Inventory of Representative and Experimental Watershed Studies Conducted in the United States

156 Pages·3.857 MB·English

by  AGU(auth.)

INVENTORY OF
REPRESENTATIVE AND EXPERIMENTAL
WATERSHED STUDIES CONDUCTED
IN THE UNITED STATES
Prepared Under the Auspices of the
Section of Hydrology, American Geophysical Union
for
Committee on Status and Needs of the Section of Hydrology, AGU
and
Symposium on Representative and Experimental Watersheds
Sponsored by International Association of Scientific Hydrology
and UNESCO
September 28 - October 5, 1965
Budapest, Hungary
June 1965
American Geophysical Union
1145 19th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20036
U.S.A.
PREFACE
This report presents the results of an inventory of representative and experi-
mental watershed studies conducted by Federal and State agencies and universities
in connection with development of water resources in the United States. Most of
the studies described in this report currently are under investigation; a few of
the studies have been terminated. Many other studies terminated by the various
agencies are not included in this report. In order to avoid misinterpretation by
the many people reporting this information, the following distinction between
representative and experimental watersheds was made for guidance purposes:
(a) An experimental watershed is one that has been chosen and instrumented for
study of hydrologic phenomena; (b) a representative watershed is one that has been
chosen and instrumented to represent a broad area, in lieu of making measurements
on all watersheds. Studies using experimental watersheds imply a search for
principles, relationships, and factors for prediction schemes; studies using
representative watersheds imply that data are transferred quite directly to other
watersheds where similar measurements are not available.
This report was prepared by the Section of Hydrology of the American Geo-
physical Union, as the U.S. National Committee of the International Association
of Scientific Hydrology, for use in connection with the work of the Committee on
Status and Needs, Section of Hydrology, American Geophysical Union, and the
Symposium on Representative and Experimental Watersheds to be held in Budapest,
Hungary, September 28-October 5, 1965, and sponsored by IASH in conjunction with
UNESCO. The Budapest symposium is being organized by the Surface Water Commission
of IASH under general supervision of L. J. Tison, General Secretary of IASH. It
is understood that this report, together with similar reports prepared by National
Committees of other countries, will provide a background for IASH recommendations
regarding optimum utilization of representative and experimental areas in further-
ing the objectives of the International Hydrological Decade.
The completed forms are assembled in this report by states to facilitate
reference to the material. In cases involving a cluster of experimental water-
sheds, all comprising a single study, information is reported on a single form.
A watershed gaged at several points, thus constituting several subwatersheds, is
described on a single form. Only one form has been used to describe a number of
experimental watersheds scattered throughout a physiographic area, for example,
to sample climatologic variations.
Acknowledgment: The following agencies of the United States Government
furnished information contained in this report: Agricultural Research Service,
Forest Service, Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, Geological Survey,
Bureau of Land Management, Public Health Service, and Tennessee Valley Authority.
The Illinois State Water Survey reported their activities in Illinois. Many
universities, members of the Universities Council on Water Resources, also supplied
reports of their watershed studies. Guidance instructions and sample forms were
prepared and distributed to all participants and the results assembled by
L. L. Kelly of the Agricultural Research Service in behalf of the Section of
Hydrology. Officers of the AGU Section of Hydrology are: David K. Todd, President;
Max A. Kohler, Vice President; Ralph N, Wilson, Secretary. Walter B. Langbein,
Vice President of IASH, also participated by furnishing advice and counsel.
June 15, 1965 RALPH N. WILSON, Secretary
Washington, D.C. Section of Hydrology, AGU
Survey of Representative ,-iiid Experimental Watersheds
in die United States
1. Name of Watershed: Flint Creek Watershed; tributary to Tennessee River;
Morgan County, Alabama, United States.
2. Organization Name and Address: Division of Water Supply and Pollution
Control, U. S. Public Health Service, Washington 25, D. C.
Regional Office: Southeast Water Laboratory, U. S. Public Health
Service, Athens, Georgia, U.S.A.
3. Type: Experimental
4. Geographical Situation: Latitude 34° 301 N. ; Longitude 86° 55';
elevation 595 feet (181 m.).
Area: 400 mi.2 (1036 km2).
6. Objective: To determine factors of importance relative to occurrence,
fate, persistence, and effects of pesticides used in agriculture.
7. Measurements: Collection of samples from the raw and finished water lines
of the Hartselle, Alabama Water Treatment Plant are being taken on a near
continuous basis for pesticide analyses.
8. History and Plan: Initiated 1959; pesticide analysis of water samples
have been made almost continuously since 1959; pesticide analysis of
fish, muds, and soils have been made intermittently since 1959; stream
flow and precipitation data were collected during 1963-64 but have beefi
discontinued; insecticide usage surveys are conducted each year following
treatment.
9. Future Developments: None anticipated.
10. Key Publications: Nicholson, H. P., Grzenda, A. R., Lauer, G. J.,
Cox, W. S., and Teasley, J. I. Water pollution by insecticides in an
Agricultural River Basin. I. Occurrence of insecticides in river and
treated municipal water. Limnology and Oceanography, 9:3. July 1964.
Grzenda, A. R., Lauer, G. J., and Nicholson, H. P. Water pollution by
insecticides in an Agricultural River Basin. II. The Zooplankton,
Bottom Fauna, and Fish. Limnology and Oceanography, 9:3. July 1964.
1
Survey of Representative ,-iiid Experimental Watersheds
in die United States
1. Name of Watershed: Upper Bear Creek Project; tributary to Tennessee
River; Marion, Franklin, and Winston Counties, Alabama, United States.
2. Organization Name and Address: Tennessee Valley Authority, Division of
Water Control Planning, Hydraulic Data Branch, Knoxville, Tennessee.
3. Type: Experimental
4. Geographical Situation: Latitude 34° 17'; longitude 87° 46' elevation
660 ft. (?,H1 HI), 660-1120 ft. (201-342 m).
5. Area: 12 watersheds range from 0. 21 to 143 mi (0.54 to 370 km2)
6. Objective: Development of quantitative methods to project watershed
research results downstream to larger drainage areas and also to develop
techniques for using these methods to simulate hydrologic information
for other areas where data are insufficient. Secondary objectives are
to obtain data on soils-water-cover relationships in the southwestern
part of the Tennessee Valley and to provide data for soils-land-use-water
quality relationships.
7. Measurements: Continuous measurements of flow at the outlet of each
watershed; 25 recording and 19 nonrecording rain gages; suspended
sediment; soils, land use, hydrologic condition surveys, topographic maps.
8. History and Plan: Initiated in 1962; the design of the project is based upon
three types of subwatersheds with specified locations relative to each other
within a major drainage. Experimental areas are small headwater
subwatersheds where hydrologic effect of specific manipulations of forest
or other vegetative cover can be studied. Selected areas are subwatersheds
chosen for existing and probable future land use to provide data on hydrologic
variations with cover. Surveyed areas are subwatersheds where selectivity
for cover is not necessary, but where cover description is needed.
9. Future Developments: Land use management on small forested areas. Frequent
land-use and cover surveys. Analysis of data on a storm by storm basis to
develop area-stream factor correlation.
10. Key Publications: Annual progress reports, Water Resources Research Papers.
2
Survey of Representative ,-iiid Experimental Watersheds
in die United States
1. Name of Watershed: Hollis watersheds (Maybeso Cr., Harris R., Indian Cr.,
Old Tom Cr.), Twelvemile Arm of Kasaan Bay, Prince of Wales Island, Alaska.
2. Organization Name and Address: Northern Forest Experiment Station
210 Admiral Way
Juneau, Alaska 99801
3- Type: Experimental
4. Geographical Situation: Lat. 55°30!N, Long. 132°40'W.
Elevation 0-3,392 ft. (0-1,034m).
5. Area: 4 watersheds range from 4,726 to 20,352 acres (7.4 to 31.8 mi2;
1,912 to 8,236 hectares; 19.1 to 82.4 km2)
6. Objective: To determine the effect of clear cutting old growth
western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.) - Sitka spruce
(Picea sitehensis (Bong.) Carr.) pulp timber on physical character-
istics of salmon-spawning streams.
7. Measurements: Continuous temperature and flow records at each watershed
outlet; 1 recording precipitation gage; topographic maps of all
watersheds, general soil and geologic maps of 3 watersheds, detailed
geologic maps of one watershed.
History and Plan: Started in 1949; results will be developed using
correlation and regression between and within cutover and uncut
watersheds.
9. Future Developments: Study will be terminated about 1969.
10. Key Publications: James, G. A. 1956. The physical effect of logging
on salmon streams of southeast Alaska. U. S. Forest Serv. Alaska
Forest Res. Center. Sta. Paper 5, 49 pp., illus.
3
Survey of Representative ,-iiid Experimental Watersheds
in die United States
1. Name of Watershed: Glenn Creek; tributary to Goldstream Creek, Tanana
. - drainage; Fox, Alaska, United States
River
Organization Name_and Address/. U. S. Army Cold Regions Research and
Engineering Laboratory, Hanover, N. H.
(under U. S. Army Materiel Command,
Washington, D. C•)
Project Leader: S. L. Dingruan
3- Type: Representative
Geographical Situation: Latitude o5°57fN; Longitude lV7°37'W; elevation 850 ft
(260 m)
o 2
5- Area: 0.7 mi (1-8 km )
Objective: To determine the characteristics of runoff, general water
"balance, and sediment production in an area typical in many
respects of the Yukon-Tanana Uplands., where thick mosses
cover much of the ground and discontinuous permafrost is
present.
7. Measurements: Present discharge records from current meter and volumetric
methods; recording rain gage; water temperature; air
temperature; suspended sediment concentration; dissolved
solids concentration.
nistory^ and^ .Pl.aJ!; Initiated in June 196k; more complete instrumentation
will be installed; results will be compared with less
detailed records from larger streams in the area and
hopefully will provide a basis for generalization about
runoff, etc. in the region. Water holding and trans-
mitting properties of the moss will be investigated.
9- Continuous streamflow recorder, more recording rain
gages, evaporation pan, solar radiation, instrumentation
for investigating water holding and transmitting
properties of the moss will be installed in the near
future. Methods for predicting runoff from rainfall in
such areas are being developed.
10- Ke^Public^ons.: g
None as Qf February 19 5>
4
Survey of Representative ,-iiid Experimental Watersheds
in die United States
1. Name of Watershed: Barrow-CRREL Watershed, Barrow, Alaska, United States.
(Wohlschlag Slough to Elson Lagoon to Arctic Ocean.)
2. Organization Name and Address: U. S. Army Cold Regions Research and
Engineering Laboratory, Box 282, Hanover, New Hampshire, U.S.A.;
Dr. Jerry Brown, Project Leader.
3. Type: Experimental
4. Geographical Situation: 71° 19* N.; 156° 35' W.; elevation of weir
approximately 2 feet (0.6 m.).
Area: Approximately 0.5 sq. mi (1.2 sq. km.).
0
Objective: To measure the chemical balance of an Arctic Coastal Plain
watershed in order to evaluate the magnitude of chemical depletion in wet
tundra soils.
7. Measurements:
1. Runoff: (a) Water level recorder and 90° V-notch; (b) Continuous
measurement of electrical conductivity of runoff water;
(c) Continuous recording of water temperature.
2. Precipitation: (a) 1 recording gage, 2 standard 8" gages, 50 farm
post gages, two 3" gages; (b) 10 collectors of rainfall for chemical
analyses.
3. Evaporation—Standard pan (1965).
4. Ponds—periodic measurement of water level, temperature and electrical
conductivity of water for randomly distributed ponds.
5. Soil moisture determinations at selected sites throughout watershed.
8. History and Plan: Initiated Summer 1963, but full instrumentation not
operative until Summer 1964. Stream flows only during frost-free period
(June, July, August). Measure chemical runoff from shallowly thawed soil
(less than 40 cm) and input into watershed for appropriate period.
Supplemental hydrologic results will be obtained from the overall program.
9o Future Developments: Extend runoff studies to adjacent watersheds in
immediate Barrow area and correlate with detailed studies in present
watershed.
10. Key Publications: None.
5
Survey of Representative ,-iiid Experimental Watersheds
in die United States
1. Name of Watershed: Beaver Creek Watersheds, tributary to the Verde River,
Yavapai County, Arizona, United States.
2 Organization Name and Address: Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment
0
Station, Fort Collins, Colorado, U.S.A. Field Headquarters--Rocky
Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Arizona State College Campus,
Flagstaff, Arizona, U.S.A.
3. Type: Experimental—cluster of 18. Representative--cluster of 4.
4. Geographical Situation: Latitude 34° 451; longitude 111° 301;
elevation 4,000-8,000 feet (1200-2400 m.).
Area: 300 mi2 (780 km2).
6. Objective: To determine the effects of various treatments on water yield
and to develop techniques for extending these treatments to other areas.
7. Measurements: Continuous records of flow from a cluster of 4 representative
watersheds and also from 18 experimental subwatersheds. Records are also
being obtained from 13 recording rain gages, 5 hygrothermographs,
30 standard rain gages.
8. History and Plan: Initiated in 1957. Vegetative treatments will be
tested on the experimental watersheds. Treatments with favorable results
will then be applied to the larger "representative" watersheds as a test
of management application.
9. Future Developments:
10. Key Publications:
6
Survey of Representative ,-iiid Experimental Watersheds
in die United States
1. Name of Watershed: Parker Creek Watersheds; tributary to Salt River;
Gila County, Arizona, United States,
2. Organization Name and Address: Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment
Station, 221 Forestry Bldg., CSU Campus, Fort Collins, Colorado.
Cooperation—Tonto National Forest, Region 3.
3o Type: Experimental
4. Geographical Situation: Latitude 33° 481; longitude 110° 581;
elevation 4,400 to 5,500 ft. (1341-1676 m).
o 2
5- Area: Six watersheds ranging from 0.01 to 3.12 mi^ (0.03 to 8.08 km )
6. Objective: To measure effect of grazing and cover manipulation on runoff and
erosion in the desert grassland-chaparral type; to compare water yield from low
elevation chaparral with chaparral and mixed conifer„
7. Measurements: Continuous records of flow at six watershed outlets plus two
stations on interior reaches; five recording rain gages; one temperature and
evaporation station; vegetation measurements and topographic map
0
8» History and Plan: Study initiated and instrumentation started in 1934„ Paired
watershed method used to evaluate effect of grazing and conversion of chaparral
cover to native grasses, on one cluster of small watersheds, on water and
sediment yields» Larger watersheds in calibration and inventory*
9. Future Developments: Additional cover and land use treatment to be applied
with special emphasis on stream bottom vegetation management to determine
effect on water yield and sediment production*
10o Key Publications: "Grazing in relation to runoff and erosion on some
chaparral watersheds of central Arizona" by Lowell R Rich and Hudson G*
0
Reynolds* Journal of Range Management Vol. 16(6), Nov* 1963„
"Response of grasses, forbs, and halfshrubs to chemical control of chaparral
in central Arizona" by Floyd Wc Pond* Journal of Range Management Vol, 17(4),
July 1964a
7
Survey of Representative ,-iiid Experimental Watersheds
in die United States
Name of Watershed: p cott Experimental Watersheds; tributary tc Gila
reS
River; Yavapai County, Arizona, United States.
2. Organization Name and Address: Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment
Station, 221 Forestry Bldg., CSU Campus, Fort Collins, Colorado.
Cooperation—Prescott National Forest, Region 3.
3* type: Experimental
b. Geographical Situation; Latitude 34° 33*; longitude 112° 20'; elevation
5,800 to 7,100 ft. (1768-2164 m).
5. Area; Five watersheds ranging from 0.07 to 0.51 mi2 (0.18 -to 1.32 km2)
Objective: To determine effect of chaparral cover manipulation on water
and sediment yields.
7. Measurements; Continuous records of flow at the outlet of five watersheds;
four recording rain gages; four temperature and humidity stations; and
soils survey.
History and Plan: initiated in 1958 and now in calibration. The paired
watershed approach is planned.
9- Future Developments: watershed management practices suitable to the
chaparral cover will be applied as calibration periods are completed to
evaluate effects on water and sediment yields.
10* Key Publications:
8