STREAM GAUGE

For the canal boat gauging or indexing station, see Toll point#Gauging point.

Brant Broughton Gauging Station on the River Brant in Lincolnshire, England. The most recent h drometric data !or this station are available here" . # stream gauge, stream gage or gauging station is a location used b h drologists or environmental scientists to monitor and test terrestrial bodies o! $ater. % drometric measurements o! $ater sur!ace elevation &'stage'( and)or volumetric discharge &!lo$( are generall ta*en and observations o! biota ma also be made. The location o! gauging stations are o!ten !ound on topographical maps. Some gauging stations are highl automated and ma include telemetr capabilit transmitted to a central data logging !acilit .

MEASUREMENT OF DISCHARGE

Stream Gaging Station, +arnation, ,ashington #utomated direct measurement o! stream!lo$ discharge is di!!icult at present. -n place o! the direct measurement o! stream!lo$ discharge, one or more surrogate measurements

can be used to produce discharge values. -n the ma.orit o! cases, a stage &the elevation o! the $ater sur!ace( measurement is used as the surrogate. Lo$ gradient &or shallo$/ sloped( streams are highl in!luenced b variable do$nstream channel conditions. For these streams, a second stream gauge $ould be installed, and the slope o! the $ater sur!ace $ould be calculated bet$een the gauges. This value $ould be used along $ith the stage measurement to more accuratel determine the stream!lo$ discharge. ,ithin the last ten ears, the technological advance o! velocit sensors has allo$ed the use o! $ater velocit as a reliable surrogate !or stream!lo$ discharge at sites $ith a stable cross/ sectional area. These sensors are permanentl mounted in the stream and measure velocit at a particular location in the stream and related to !lo$ in a manner similar to the use o! traditional $ater level. -n those instances $here onl a stage measurement is used as the surrogate, a rating curve must be constructed. # rating curve is the !unctional relation bet$een stage and discharge. -t is determined b ma*ing repeated discrete measurements o! stream!lo$ discharge using a velocimeter and some means to measure the channel geometr to determine the cross/sectional area o! the channel. The technicians and h drologists responsible !or determining the rating curve visit the site routinel , $ith special trips to measure the h drologic extremes &!loods and droughts(, and ma*e a discharge measurement b !ollo$ing an explicit set o! instructions.

0ecember 12, 2331 photo o! the 4SGS stream!lo$/gaging station at %ue +ree*, 5c5urdo 0r 6alle s, #ntarctica. 7nce the rating curve is established, it can be used in con.unction $ith stage measurements to determine the volumetric stream!lo$ discharge. This record then serves as an assessment o! the volume o! $ater that passes b the stream gauge and is use!ul !or man tas*s associated $ith h drolog . -n those instances $here a velocit measurement is additionall used as a surrogate, an inde ve!ocit" determination is conducted. This anal sis uses a velocit sensor, o!ten either magnetic or acoustic, to measure the velocit o! the !lo$ at a particular location in the stream cross section. 7nce again, discrete measurements o! stream!lo$ discharge are made b the technician or h drologist at a variet o! stages. For each discrete determination o! stream!lo$ discharge, the mean velocit o! the cross section is determined b dividing stream!lo$ discharge b the cross/sectional area. # rating curve, similar to that used !or stage/discharge determinations, is constructed using the mean velocit and the index velocit !rom the permanentl mounted meter. #n additional

rating curve is constructed that relates stage o! the stream to cross/sectional area. 4sing these t$o ratings, the automaticall collected stage produces an estimate o! the cross/ sectional area, and the automaticall collected index velocit produces an estimate o! the mean velocit o! the cross section. The stream!lo$ discharge is computed as the estimate o! the cross section area and the estimate o! the mean velocit o! the stream!lo$.

E#ui$ment common!" used %or stream gauging

Stream gauge B82, a combination $eir at 0oddieburn, on the 59ing$ane River, :imbab$e 5an permanent $ater control structures used to improve the reliabilit o! using $ater level as a surrogate !or !lo$ &improving the reliabilit o! the rating table( are" 6/notch, broad/crested, sharp/crested and combination $eirs Flumes 7ther e;uipment commonl used at permanent stream gauge include" +able$a s / !or suspending a h drographer and current meter over a river to ma*e high !lo$ measurement ,ater pressure measuring device &Bubbler( / to measure $ater level via pressure &t picall done directl in/stream $ithout a stilling $ell( Stilling $ell / to provide a calm $ater level that can be measured b a sensor Stage encoder / a potentiometer $ith a $heel and pulle s stem connected to a !loat in a stilling $ell to provide an electronic reading o! the $ater level Simple ultrasonic devices / to measure $ater level in a stilling $ell or directl in a canal. Electromagnetic gauges 0ischarge measurements o! a stream or canal $ithout an established stream gage can be made using a current meter or #coustic 0oppler +urrent <ro!iler. 7ne in!ormal methods that is not acceptable !or an o!!icial or scienti!ic purpose, but can be use!ul is the %!oat method, in $hich a !loating ob.ect such as a piece o! $ood or orange peel is observed !loating do$n the stream.

Nationa! Stream Gauge Net&or's

<la;ue mar*ing the construction o! the River 0ove gauging station, decicated to -9aa* ,alton, author o! The +ompleat #ngler.

United (ingdom
The !irst routine measurements o! river !lo$ in England began on the Thames and Lea in the 1==3s,>2? and in Scotland on the River Garr in 1@1A.>A? The national gauging station net$or* $as established in its current !orm b the earl 1@B3s and consists o! approximatel 1C33 !lo$ measurement stations supplemented b a variable number o! temporar monitoring sites.>2? The Environment #genc is responsible !or collection and anal sis o! h drometric data in England and ,ales, $hilst responsibilit !or Scotland and Dorthern -reland rests $ith the Scottish Environment <rotection #genc and Rivers #genc respectivel .>E?

United States

% drograph o! the 5arch 1A, 233B Sno;ualmie River !lood -n the 4nited States, the 4.S. Geological Surve &4SGS( is the principal !ederal agenc tas*ed $ith maintaining records o! natural resources. ,ithin the 4SGS, the ,ater Resources 0ivision carries the responsibilit !or monitoring $ater resources. To establish a stream gage, 4SGS personnel !irst choose a site on a stream $here the geometr is relativel stable and there is a suitable location to ma*e discrete direct measurements o! stream!lo$ using speciali9ed e;uipment. 5an times this $ill be at a bridge or other stream crossing. Technicians then install e;uipment that measures the stage &the elevation o! the $ater sur!ace( or, more rarel , the ve!ocit" o! the !lo$. #dditional e;uipment is installed to record and transmit these readings &via a telemeter(

to the ,ater Science +enter o!!ice $here the records are *ept. The 4SGS has a ,ater Science +enter o!!ice in ever state $ithin the 4S#.

)im*a*&e
-n :imbab$e, the national stream gauge net$or* is the responsibilit o! the :imbab$e Dational ,ater #uthorit . This is an extensive net$or* covering all ma.or rivers and catchments in the countr . %o$ever, a revie$ o! existing gauges raised serious concerns about the reliabilit o! the data o! a minorit o! stations, due in part to ongoing !unding problems.>C?