Discharge is the amount (volume) of water flowing through or from a stream or watershed at any given moment in time. Stream discharge is commonly expressed in cubic feet per second or cf/s (sometimes cfs).  This measurement is important because it influences other physical, chemical, and biological factors within a stream (i.e., all of our other tests!). A high discharge rate may indicate recent rainfall or snowmelt events. When a large amount of rain runs off the land, it often carries sediments and nutrients to the stream. Very low discharge rates may indicate drought conditions, which also affect water quality and aquatic life.
We calculate the discharge rate by multiplying the average width, depth and velocity of the stream. Length measurements are taken/entered, should be converted into feet.  Speed or velocity; into feet/seconds.

Use the remaining four (4) tabs above to enter the measurements needed to calculate flow.  The database will calculate flow for you using the following formula:
Flow or Discharge (D) = Width (W) x Depth (Z) x Velocity (V) x Roughness Coefficient (n)

The orange box below will give you a running update on the values entered into the calculation and a small check mark will appear on the tabs which contain data.

For more details about measuring your first flow visit, download the Manual below.

The Citizens Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (CQHEI) provides a measure of stream habitat and riparian (i.e. vegetated shoreline) health.  These generally correspond to the physical factors affecting fish and other aquatic life (i.e. macroinvertebrates).  The CQHEI score is useful for comparing changes at one site over time, as well as comparing two different sites with each other. 

When completing the CQHEI, evaluate the entire 200-foot length of your particular sampling site.  Also, in each category choose the most predominant answer, unless instructed to do otherwise.  If sections of the stream or banks have completely different characteristics, you may check two boxes and the database will average the points to obtain a score for that subsection (a), (b), etc.

The maximum score for the CQHEI is 114 points. A set of ranges for Excellent, Medium, Poor and so on has not been developed for this index.  However, CQHEI scores >60 are considered “generally conducive to the existence of warmwater fauna.” Do we need a citation here? Likewise a score >100 is considered “extra credit”, indicating that the stream is exceptionally high-quality.

Note:  The CQHEI was designed for use in wadeable streams.  The index scores obtained here do not necessarily reflect conditions found in intermittent streams or large rivers.  Likewise, the CQHEI is not the best tool for measuring the habitat of lakes, ponds or wetlands.