Visual Stream Survey Data Sheet

The purpose of the visual survey is to determine if there are any obvious water polution problems on the stream and to charaterize the riparian environment through which the stream flows. The following is a synopsis of our visual survey.
1. Floodplain Land Use: 40%-pasture/hayfields; 45%-row crops; 15%-woods.
2. Riparian Cover: 50%-trees; 30%-grasses or weeds; 10%-bare ground; 10% parking lot/streets.
3. Streambank Conditions: 40%-trees; 35%-grasses or weeds; 25%-pavement/riprap.
4. Bed Composition of Riffle: 35%-sand; 15%-gravel; 50%-cobble (2-10").
5. Percent Embeddedness of Riffle: 41%
6. Signs of Human Use: beer cans & bottles, campfire, 4-wheeler tracks, graffiti (spray paint), and tire ruts in grass.
7. Algae: 5% of stream bottom covered in algae. 100% of algae is 'close-growing' vs. filamentous.
8. Water Color: clear to very slightly yellow
9. Water Odor: none
10. Comments: need trash container; need barrier(s) to prevent further erosion from 4-wheeler activity; need to discuss desirability of other plantings.

The survey was done on November 4, 2006 @ 12:30pm. The data from this visual survey will be used a baseline for future surveys.