Increasing Drainage Area Research Articles

HYDROLOGIC CONNECTIVITY OF FLOODPLAINS, NORTHERN MISSOURI-IMPLICATIONS FOR MANAGEMENT AND RESTORATION OF FLOODPLAIN FOREST COMMUNITIES IN DISTURBED LANDSCAPES

Hydrologic connectivity between the channel and floodplain is thought to be a dominant factor determining floodplain processes and characteristics of floodplain forests. We explored the role of hydrologic connectivity in explaining floodplain forest community composition along streams in northern Missouri, USA. Hydrologic analyses at 20 streamgages (207–5827 km2 area) document that magnitudes of 2-year return floods increase systematically with increasing drainage area whereas the average annual number and durations of floodplain-connecting events decrease. Flow durations above the active-channel shelf vary little with increasing drainage area, indicating that the active-channel shelf is in quasi-equilibrium with prevailing conditions. The downstream decrease in connectivity is associated with downstream increase in channel incision. These relations at streamflow gaging stations are consistent with regional channel disturbance patterns: channel incision increases downstream, whereas upstream reaches have either not incised or adjusted to incision by forming new equilibrium floodplains. These results provide a framework to explain landscape-scale variations in composition of floodplain forest communities in northern Missouri. Faust (2006) had tentatively explained increases of flood-dependent tree species, and decreases of species diversity, with a downstream increase in flood magnitude and duration. Because frequency and duration of floodplain-connecting events do not increase downstream, we hypothesize instead that increases in relative abundance of flood-dependent trees at larger drainage area result from increasing size of disturbance patches. Bank-overtopping floods at larger drainage area create large, open, depositional landforms that promoted the regeneration of shade-intolerant species. Higher tree species diversity in floodplains with small drainage areas is associated with non-incised floodplains that are frequently connected to their channels and therefore subject to greater effective hydrologic variability compared with downstream floodplains. Understanding the landscape-scale geomorphic and hydrologic controls on floodplain connectivity provides a basis for more effective management and restoration of floodplain forest communities. Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Neighborhood matters: Patterns and controls on wood distribution in old-growth forest streams of the Colorado Front Range, USA

We surveyed wood characteristics along four headwater channel segments of the Colorado Front Range with drainage areas of 8–82 km 2. Stream lengths surveyed range from 3025 to 8980 m and together include a total of 15,706 pieces of wood. Time since last disturbance in the form of a stand-killing fire varied from 31 to > 500 years. Individual pieces of wood were highly aggregated at length scales of 1 to 150 m. Trends among jams were more weakly developed, but jams tended to be more segregated at lengths < 10 m, slightly more aggregated at lengths ~ 100–300 m, and to have diverging patterns at lengths > 300 m, with jams along individual channels being aggregated, segregated, or random. Multiple linear regressions failed to produce highly predictive models to explain the response variables of wood load, piece dimensions, or characteristics of jams other than jam volume (which correlated with drainage area and wood load); but examination of downstream patterns suggests that local valley and channel geometry (valley-bottom width, gradient, and sequence of longitudinal channel changes) exert a stronger influence on patterns of wood distribution than either time since last forest disturbance or progressive downstream trends associated with increasing drainage area. The longitudinal sequences of wood recruitment sources, forest stand age, and channel geometry together exert an important control on reach-scale wood load and aggregation. Wood loads in streams draining old-growth (> 250 years) forests of the Colorado Front Range are low compared to old-growth sites in other regions of the world, which we interpret to reflect decreased retention of wood recruited to the streams.

Mercury Concentrations in Water and Hybrid Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis × M. chrysops) Muscle Tissue Samples Collected from the Ohio River, USA

We report on long-term aqueous mercury (Hg) measurements collected at fixed locations along the Ohio River, offer insights into patterns of water and fish tissue Hg levels, and calculate site-specific bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) along an extensive longitudinal basis. We examined the relationship between total recoverable Hg concentrations in water and fish samples collected from 12 locations on the mainstem Ohio River. Water samples were collected on a bimonthly basis from each location over a 6-year period preceding the collection of fish tissue samples. This abundance of data enabled us to calculate the long-term average aqueous Hg concentrations and approximate the lifetime aqueous Hg exposure experienced by fish, enabling the calculation of appropriate BAFs. Hybrid striped bass (HSB; Morone saxatilis × M. chrysops) were collected from the Ohio River, composited (three fish), and analyzed for Hg in muscle tissue from each location. Concentrations ranged from 0.2 to 0.4 mg/kg and 41.7% of all samples collected were higher than the US Environmental Protection Agency regulatory threshold of 0.3 mg Hg/kg wet weight. Hg levels generally increased with fish weight, length, and age. However, Hg concentration in the water was the strongest predictor of tissue concentrations. We found that both water and tissue concentrations increased with drainage area, albeit at different rates. This discrepancy in spatial patterns revealed that the bioaccumulation rate of methylmercury might not be consistent throughout the Ohio River mainstem. BAFs calculated at each location supported this finding, as values decreased with increasing drainage area. Our study serves to fill critical, previously identified data gaps and provides decision-makers with the information necessary to develop more appropriate BAF development and risk-management strategies.

The partitioning of the total sediment load of a river into suspended load and bedload: a review of empirical data

The partitioning of the total sediment load of a river into suspended load and bedload is an important problem in fluvial geomorphology, sedimentation engineering and sedimentology. Bedload transport rates are notoriously hard to measure and at many sites only suspended load data are available. Often the bedload fraction is estimated with rule-of-thumb methods such as Maddock’s Table, which are inadequately field-tested. Here the partitioning of sediment load for the Pitzbach is discussed, an Austrian mountain stream for which high temporal resolution data on both bedload and suspended load are available. The available data show large scatter on all scales. The fraction of the total load transported in suspension may vary between zero and one at the Pitzbach, while its average decreases with rising discharge (i.e. bedload transport is more important during floods). Existing data on short- and long-term partitioning is reviewed and an empirical equation to estimate bedload transport rates from measured suspended load transport rates is suggested. The partitioning averaged over a flood can vary strongly from event to event. Similar variations may occur in the year-to-year averages. Using published simultaneous short-term field measurements of bedload and suspended load transport rates, Maddock’s table is reviewed and updated. Long-term average partitioning could be a function of the catchment geology, the fraction of the catchment covered by glaciers and the extent of forest, but the available data are insufficient to draw final conclusions. At a given drainage area, scatter is large, but the data show a minimal fraction of sediment transported in suspended load, which increases with increasing drainage area and with decreasing rock strength for gravel bed rivers, whereby in large catchments the bedload fraction is insignificant at ~1%. For sand bed rivers, the bedload fraction may be substantial (30-50%) even for large catchments. However, available data are scarce and of varying quality. Long-term partitioning varies widely among catchments and the available data are currently not sufficient to effectively discriminate control parameters.

High-Frequency Diel Dissolved Oxygen Stream Data Modeled for Variable Temperature and Scale

Diel dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations and temperature were sensed at high-frequency and modeled in an eastern Iowan stream, Clear Creek, in an agricultural setting. The magnitude of the diel changes in DO and temperature were largest at the upstream (headwater) station. Inclusion of temperature change factors increased the accuracy of modeling results and yielded estimates of the reaeration rate constant, primary production rate, and respiration rate. The DO modeling of the high-frequency measurements (15-min intervals) revealed a temperature-driven nonlinear reaeration process that led to increases in nighttime DO concentrations. The DO modeling results from three sensing stations in the watershed revealed decreasing trends in primary productivity, respiration, and the reaeration rate constant with increasing drainage area. Light extinction from suspended solids was the main factor limiting net primary production. As a result, the P/R ratio also decreased with increasing drainage area. High-frequency...

Effect of spatial scale on suspended sediment concentration in flood season in hilly loess region on the Loess Plateau in China

Suspended sediment concentration is a major variable influencing soil erosion and loss, study on which at different spatial scales is of great meaning to understand soil erosion mechanism and sediment transport process. Based on data from 4 sloping surfaces and 7 basins ranging from 0.0003 to 187 km2 in area, the suspended sediment concentration in flood season (SSC) with drainage area is studied. With increasing drainage area on the slope surfaces, the mean suspended sediment concentration in flood season (MSSC) enhances continuously until a peak value of 685 kg m−3 occurs at the whole slope surface No. 7 runoff plot resulting from harder and harder erosion forms downslope. Entering basin systems, the diluted action of subsurface water on the toeslope on MSSC and small water flow power Ω make a minimum MSSC value of 568 kg m−3 occur in the first-order basin system Tuanshangou basin at an area of 0.18 km2, and then from Tuanshangou basin to larger basins, the positive feedback function among drainage density, water flow energy, and hyperconcentrated flow as well as its reduction of settling velocity of coarser particles generates continuously increasing MSSC with drainage area.

Scale effect on sediment yield from sloping surfaces to basins in hilly loess region on the Loess Plateau in China

Based on data from two runoff plots and ten stations in hilly loess region Dalihe drainage basin ranging in area from 0.0006 to 3983 km2 on the Loess Plateau, the relationship between mean annual specific sediment yield (Ys) and drainage area (A) is studied, which is different from those for many other drainage areas of the world, neither at the scale of whole basin nor at local scale on the Loess Plateau. With increasing drainage area, the mean annual specific sediment yield experiences two peak values: the first peak value appears at 0.00408 km2 in area corresponding to the whole slope surface, and the second peak value appears at 96.1 km2 in area. The non-linear variation in the Ys–A can be explained as follows: the first peak value can be explained by the abrupt increase in slope gradient and flow shear stress resulting in highly increased sediment concentration and specific sediment yield. And the second peak value can be explained by the combined influence of flow shear stress and drainage density, represented by dimensionless variable Ω.

Sediment phosphorus dynamics for three tile fed drainage ditches in Northeast Indiana

Phosphorus (P) losses from agricultural lands degrade surface waters due to anthropogenic eutrophication. Previous studies focused on plot-to-field scale P loss and reductions from best management practices (BMP's), little information in intense agricultural catchments has been gathered on the dynamics influencing P beyond the edge of the field. This study was conducted to examine the phosphorus equilibrium between the water column and sediments in three tile fed drainage ditches in Northeast Indiana. Surface water and sediment samples were collected and analyzed for organic carbon (C), particle size and P from sites along three ditches with similar soils and land use at sites within each watershed draining approximately 300 and 1500 ha on each ditch. Organic C, silt and clay fractions of the bottom sediments decreased with increasing drainage area. Soluble P concentrations were low in Ditch A, but increased with increasing drainage area (0.02–0.05 mg P L −1). Overall, the P concentrations were higher in the Ditches B and C (0.06–0.09 mg P L −1). Exchangeable P, P partitioning index and equilibrium P concentrations (EPC o) decreased with increasing drainage area by as much as 95, 93 and 100%, respectively, except in one catchment area with a confined animal feeding operation between sampling points, where ExP and EPC o increased by 4 and 116%, respectively. Aluminum sulfate and calcium carbonate treatment of ditch sediments reduced exchangeable P and sediment EPC o in this study. Results from this study indicated some watershed characteristics, as well as sediment physiochemical properties, affect ditch sediment and water P equilibrium and buffering capacity. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that managers could potentially use chemical treatment of the ditches to increase the temporary retention of P in ditches and maybe reducing sediment P availability.

On the validity of the British Columbia Forest Practices Code guidelines for stream culvert discharge design

In the stream culvert discharge design guidelines of the Forest Practices Code (FPC) of British Columbia (BC), the 100-year instantaneous flood (Q100) is assumed to be three times as large as the mean annual flood (Q2) regardless of basin characteristics and location in the province. A regional linear moment analysis of annual maximum flows is used to demonstrate that this assumption is invalid and that Q100/Q2 ratios vary substantially with basin area and climate. For the snowmelt-dominated peak flows in the Columbia and southern Rocky Mountains, Q100/Q2 decreases slightly with increasing drainage area, from 2.3 (1 km2) to 1.9 (100 km2). For the flood peaks generated by rainfall and rain on snow in coastal BC, this range is 3.1–2.6. In the semi-arid Interior Plateau region, variability in Q100/Q2 ratios is most dramatic. For a 10-km2 basin, the calculated Q100/Q2 ratio of 4.9 is 1.6 times the assumed factor of 3, while for a 1-km2 basin Q100/Q2 is 7.5 or 2.5 times this factor. Underestimating Q100/Q2 may lead to underdesign and early failure of road culverts, and therefore, current FPC guidelines for estimating the 100-year instantaneous flood may have serious adverse economic and environmental consequences in small Interior Plateau watersheds.

Patterns of Instream Wood Recruitment and Transport at the Watershed Scale

A wood budget was constructed for the Game Creek basin (132 km2) in southeast Alaska to identify spatial and temporal controls on the abundance and distribution of large woody debris (LWD). Field measurements of wood storage, size, and age were used to estimate volumetric rates of LWD recruitment and transport. Mortality recruitment did not follow a spatial pattern and ranged from 0.1 to 8.1 m3·km−1·year−1 (recruitment corresponded to forest mortality rates of 0.1–2.6% per year). Wood recruitment by bank erosion increased with increasing drainage area and ranged from 1 m3·km−1·year−1 at the smallest drainage areas to about 16 m3·km−1·year−1 at 60 km2. Bank erosion recruitment exceeded the maximum mortality recruitment at a drainage area of approximately 20 km2 (about 10-m-wide channel). Recruitment from land-sliding was only locally significant. The contribution of fluvial transport (flux) to total LWD storage increased with drainage area to an asymptotic maximum of 50% at about 50 km2 (about 20-m-wide channel). Mean predicted transport distances for mobile LWD over the lifetime of individual pieces ranged from about 200 m in small, jam-rich streams to about 2,500 m in larger channels with fewer jams. Fluvial transport of LWD increased interjam spacing and jam size and decreased jam age with increasing distance downstream. Constructing LWD budgets at the watershed scale has numerous geomorphic and ecological implications, including identifying spatial controls on the abundance and diversity of aquatic habitats. In addition, information on LWD budgets may be useful for determining how and where to protect LWD sources to streams.

Peak discharge estimates of glacial-lake outburst floods and “normal” climatic floods in the Mount Everest region, Nepal

Glacial-lake outburst floods (GLOFs) in the Mount Everest region of Nepal on 3 September 1977 and 4 August 1985 dramatically modified channels and valleys in the region by eroding, transporting, and depositing large quantities of sediment for tens of kilometers along their flood routes. Prior to this research, the GLOF discharges had not been determined and the hydrology of “normal” climatic floods (SHFFs: seasonal high flow floods) was not known. A one-dimensional step-backwater flow model was utilized, in conjunction with paleostage indicators, to estimate the peak discharges of the GLOFs and SHFFs and to reconstruct the hydrology and hydraulic conditions of the GLOFs at 10 reaches and SHFFs at 18 reaches. The most reliable GLOF and SHFF peak discharge estimates were upstream from constrictions where there was critical-depth control. The peak discharge of the 1977 GLOF at 8.6 km from the breached moraine was approximately 1900 m 3/s. At 7.1 km downstream from the breached moraine, the 1985 GLOF discharge was estimated at 2350 m 3/s. At 27 km downstream from the breached moraine, the 1985 GLOF attenuated to an estimated discharge of 1375 m 3/s. The peak discharges of SHFFs ranged from 7 to 205 m 3/s and were positively correlated with increasing drainage area. The GLOF discharges were 7 to 60 times greater than the SHFF discharges with the greatest ratios occurring near the breached moraines. The downstream decline in the ratio between the GLOF discharge and SHFF discharge is the result of the downstream attenuation of the GLOF and the increased discharge of the SHFF because of increased contributing drainage area and the increased effects of monsoonal precipitation at lower elevations.

Physiographically controlled allometry of specific sediment yield in the canadian cordillera: a lake sediment‐based approach

It is generally supposed that specific sediment yield declines as the drainage basin area increases, as part of the mobilized sediment becomes trapped in the downstream cascade of storage zones. In British Columbia, using fluvial suspended sediment load data, Church and Slaymaker (Nature 1989, Vol 337, pp. 452–454) have observed a pattern of increasing specific sediment yield at all spatial scales up to 3×104km2. This trend has been attributed to the dominance of secondary remobilization of Quaternary sediments over primary denudation of the land surface. Using a larger data set of lake sediment‐based estimates of long‐term sediment yield, sub‐regional patterns of specific yield have been investigated for the Canadian Cordillera. Between spatial scales of 0.9 and 190 km2 sediment yield trends are differentiated by physiography, as indicated by the variable allometry observed in the specific sediment yield–drainage basin area relations. Highest sediment yields were observed in the Coast Mountains where specific sediment yields conform to the regional pattern described by Church and Slaymaker. However, in flat‐lying plateau and major valley areas specific sediment yield decreases with increasing drainage area, thus conforming to the conventional model of sediment delivery. In several other sub‐regions of intermediate relief there were no significant relations between specific yield and drainage area. These results suggest that no single model of sediment yield is adequate to describe sediment transfer processes in the Canadian Cordillera at the sub‐regional scale.

The Importance of Ecoregion Versus Drainage Area on Fish Distributions in the St. Croix River and its Wisconsin Tributaries

Aquatic ecoregions, based on regional landscape features, have been proposed as a model for aquatic resource management. The model assumes the existence of a typical biota associated with a given ecoregion and serves as the basis for biological assessment, reference site designation, and determination of stream potential, based on this biotic assemblage. Contrasting models for predicting stream ecosystem structure focus on the importance of local site conditions, including the regular and predictable changes that occur as a function of area draining to a site. In this study, a classification of 429 stream sites over an area of approximately 20 000 km2 in the St. Croix River basin delineated three major species groups: redhorse/spotfin shiner; brook charr/sculpin; and mixed species. Numerical analyses revealed no relationship between the species communities and ecoregions. In contrast, there was a strong association between the species communities and the area draining to the site. Our study highlights the importance of accommodating the inherent structure associated with site drainage area when imposing a regionally-based ecological classification upon stream ecosystems. This structure is expressed in the systematic changes to the physical habitat that occur with increasing drainage area and are reflected by the species community at the site. Management models that currently incorporate ecoregions in the classification or prediction of stream ecosystem structure would benefit from the inclusion of specific components that incorporate drainage area measurements.

Runoff Curve Number Variation with Drainage Area, Walnut Gulch, Arizona

Runoff Curve Numbers (a measure of a watershed’s runoff response to a rainstorm) were determined using three different methods for 18 semiarid watersheds in southeastern Arizona. Each of the methods produced similar results. A relationship was then developed between optimum Curve Number and drainage area of the watershed used. Curve Numbers decreased with increasing drainage area. This response is a reflection of spatial variability in rainfall and infiltration losses in the coarse-textured material of the channels associated with larger drainage basins.

Particle Size Variations Between Bed Load and Bed Material in Natural Gravel Bed Channels

Particle sizes of bed load and bed material that represent materials transported and stored over a period of years are used to investigate selective transport in 13 previously sampled, natural gravel bed channels. The ratio (D*) of median particle size of bed material to the transport‐ and frequency‐weighted mean of median bed load size decreases to unity with increasing drainage area, bank‐full discharge, dimensionless stream power, and bed material sorting. In channels with high values of D*, significant volumes of fine bed load are transported during discharges that are less than bank‐full, which is commonly associated with general entrainment of the coarse pavement in many gravel bed channels. This indicates transport of fine bed load over a more stable substrate of coarser bed material. The apparent breakdown in equal mobility of the bed as a whole may be caused by areal segregation of poorly sorted bed material into superiorly sorted patches of varying mean size. Likely sources of selectively transported fine bed load include fine patches that have low entrainment thresholds and high virtual particle velocities. A simple sediment budget applied to measurements from three channels indicates that velocities of material from fine patches in pools relative to velocities of average bed material are high in low‐order channels and decrease distally as more bed material that represents the bed as a whole is accessed for bed load by deeper annual scour.

Erosional dynamics, flexural isostasy, and long‐lived escarpments: A numerical modeling study

Erosional escarpments are common features of high‐elevation rifted continents. Fission track data suggest that these escarpments form by base level lowering and/or marginal uplift during rifting, followed by lateral retreat of an erosion front across tens to hundreds of kilometers. Previous modeling studies have shown that this characteristic pattern of denudation can have a profound impact upon marginal isostatic uplift and the evolution of offshore sedimentary basins. Yet at present there is only a rudimentary understanding of the geomorphic mechanisms capable of driving such prolonged escarpment retreat. In this study we present a nonlinear, two‐dimensional landscape evolution model that is used to assess the necessary and sufficient conditions for long‐term retreat of a rift‐generated escarpment. The model represents topography as a grid of cells, with drainage networks evolving as water flows across the grid in the direction of steepest descent. The model accounts for sediment production by weathering, fluvial sediment transport, bedrock channel erosion, and hillslope sediment transport by diffusive mechanisms and by mass failure. Numerical experiments presented explore the effects of different combinations of erosion processes and of dynamic coupling between denudation and flexural isostatic uplift. Model results suggest that the necessary and sufficient conditions for long‐term escarpment retreat are (1) incising bedrock channels in which the erosion rate increases with increasing drainage area, so that the channels steepen and propagate headward; (2) a low rate of sediment production relative to sediment transport efficiency, which promotes relief‐generating processes over diffusive ones; (3) high continental elevation, which allows greater freedom for fluvial dissection; and (4) any process, including flexural isostatic uplift, that helps to maintain a drainage divide near an escarpment crest. Flexural isostatic uplift also facilitates escarpment retreat by elevating topography in the vicinity of an eroding escarpment, thereby increasing channel gradients and accelerating erosion which in turn generates additional isostatic uplift. Of all the above conditions, high continental elevation is common to most rift margin escarpments and may ultimately be the most important factor.

The chemical composition of precipitation and runoff water on an arid limestone hillside, northern Negev, Israel

The study deals with the chemistry of precipitation and runoff water on an arid limestone hillside (467 m 2) the upper part of which is rocky and the lower part soil covered. Rainfall was measured with a rain recorder and sampled with a sequential collector which samples consecutive fractions of 2 mm. Runoff rate was measured with a stage recorder and runoff water was collected immediately after each flow from a collecting tank. Rain and runoff samples were analysed for their major constituents: Na +, K +, Ca 2+, Mg 2+, Cl −, SO 2− 4 and HCO − 3. Rainfall during the study year (1981/1982) amounted to 75 mm. The salt input by rainfall was 8 g m −2. The salt output by runoff was 1.2 g m −2 for the rocky area and 0.5 g m −2 for the soil-covered area, indicating a substantial net gain for the different areas. Both rainwater and runoff water have a calcium bicarbonate composition. These two ions represent some 55% of the dissolved ions. Runoff water is enriched by a factor of 2 in comparison with rainwater. Finally, the chemistry of runoff water from very small hillslope areas is quite similar to that of flood waters in the major channels of the Negev, pointing to a very limited chemical enrichment with increasing drainage area.

Effects of construction on fluvial sediment, urban and suburban areas of Maryland

The equivalent of many decades of natural or even agricultural erosion may take place during a single year from areas cleared for construction. Areas undergoing rapid development near Baltimore, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., lie on the Coastal Plain and Piedmont, with slopes generally of 1‐10% but sometimes of 20% and more. Soil is deep, and the annual precipitation of 42 inches (1100 mm) is evenly distributed, with high summer intensities. Average sediment yield is 200–500 t/mi2/yr (80–200 t/km2/yr), with predominantly wooded watersheds supplying sometimes even less. Intensive farming 50–80 years ago caused yields up to 1000 t/mi2/yr (400 t/km2/yr), but such high yields are no longer present owing to the continuous decline of farm acreage in the metropolitan periphery. Sediment concentrations from areas undergoing construction ranged from 3000 to over 150,000 ppm, whereas in natural or agricultural catchments the highest comparative concentration was 2000 ppm. In terms of annual values, yields from construction areas range from several thousand to a maximum of 140,000 t/mi2/yr (i.e., up to 55,000 t/km2/yr) from a small area. Total yield declines with increasing drainage area as a result of dilution from waters draining urban and other land not actually under construction. Observations demonstrate that sediment storage occurs on construction sites as well as in valley bottomlands. Actual yields from a given unit surface may be even larger than those derived from measurements in streams. Data on erosion from roadcuts in Georgia, when converted to soil loss per area, result in sediment yields similar to those from building sites: 50,000–150,000 t/mi2/yr (20,000–50,000 t/km2/yr), and local measurements indicate depths of erosion on roadcuts of 0.1–0.2 ft (3–6 cm) over time intervals of generally less than one year. Imposition of large quantities of sediment on streams previously carrying relatively small quantities of primarily suspended material produced deposition of channel bars, erosion of channel banks as a result of deposition within the channel, obstruction of flow and increased flooding, shifting configuration of the channel bottom, blanketing of bottom‐dwelling flora and fauna, alteration of the flora and fauna due to changes in light transmission and abrasive effects of, sediment, and alteration of species of fish due to changes produced in the flora and fauna upon which fish depend. Analysis of building permit records showed that: (1) 50% of construction sites were open for eight months, 60% for nine, and 25% for more than one year; (2) contrary to expectations, construction activity is practically constant throughout the year, with about 84% of all sites being open in any one month; (3) the average size of a construction site for one permit‐bearing building is 14,400 ft2 (1340 m2), a value that remained constant during the last decade. These findings, combined with statistics on highway construction, indicate that in four Maryland counties covering expanding metropolitan regions adjacent to Baltimore and Washington, at a minimum 7.2 mi2 (19 km2) of land are cleared at any one time for construction purposes. Housing and other buildings account for 5.7 mi2 (15 km2) and highways for 1.5 mi2 (4 km2). Sediment yield is roughly 700–1800 tons per 1000 increase in population. Progressive urbanization effects an initial rise in the total sediment, soon followed by a steady decline. The proportion of sediment from the construction source, however, will increase steadily and may overtake the total agricultural yield at a not very advanced stage of urbanization. Most economic evaluations of problems posed by urban sediment are subject to much uncertainty. The problem, however, is common to all conurbations, particularly where heavy earthmoving machinery is in use. Techniques for lessening sediment yield and delivery are available. Their widespread adoption presents complex issues of a local, legal, and social nature. (Key words: Sediment; urbanization)