CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Giles, T.
Date : 2007.
Title : Upper Penticton Creek Watershed Experiment: Water quality and channel stability in headwater streams.
Publication : Riparian Management in Headwater Catchments: Translating Science into Management. Feb. 20-21, 2007. The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC.
Issue : Conference Program Abstracts
Page(s) : 13.
Abstract
The Upper Penticton Creek Watershed Experiment is a long-term, high elevation, paired watershed study located in the southern interior of British Columbia. At the outlet of each of the three 500 hectare study watersheds (240, 241 and Dennis Creeks) a WSC operated weir provides continuous hydrometric data. Discrete water samples have been collected on each creek by automated samplers and analysed for turbidity and suspended sediment since 1996. Relationships between turbidity and suspended sediment are being developed for the rising and falling limbs of the spring hydrographs as well as for fall rain-generated flows. Road construction and timber harvesting in the watersheds have noticeable short-term impacts on water quality at the weirs, however the long-term signature of induced sediment movement is poorly defined. The upper elevations of the watersheds tend to be mantled in well-drained sandy tills overlying ridged and hummocky granitic bedrock. Lower elevations are typically blanketed with till on the slopes and glaciofluvial sediments on the flatter areas. Wide riparian floodplains with entrenched meandering creeks are located in both 240 and 241 Creeks. There is no evidence of active landsliding in the watersheds as the slopes are generally not steeper than 50%, and when steeper slopes are encountered they tend to be bedrock cored. Accumulations of sediment are noted along the creeks in pools and trapped behind logs sills or jams. Natural sediment sources are areas of minor bank collapse, tree upheaval, or in the uplands directly from the channel bed. Roads or trails crossing creeks may also be significant sources of loose sediment. Seven permanent stream channel reach sections have been established between 1999 and 2001, surveyed and photographed, and complementary small-scale topographic maps and rectified orthoimages created. Yearly review of these sites has shown little sign of change in the basic channel architecture.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology