A USGS scientist measures stream discharge at The Glade, an urban stream in Reston, Virginia.
Hydrologic, Water-Quality, and Ecological Monitoring and Analysis to Support Stream Restoration Research in Reston, Virginia
Snakeden Branch
Reston, Virginia
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Resource Protection Group, Inc. is partnering with Reston Association to monitor the hydrology, water-quality, and ecology of two restored urban streams in Reston, Virginia – Snakeden Branch and The Glade. A combination of continuous and discrete hydrologic and water-quality data are collected to evaluate stream conditions and estimate sediment and nutrient loads. Ecological surveys are conducted to assess fish and benthic macroinvertebrate communities and physical habitat. Meteorological data including precipitation accumulation and air temperature are collected to better understand the watershed hydrology. The complete data set to be collected will provide the necessary information to understand respective responses to research activities conducted within these watersheds. The overall objective of this monitoring is to provide the foundational data needed to understand the current hydrology, water chemistry, and ecological conditions, and to evaluate changes in these conditions over time.
Overview
Urban and suburban development create landscape change that typically results in the deterioration of water quality and subsequently the ecosystems in and around where the development occurs. Stream ecosystems are particularly susceptible to damage as development increases the amount of impervious cover in a watershed, resulting in drastic changes in the timing and magnitude of runoff events. Additionally, development alters the typically conservative natural ecosystems, changing the sources and mobility of nutrients, sediment, and contaminants. This change in hydrology has cascading effects as contaminant transport may increase, stream channels become unstable, habitat is degraded, and communities of aquatic organisms are harmed.
Many entities, including Northern Virginia Stream Restoration Bank (NVSRB), created by Northern Virginia Stream Restoration LLC, a unit within Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc., a parent of Resource Protection Group, are aspiring to repair these damaged systems and restore them to more resilient and more natural systems that provide a greater level of ecosystem services through the implementation of stream restoration practices using natural channel design. Entities invest millions of dollars annually in stream-restoration efforts. While there is a growing body of scientific literature to inform the design of these practices so that maximum benefit is gained, there remains a need to rigorously quantify water-quality and ecosystem responses at the local scale and to conduct further research into the best practices to maximize these responses.
Objectives
This monitoring program seeks to measure and evaluate system-wide hydrologic, water-chemistry, and ecologic responses to enhanced stream restoration practices, with a focus on the stream environments and practices employed in Snakeden Branch and The Glade in Reston, Virginia. Specifically, this program will:
Initiate and conduct precipitation, air temperature, streamflow, water-quality, and ecological monitoring at multiple locations in the Snakeden Branch and The Glade for:
- Two years before enhanced stream restoration practices are implemented,
- Two years during implementation of enhanced stream restoration practices, and
- Two years after implementation of enhanced stream restoration practices.
Monitoring
Our scientists have been undertaking fieldwork at Snakeden Branch and The Glade in Reston, Virginia to collect hydrologic, water quality, and ecological data.
Current Conditions
Visit the webcam sites for Snakeden and The Glade for measured parameters, previous images, and timelapse video.
Active Monitoring Sites
Click the links below to view active site data:
Science to Support Stream Restoration Research in Reston, Virginia
This presentation on preliminary findings was given in April 2022 to USGS cooperators on the state of two monitored watersheds in Reston, Virginia after one year of monitoring.
Active Monitoring Sites
Follow the links below to view out live data feeds:
Benthic macroinvertebrate, fish, and physical habitat data for selected streams in Reston, VA
Check out photos of our fieldwork below:
A USGS scientist measures stream discharge at The Glade, an urban stream in Reston, Virginia.
A USGS scientist samples for benthic macroinvertebrates at Snakeden Branch, Reston, VA
A USGS scientist samples for benthic macroinvertebrates at Snakeden Branch, Reston, VA
A USGS researcher shows off a dragonfly larva found during benthic macroinvertibrate sampling in Reston, Virginia.
A USGS researcher shows off a dragonfly larva found during benthic macroinvertibrate sampling in Reston, Virginia.
USGS scientists conduct benthic macroinvertebrate sampling at The Glade in Reston, Virginia
USGS scientists conduct benthic macroinvertebrate sampling at The Glade in Reston, Virginia
Two Rosyside dace (Clinostomus funduloides) caught during a USGS fish survey in Reston, Virginia.
Two Rosyside dace (Clinostomus funduloides) caught during a USGS fish survey in Reston, Virginia.
A green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus, left) and a Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus, right) caught in a fish survey in Reston, Virginia.
A green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus, left) and a Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus, right) caught in a fish survey in Reston, Virginia.
These three USGS scientists are conducting a fish survey at Snakeden Branch in Reston, Virginia.
These three USGS scientists are conducting a fish survey at Snakeden Branch in Reston, Virginia.
A blacknose dace (Rhinichthys atratulus) caught in a fish survey in The Glade, Reston, Virginia.
A blacknose dace (Rhinichthys atratulus) caught in a fish survey in The Glade, Reston, Virginia.
USGS scientists conduct an ecological survey, searching for fish in The Glade, an urban stream in Reston, Virginia
USGS scientists conduct an ecological survey, searching for fish in The Glade, an urban stream in Reston, Virginia
A USGS scientist conducts fish identification during an ecological survey at The Glade in Reston, Virginia.
A USGS scientist conducts fish identification during an ecological survey at The Glade in Reston, Virginia.
Two USGS scientists conduct an ecological survey, sampling for macroinvertibrates near The Glade, an urban stream in Reston, Virginia.
Two USGS scientists conduct an ecological survey, sampling for macroinvertibrates near The Glade, an urban stream in Reston, Virginia.
USGS scientists conduct a habitat survey at The Glade, an urban stream in Reston, Virginia.
USGS scientists conduct a habitat survey at The Glade, an urban stream in Reston, Virginia.
The Glade is an urban stream in Reston, Virginia that is being monitored by USGS scientists.
The Glade is an urban stream in Reston, Virginia that is being monitored by USGS scientists.
In-stream hydrologic monitoring equipment is used to gather data at Snakeden Branch, an urban stream in Reston, Virginia.
In-stream hydrologic monitoring equipment is used to gather data at Snakeden Branch, an urban stream in Reston, Virginia.
Photograph of macroinvertibrate sampling at a monitored urban stream in Reston, Virginia. This larval net-spinning caddisfly is an important measure of stream health.
Photograph of macroinvertibrate sampling at a monitored urban stream in Reston, Virginia. This larval net-spinning caddisfly is an important measure of stream health.
Below are cooperators associated with this project.
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with Resource Protection Group, Inc. is partnering with Reston Association to monitor the hydrology, water-quality, and ecology of two restored urban streams in Reston, Virginia – Snakeden Branch and The Glade. A combination of continuous and discrete hydrologic and water-quality data are collected to evaluate stream conditions and estimate sediment and nutrient loads. Ecological surveys are conducted to assess fish and benthic macroinvertebrate communities and physical habitat. Meteorological data including precipitation accumulation and air temperature are collected to better understand the watershed hydrology. The complete data set to be collected will provide the necessary information to understand respective responses to research activities conducted within these watersheds. The overall objective of this monitoring is to provide the foundational data needed to understand the current hydrology, water chemistry, and ecological conditions, and to evaluate changes in these conditions over time.
Overview
Urban and suburban development create landscape change that typically results in the deterioration of water quality and subsequently the ecosystems in and around where the development occurs. Stream ecosystems are particularly susceptible to damage as development increases the amount of impervious cover in a watershed, resulting in drastic changes in the timing and magnitude of runoff events. Additionally, development alters the typically conservative natural ecosystems, changing the sources and mobility of nutrients, sediment, and contaminants. This change in hydrology has cascading effects as contaminant transport may increase, stream channels become unstable, habitat is degraded, and communities of aquatic organisms are harmed.
Many entities, including Northern Virginia Stream Restoration Bank (NVSRB), created by Northern Virginia Stream Restoration LLC, a unit within Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc., a parent of Resource Protection Group, are aspiring to repair these damaged systems and restore them to more resilient and more natural systems that provide a greater level of ecosystem services through the implementation of stream restoration practices using natural channel design. Entities invest millions of dollars annually in stream-restoration efforts. While there is a growing body of scientific literature to inform the design of these practices so that maximum benefit is gained, there remains a need to rigorously quantify water-quality and ecosystem responses at the local scale and to conduct further research into the best practices to maximize these responses.
Objectives
This monitoring program seeks to measure and evaluate system-wide hydrologic, water-chemistry, and ecologic responses to enhanced stream restoration practices, with a focus on the stream environments and practices employed in Snakeden Branch and The Glade in Reston, Virginia. Specifically, this program will:
Initiate and conduct precipitation, air temperature, streamflow, water-quality, and ecological monitoring at multiple locations in the Snakeden Branch and The Glade for:
- Two years before enhanced stream restoration practices are implemented,
- Two years during implementation of enhanced stream restoration practices, and
- Two years after implementation of enhanced stream restoration practices.
Monitoring
Our scientists have been undertaking fieldwork at Snakeden Branch and The Glade in Reston, Virginia to collect hydrologic, water quality, and ecological data.
Current Conditions
Visit the webcam sites for Snakeden and The Glade for measured parameters, previous images, and timelapse video.
Active Monitoring Sites
Click the links below to view active site data:
Science to Support Stream Restoration Research in Reston, Virginia
This presentation on preliminary findings was given in April 2022 to USGS cooperators on the state of two monitored watersheds in Reston, Virginia after one year of monitoring.
Active Monitoring Sites
Follow the links below to view out live data feeds:
Benthic macroinvertebrate, fish, and physical habitat data for selected streams in Reston, VA
Check out photos of our fieldwork below:
A USGS scientist measures stream discharge at The Glade, an urban stream in Reston, Virginia.
A USGS scientist measures stream discharge at The Glade, an urban stream in Reston, Virginia.
A USGS scientist samples for benthic macroinvertebrates at Snakeden Branch, Reston, VA
A USGS scientist samples for benthic macroinvertebrates at Snakeden Branch, Reston, VA
A USGS researcher shows off a dragonfly larva found during benthic macroinvertibrate sampling in Reston, Virginia.
A USGS researcher shows off a dragonfly larva found during benthic macroinvertibrate sampling in Reston, Virginia.
USGS scientists conduct benthic macroinvertebrate sampling at The Glade in Reston, Virginia
USGS scientists conduct benthic macroinvertebrate sampling at The Glade in Reston, Virginia
Two Rosyside dace (Clinostomus funduloides) caught during a USGS fish survey in Reston, Virginia.
Two Rosyside dace (Clinostomus funduloides) caught during a USGS fish survey in Reston, Virginia.
A green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus, left) and a Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus, right) caught in a fish survey in Reston, Virginia.
A green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus, left) and a Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus, right) caught in a fish survey in Reston, Virginia.
These three USGS scientists are conducting a fish survey at Snakeden Branch in Reston, Virginia.
These three USGS scientists are conducting a fish survey at Snakeden Branch in Reston, Virginia.
A blacknose dace (Rhinichthys atratulus) caught in a fish survey in The Glade, Reston, Virginia.
A blacknose dace (Rhinichthys atratulus) caught in a fish survey in The Glade, Reston, Virginia.
USGS scientists conduct an ecological survey, searching for fish in The Glade, an urban stream in Reston, Virginia
USGS scientists conduct an ecological survey, searching for fish in The Glade, an urban stream in Reston, Virginia
A USGS scientist conducts fish identification during an ecological survey at The Glade in Reston, Virginia.
A USGS scientist conducts fish identification during an ecological survey at The Glade in Reston, Virginia.
Two USGS scientists conduct an ecological survey, sampling for macroinvertibrates near The Glade, an urban stream in Reston, Virginia.
Two USGS scientists conduct an ecological survey, sampling for macroinvertibrates near The Glade, an urban stream in Reston, Virginia.
USGS scientists conduct a habitat survey at The Glade, an urban stream in Reston, Virginia.
USGS scientists conduct a habitat survey at The Glade, an urban stream in Reston, Virginia.
The Glade is an urban stream in Reston, Virginia that is being monitored by USGS scientists.
The Glade is an urban stream in Reston, Virginia that is being monitored by USGS scientists.
In-stream hydrologic monitoring equipment is used to gather data at Snakeden Branch, an urban stream in Reston, Virginia.
In-stream hydrologic monitoring equipment is used to gather data at Snakeden Branch, an urban stream in Reston, Virginia.
Photograph of macroinvertibrate sampling at a monitored urban stream in Reston, Virginia. This larval net-spinning caddisfly is an important measure of stream health.
Photograph of macroinvertibrate sampling at a monitored urban stream in Reston, Virginia. This larval net-spinning caddisfly is an important measure of stream health.
Below are cooperators associated with this project.