ASTM D6145-97(2002)
(Guide)Standard Guide for Monitoring Sediment in Watersheds
Standard Guide for Monitoring Sediment in Watersheds
SCOPE
1.1 Purpose-This guide is intended to provide general guidance on a watershed monitoring program directed toward sediment. The guide offers a series of general steps without setting forth a specific course of action. It gives advice for establishing a monitoring program, not an implementation program.
1.2 Sedimentation as referred to in this guide is the detachment, entrainment, transportation, and deposition of eroded soil and rock particles. Specific types or parameters of sediment may include: suspended sediment, bedload, bed material, turbidity, wash load, sediment concentration, total load, sediment deposits, particle size distribution, sediment volumes and particle chemistry. Monitoring may include not only sediments suspended in water but sediments deposited in fields, floodplains, and channel bottoms.
1.3 This guide applies to surface waters as found in streams and rivers; lakes, ponds, reservoirs, estuaries, and wetlands.
1.4 Limitations-This guide does not establish a standard procedure to follow in all situations and it does not cover the detail necessary to define all of the needs of a particular monitoring objective or project. Other standards and guides included in the reference and standard sections describe in detail the procedures, equipment, operations, and site selection for collecting, measuring, analyzing, and monitoring sediment and related constituants.
1.5 Additional ASTM and US Geological Survey standards applicable to sediment monitoring are listed in Appendix X1 and Appendix X2. Due to the large number of optional standards and procedures involved in sediment monitoring, most individual standards are not referenced in this document. Standards and procedures have been grouped in the appendices according to the type of analyses or sampling that would be required for a specific type of measurement or monitoring.
1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
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Designation:D6145–97 (Reapproved 2002)
Standard Guide for
Monitoring Sediment in Watersheds
This standard is issued under the fixed designation D 6145; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
INTRODUCTION
Soil erosion and resulting sedimentation is the major cause of nonpoint source pollution that
threatens water resources. These impacts include: impaired aquatic habitat; destruction of sport and
commercialfisheriesandshellfisheries;lostreservoircapacityforfloodcontrol,powergeneration,and
storage of potable water supplies; excessive flooding; impaired navigation; aggradation of irrigation
and drainage channels; lost productivity of lands swamped by deposition and infertile overwash;
increased levels of water treatment; lost or declined recreational opportunities; and impaired aesthetic
values. The amount of sediment in a stream can affect channel shape, sinuosity, and the relative
balance between riffles and pools. Excessive sediment in a stream causes a decrease in channel
capacitywhichinturnresultsinmorefrequentandlargeroutofbankfloods.Inadditiontotheadverse
physical effects of sediment loads, many nutrients, pesticides, and heavy metals are sorbed onto fine
sedimentparticleswhichmayresultineutrophicortoxicwaters.Indirecteffectsofincreasedsediment
loads may include increased stream temperatures and decreased intergravel dissolved oxygen levels.
This guide recommends a process for developing and implementing monitoring projects for
sediment in a watershed. It follows Guide D 5851 with more specifics applicable to watersheds and
sediment.
These guidelines are presented for use in the nationwide strategy for monitoring developed by the
IntergovernmentalTask Force on Monitoring (ITFM).The nationwide monitoring strategy is an effort
to improve the technical aspects of water monitoring to support sound water-quality decision-making.
It is needed to integrate monitoring activities more effectively and economically and to achieve a
better return of investments in monitoring projects (1) .
This guide is offered as a guide for standardizing methods used in projects to monitor and evaluate
actual and potential nonpoint and point source sediment pollution within a watershed. The guide is
applicable to landscapes and surface water resources, recognizing the need for a comprehensive
understandingofnaturallyoccurringandmanmadeimpactstotheentirewatershedhydrologicsystem.
1. Scope turbidity, wash load, sediment concentration, total load, sedi-
ment deposits, particle size distribution, sediment volumes and
1.1 Purpose—This guide is intended to provide general
particle chemistry. Monitoring may include not only sediments
guidance on a watershed monitoring program directed toward
suspended in water but sediments deposited in fields, flood-
sediment. The guide offers a series of general steps without
plains, and channel bottoms.
setting forth a specific course of action. It gives advice for
1.3 This guide applies to surface waters as found in streams
establishing a monitoring program, not an implementation
and rivers; lakes, ponds, reservoirs, estuaries, and wetlands.
program.
1.4 Limitations—This guide does not establish a standard
1.2 Sedimentation as referred to in this guide is the detach-
procedure to follow in all situations and it does not cover the
ment, entrainment, transportation, and deposition of eroded
detail necessary to define all of the needs of a particular
soil and rock particles. Specific types or parameters of sedi-
monitoring objective or project. Other standards and guides
ment may include: suspended sediment, bedload, bed material,
included in the reference and standard sections describe in
detail the procedures, equipment, operations, and site selection
for collecting, measuring, analyzing, and monitoring sediment
This test method is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee D19 on Water
and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee D19.02 on General Specifications,
and related constituants.
Technical Resources, and Statistical Methods.
1.5 Additional ASTM and US Geological Survey standards
Current edition approved June 10, 1997. Published September 1997.
applicable to sediment monitoring are listed in Appendix X1
The boldface numbers given in parentheses refer to a list of references at the
end of this standard. and Appendix X2. Due to the large number of optional
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D6145–97 (2002)
standards and procedures involved in sediment monitoring, 4. Significance and Use
most individual standards are not referenced in this document.
4.1 This guide is intended to be used in the planning stage
Standards and procedures have been grouped in the appendices
or phase of developing a sediment monitoring program. This
according to the type of analyses or sampling that would be
guide is an assembly of the components common to all aspects
required for a specific type of measurement or monitoring.
of watershed sediment monitoring and fulfills a need in the
1.6 This standard does not purport to address all of the
development of a common framework for a better coordinated
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the
and a more unified approach to sediment monitoring in
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro-
watersheds.
priate safety and health practices and determine the applica-
4.2 The user of this guide is not assumed to be a trained
bility of regulatory limitations prior to use.
technical practitioner in the water quality, sedimentation, or
hydrology fields. The intended users are managers and plan-
2. Referenced Documents
ners who need information to develop a water quality moni-
2.1 ASTM Standards:
toring program or project with an emphasis in sediment and
D 1129 Terminology Relating to Water
hydrology. Sediment specialists will also find information on
D 4410 Terminology for Fluvial Sediment
procedures, equipment, methodology, and operations to con-
D 4411 Guide for Sampling Fluvial Sediment in Motion
duct a monitoring program.
D 4581 Guide for Measurement of Morphologic Character-
4.3 This guide is used during the planning process of
istics of Surface Water Bodies
developing, designing, and reevaluating a sediment monitoring
D 4823 Guide for Core-Sampling Submerged, Unconsoli-
program.
dated Sediments
D 5851 Guide for Planning and Implementing a Water
5. Monitoring Purpose
Monitoring Program
5.1 A watershed monitoring program for sediment is com-
prised of a series of steps designed to collect sediment and
3. Terminology
related flow data in order to achieve a stated objective. The
3.1 Definitions:
purposes of monitoring may be several and include: analyzing
3.1.1 For definitions of terms used in this guide, refer to
trends, establishing baseline conditions, studying the fate and
Definitions D 1129 and Terminology D 4410.
transport of sediment and associated pollutants, defining criti-
3.2 Definitions of Terms Specific to This Standard:
cal source areas, assessing compliance, measuring the effec-
3.2.1 assess—to determine the significance, value, and im- tiveness of management practices, project monitoring, imple-
portance of the data collected and recorded.
mentation monitoring, making wasteload allocations, testing
3.2.2 best management practice (BMP)—a practice or com- models, defining a water quality problem, and conducting
bination of practices that are determined by state or area-wide research.
planning agencies to be the most effective and practical means
5.2 Monitoring to analyze trends is used to determine how
of controlling point and nonpoint pollution.
water quality or sediment load changes over time. Normally,
3.2.3 hydrograph—a graphical representation of the dis-
measurements will be made at regular well-spaced time inter-
charge, stage, velocity, available power, or other property of
vals in order to determine the long term trend in some
stream flow at a point with respect to time.
sedimentation parameter. Typically the observations are not
3.2.4 measurement—determining the value of a character- taken specifically to evaluate BMPs or management activities,
istic within a representative sample or in situ determinations of
water quality models, or water quality standards, although
selected components of riverine, lacustrine, or estuarine sys- trend data may be utilized, in part, for one of these other
tems.
purposes.
3.2.5 nonpoint source pollution—a condition of water
5.3 Baseline monitoring is used to characterize existing
within a water body caused by the presence of undesirable
sediment or water quality conditions, and to establish a data
materials that enter the water system from diffuse locations
base for planning or future comparisons. Baseline monitoring
with no particular point of origin.
should capture as much of the temporal variations as possible
3.2.6 resource management system (RMS)—A combination
in order to assess seasonal and long term climatic influences
of conservation practices identified by the primary use of the
upon runoff and sediment yield. In some cases baseline
land that will protect the soil resource base, maintain accept-
monitoring is included as the early stage of trend monitoring.
able water quality, and maintain acceptable ecological and
5.4 Fate and transport monitoring is conducted to determine
management levels for the selected resource use.
whether sediment and associated pollutants move and where
3.2.7 watershed—all lands enclosed by a continuous hydro-
they may go.
logic surface drainage divide and lying upslope from a speci-
5.5 Sediment monitoring can be used to locate critical
fied point on a stream.
source areas within watersheds exhibiting greater pollution or
loading potential than other areas.
5.6 Sediment monitoring may also be used to assess com-
pliance with water quality management plans or standards.
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 11.01.
Annual Book of ASTM Standards, Vol 11.02. This is the monitoring used to determine whether specified
D6145–97 (2002)
water-quality criteria are being met. The criteria may be problem may be difficult to establish or distinguish unless
numerical (quantitative) or descriptive (qualitative). detailed monitoring plans are implemented.
5.7 Sediment monitoring may assess the effectiveness of
6.2 Monitoring Objectives—The second step in developing
individual management practices or resource management
a sediment monitoring program is to define the monitoring
systems for improving water quality or, in some cases, may be
objectives. The objectives of the monitoring study should
used to evaluate the effect of an entire program in a watershed.
address the water quality need or problem. An objective
Evaluating individual BMPs may require detailed and special-
statement should include an infinitive verb, an object word or
ized measurements made at the practice site or immediately
phrase, and some constraints on the objective such as the
adjacent to the management practice. Monitoring the overall
surface or ground water watershed boundaries and variables to
effectiveness of BMPs is usually done in the stream channel
monitor. An example of a monitoring objective might be: “To
and it may be difficult to relate measured values to individual
determine the effect of implementing best management prac-
practices.
tices on sediment concentration or sediment yield in Trout
5.8 Implementation monitoring may assess whether BMPs Brook”. When several objectives are used, a hierarchical
were installed or implemented, or if significant land uses approach may be used to determine higher priority objectives.
changes occurred. Typically this activity is carried out as an
An objective tree can be used to distinguish among several
administrative review or a monitoring of landuse changes. On objectives. To determine how several objectives can be linked,
its own, however, implementation monitoring cannot directly
the following question can be asked: “Does the achievement of
link management activities to water quality or sediment yield, objectiveAcontribute directly to the achievement of objective
as no actual sediment or water measurements were taken.
B”?To assess whether objectives are being achieved, objective
attributes could be determined. These attributes may be binary,
5.9 Monitoring of water bodies receiving runoff and sedi-
ment or other suspended loads can be used to make wasteload achieved or not, or scaler.
allocations between various point and nonpoint sources. Such
6.3 Sampling Design—A wide variety of instruments and
allocations require good knowledge of the individual contribu-
techniques have been developed for field measurements of soil
tions from each source.
erosion, sediment movement, turbidity, and sediment deposi-
5.10 Sediment monitoring may be used to fit, calibrate, or tion. In general four basic types of studies exist: measurements
test a model for local conditions. Sediment monitoring may be
of sediment in surface runoff from small experimental plots
used to evaluate samplers, rainfall simulators, runoff collection and field size watersheds, stream sampling of suspended
devices and other related instruments or devices for research
sediment load and bedload, measurements of eroded areas to
purposes. determine volume of material removed, and measurements of
5.11 Finally, sediment monitoring may be used to give the volume and density of deposited sediment.All four studies
adequate definition to a water quality problem or determine may also include particle size analyses and chemistry of the
whether a sediment related problem exists. sediments and associated pollutants. A statistical experimental
design should be stated that is consistent with the objectives of
5.12 Guide D 5851 provides overall guidance on water
the monitoring program.Appropriate experimental designs for
monitoring and provides detailed information on purposes of
monitoring sediment in motion or suspended sediment could
monitoring water quality. Additional information on purposes
include: reconnaissance, plot, single watershed“ above-and-
of watershed monitoring is provided in USDA-NRCS Water
below”, single watershed “before-and-after”, paired water-
Quality Monitoring Handbook (2), the ITFM reports (1, 3, 4,
sheds, multiple watersheds, and trend stations (2).
5), and EPA Guidelines (6, 7).
6.3.1 The design selected will dictate most other aspects of
6. Monitoring Components
the monitoring pro
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