Why have I seen a few white PVC pipes scattered randomly throughout the streams?
The white PVC pipes are part of a stream gage monitoring network; fourteen gages are located throughout the Snakeden Branch, Glade, and Colvin Run watersheds. Each pipe contains a pressure sensor that is located at the stream thalweg. The sensors measure the water depth in the stream, which we then use to determine the stream’s flow rate (volume of water per unit time, typically “cubic feet per second”). Stream flow monitoring is an important part of the stream restoration process, especially in areas like Reston that have experienced a change in watershed hydrology through urbanization. The collected stream flow data has been used to design a low storm flow channel to provide improved habitat for aquatic life, and continued data collection will play an important role in advancing the science of stream restoration. Stream flow monitoring for the Northern Virginia Stream Restoration Bank started in 2003 and will continue through the project’s 10-year monitoring and maintenance period. T
