections to the riparian and hyporheic zonesCourtesy of Francois Birgand, NCSU

82. Hyporheic Zone

83. Stream FunctionsTransport waterTransport sedimentHabitat (aquatic & terrestrial)Recreation & aestheticsSafe Water Supply

84. Stream Corridor Longitudinal ProfileStream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices. 1998. Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group.

85. Sediment TransportFlowing water does work:Erosion

86. Transportation

87. Deposition (of alluvium)http://www.uwsp.edu/gEo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/fluvial_systems/geologic_work_of_streams.html

88. Erosion: Detachment of material from bed and banks95% of stream energy used to overcome frictionRemaining energy used for Erosion Processes: Flowing water dissolves materials

89. Hydraulic action dislodges materials

90. Abrasion of heavy materials rolling on bottomhttp://www.uwsp.edu/gEo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/fluvial_systems/geologic_work_of_streams.html

91. Transportation: Movement of material by waterStream Load includes:dissolved + suspended + bed loadCapacity: maximum load that can be transported for a given discharge (increases with velocity and turbulence)Competence: largest size material that can be transported for a given dischargehttp://www.uwsp.edu/gEo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/fluvial_systems/geologic_work_of_streams.html

92. Bedload is related to Discharge for Each River

93. Deposition:Aggradation: Raising the bed elevationBars: Depositional areas that may change flow directionshttp://www.uwsp.edu/gEo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/fluvial_systems/geologic_work_of_streams.html

94. Bed Material (Substrate)Silt/Clay: < 0.062 mmSand: 0.062 – 2 mmGravel: 2 – 64 mmCobble: 64 – 256 mmBoulder: 256 – 2048 mm

95. Substrate CharacterizationWolman Pebble Count

96. High Slope Moderate Slope Low SlopeStream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices. 1998. Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group.

97. Sediment Deposition: Point bar

98. Lateral bar

99. Mid-channel bar

100. Transverse bar

101. Delta barStream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices. 1998. Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group.

102. Point Bars: Inside meander bends

103. Lateral Bars: Formed in straight channels

104. Lateral Bars: Formed in straight channels

105. Mid-channel Bars: Formed in over-wide channels

106. Transverse Bars: Formed in straight channels

107. Meandering Stream: Alluvial FormsFlow DownstreamFloodplainScarpBankfull StagePoint BarPoolLeft BankRight BankRiffleThalweg

108. Bankfull Stage“corresponds to the discharge at which channel maintenance is the most effective, that is, the discharge at which moving sediment, forming or removing bars, forming or changing bends and meanders, and generally doing work results in the average morphologic characteristics” (Dunne and Leopold,1978)Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices. 1998. Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group.

109. Bankfull

110. Channel Evolution (incision)

111. TerraceBankfull

112. Incised System: Floodplain CreationTerraceFloodplain

113. Stream Morphology:size and shape of channel & floodplain (dimension, pattern, profile)

115. Valley type affects stream morphologyColluvium is loose sediment transported by gravity and deposited at the bottom of a slope.Alluvium is sediment deposited by a river in the channel or floodplainAlluvial valleys occur where sediment particles are dropped by slow-moving water.

116. Valley Types: (www.epa.gov/watertrain/stream_class)Valley Type II Moderately steep, gentle sloping side slopes often in colluvial valleysFrom EPA Watershed Academy: Fundamentals of the Rosgen Stream Classification System

117. Valley Types: (www.epa.gov/watertrain/stream_class)Valley Type VIII Wide, gentle valley slope with well-developed floodplain adjacent to river terracesFrom EPA Watershed Academy: Fundamentals of the Rosgen Stream Classification System

118. Stream Corridor Lateral ProfileStream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices. 1998. Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group.

119. Floodplains: Critical Stream Components

120. Floodplain FunctionsFloodwater storage

121. Reducing peak flows

122. Erosion prevention

123. Water quality

124. Groundwater recharge

125. Food & shade

126. Habitats

127. TerraceFloodplainLeft BankRight BankThalwegStreambedDownstream

128. TerraceFloodplainRight BankLeft BankThalwegStreambedDownstream

129. Pool Cross-Section (Meandering Stream)Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices. 1998. Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group.

130. Cross-Section of Channel and Floodplain

131. Pattern (plan form)Alluvial (low-gradient) streams naturally meander across a valley with a somewhat predictable pattern

132. Alluvial River Processeshttp://www.uwsp.edu/gEo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/fluvial_systems/geologic_work_of_streams.html

133. Sellin and Willetts, Floodplain Processes, Walling, 1996

134. Oxbow Formation in Meandering StreamsStream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices. 1998. Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group.

135. Chute cutoff across tight meander bend

136. Oxbows

137. Oxbows

138. Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices. 1998. Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group.

139. Meandering Stream: Alluvial FormsRifflePoint Bar (deposition)RunGlidePool

140. Stream Bedform Variability:Slope Substrate size Velocity OxygenationShear stress Habitats

141. Profile (bed form)Water SurfaceRiffle SlopeRun SlopeGlide SlopePool SlopeThalwegPool Spacing

142. RifflesSteep slope

143. High velocity

144. High shear stress

145. Large substrate

146. High porosityImportance of RifflesAreas of oxygenationHighly diverse substrate and habitatDiverse macroinvertebrate population

147. PoolsFlat slope

148. Low velocity

149. Low shear stress

150. Small substrate

151. Scour during high flowImportance of PoolsRefuge for fish during low flow, drought periodsRest stop and food area for fishPredator refuge for young fish

152. River Dimensions

153. Velocities:Low flow and Flood flowLittle Garvin Creek, Clemson, SC

154. Channel dimensions in a meandering streamwww.uwsp.edu/gEo/faculty/lemke/geomorphology/lecture_outlines/04_fluvial_landforms.html

155. Profile is related to Pattern

156. Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices. 1998. Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group.

157. Step Pool Streams(high gradient)Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices. 1998. Federal Interagency Stream Restoration Working Group.

158. Grade ControlsNickpoints

159. Flow diversity improves habitat: Riffles

160. Steps

161. PoolsDiversity of habitats

162. Stream HabitatsMacrohabitats: riffles, runs, pools, glides, steps, side channelsMicrohabitats: roots, leaf packs, wood, rocks, plants, hyporheic zone

163. What habitats do you see?PoolLeaf PackWoodRocksRootsRiffle

164. What habitats do you see?RootsWoodPoolLeaf PackRiffleRocks

165. What habitats do you see?

166. Natural Stream Channel Stability(from Leopold)River has a stable dimension, pattern and profileMaintains channel features (riffles, pools, steps)Does not aggrade (fills) or degrade (erodes)

167. Equilibrium Controlling VariablesWidth