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A Validation Study of a Rapid Field-Based Rating System for Discriminating Among Flow Permanence Classes of Headwater Streams in South Carolina

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Abstract

Rapid field-based protocols for classifying flow permanence of headwater streams are needed to inform timely regulatory decisions. Such an existing method was developed for and has been used in North Carolina since 1998. The method uses ordinal scoring of 26 geomorphology, hydrology, and biology attributes of streams. The attribute scores are summed and compared to threshold scores to assign a flow permanence class. Our study objective was to evaluate the method’s ability to classify the flow permanence of forested stream reaches from Piedmont and Southeastern Plains ecoregions in South Carolina. Ephemeral reaches scored significantly lower than intermittent and perennial reaches, but scores from intermittent and perennial reaches did not differ. Scores collected in the dry and wet seasons were strongly correlated, indicating that the method was seasonally stable. Scores had positive nonlinear relationships with the maximum recorded wet duration and the proportion of the record that reaches were wet, but were not related to drying frequency. Scores of the presence of baseflow in the dry season were more important in flow permanence classification than those from the wet season. Other important attributes and parameters in discriminating flow classes were macrobenthos, rooted upland plants, bankfull width, drainage area, and ecoregion. Although the North Carolina method did not consistently differentiate intermittent from perennial reaches, the indicator-based approach is a strong foundation from which to build a protocol for South Carolina. Adding measures like bankfull width and drainage area, weighting by ecoregion, or shifting thresholds may be warranted modifications for South Carolina.

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Acknowledgments

This study would not have been possible without funding from a Wetland Program Development Grant provided by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 and the assistance and technical expertise of John Dorney, Periann Russell, Larry Eaton, James Gregory, Mark Giffin, Chris Beckham, Chris Stout, Harvey Daniel, Jeannie Eidson, Guy Sabin, Bill Hansen, Kevin MacLeod and many others too numerous to recognize individually. We thank them all. Thanks also to three anonymous reviewers for helpful comments. Although this work was reviewed by EPA and approved for publication, it might not necessarily reflect official Agency policy. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecological Exposure Research Division, National Exposure Research Laboratory, United States Environmental Protection Agency, 26 W Martin Luther King Dr, Cincinnati, OH, 45268, USA

    Ken M. Fritz & Mitch S. Kostich

  2. Bureau of Water, South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control, 2600 Bull Street, Columbia, SC, 29201, USA

    William R. Wenerick

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  1. Ken M. Fritz
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Correspondence to Ken M. Fritz.

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Fritz, K.M., Wenerick, W.R. & Kostich, M.S. A Validation Study of a Rapid Field-Based Rating System for Discriminating Among Flow Permanence Classes of Headwater Streams in South Carolina. Environmental Management 52, 1286–1298 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-013-0158-x

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