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You cannot submit a form that has Errors or missing Required Data.
You can submit a form that has Warnings, but it will be flagged as out of compliance with the AAS quality assurance plan.
* If you have more than one event for this date, enter the number of events, and enter the total time spent and distance traveled for all of them.
In Last Hours / Days
Now add together the three index values to get your Water Quality Index Score= 0 . Then, use this score to find out your Water Quality Rating for your stream (below). Good water quality is indicated by a variety of different kinds of taxa/organisms, with no one kind making up a majority of the sample.
Stream habitat will be evaluated looking both upstream and downstream, and includes: channel bottom materials, streamside vegetation, slope, and other channel characteristics. You may choose a value between 0-10 for each parameter. Note #s 8-10 ask you to evaluate each bank separately.
All measurements should be taken during baseflow conditions.
1. Epifaunal Substrate
What types of submerged materials are on the channel bottom?
What did you see?
2. Embeddedness
Are fine sediments being deposited in riffle/run area?
3. Riffle/Run/Pool
Is a diversity of instream habitats available: riffle, runs, and pools?
4. Sediment Deposition
Are sand bars and islands present?
5. Channel Flow Status
How much water is in the stream channel?
Total first side
Take two photographs, looking upstream and downstream, capturing banks and riparian zone on both sides.
6. Channel Alteration
Is the stream channel altered by humans?
7. Channel Sinuosity
Does the channel have lots of curves and bends?
8. Bank Stability
How stable are the streambanks?
Determine right/left bank by facing downstream
9. Vegetative Protection
Are stream banks covered & shaded by a variety of vegetation?
Did you see any nonnative vegetation? Check here if YES
10. Riparian Vegetative Zone Width
What is the amount of buffer available?
Total