5. Some examples of hydrological equipment
Precipitation
Infiltration rates
Standard, tipping bucket rain
gauge
Staff gauges, ultrasonic level
detectors, bubblers, pressure
transducers
Runoff inflow and outflow Visual, pressure transducer in
conjunction with a weir
Volumetric water content
Moisture meters or
reflectometers
6. Some examples of how to get water quality
samples
Runoff
Subsurface
First flush samplers,
autosamplers, and grab
samples
Lysimeters
7. Some examples of ecological methods
Plant diversity and
coverage
Nutrient uptake
Insect and animal
utilization
Inspection
Analysis of plants
Biological assessment
8. Frequency of inspection/monitoring
Intermittent
Yearly
Monitoring is performed on an ad-hoc basis by citizens
Seasonal
Monitoring is performed in response to rain events four times a year, once in
each season. The rain event should produce at least 0.6 cm of rain in an eight
hour period to provide measurable quantities. This is applicable to runoff inflow
and outflow and infiltration monitoring at infiltration and bioinfiltration SCMs
and precipitation monitoring at infiltration, bioinfiltration, and evaporation
SCMs.
Event
Monitoring is performed in response to as many rain events as practical, but at
least 8 per year. This is applicable to water quality monitoring at all four types of
SCMs. The rain event should produce at least 0.6 cm of rain in an eight hour
period to provide measurable quantities.
Continuous
Monitoring is performed continuously for all rain events that produce at least 0.6
cm of rain in an eight hour period. This is applicable to hydrologic and water
quality instrumentation that is self data-logging. The data can then be
Monitoring is performed yearly, ideally at the same time each year. This is
applicable to ecological monitoring.
9. Infiltration BMPs
Very low
Low
Inflow and outflow
Intermittent
– visual
inspection
Seasonal –
visual
inspection
Continuous
Seasonal – staff
gauge, infiltration rate
of pavements (ASTM
1701)
Infiltration rate
High
Seasonal – standard
rain gauge
Hydrologic
Precipitation
Medium
Continuous,
Seasonal infiltration rate of
pavements (ASTM
1701)
Continuous
Seasonal – visual
inspection
Volumetric water
content
Water Quality
Surface water samples
Subsurface water
Continuous
(optional)
Event or Continuous
www.villanova.edu/vusp
Event
9
10. Visual inspection checklist for
infiltration SCMs
Infiltration rate
Ponded water present for more than 48
hours after rainfall event
Inflow and outflow
Sediment accumulation in basin area
Clogged inlet structures
Clogged outlet structures
11. Bio-infiltration BMPs
Very low
Hydrologic
Precipitation
Infiltration rate
Inflow and outflow
Low
Medium
Seasonal –
standard rain gauge
Intermittent –
Seasonal –
Seasonal – staff
visual inspection visual inspection
gauge
Continuous
Intermittent –
Seasonal –
Seasonal – visual
visual inspection visual inspection
inspection
Continuous
Volumetric water content
Continuous
Continuous (optional)
Water Quality
Surface water samples
Subsurface water
samples
Ecological
Plant diversity and
coverage
High
Event or Continuous
Event
Seasonal –
Seasonal – visual
visual inspection
inspection
Yearly – plant
Yearly – plant
www.villanova.edu/vusp
inventory
inventory
Seasonal – visual
inspection
11
12. Visual inspection checklist for
bioinfiltration and naturalized SCMs
Infiltration rate
Ponded water present for more than 48 hours
after rainfall event
Inflow and outflow
Sediment accumulation in basin area
Clogged inlet structures
Clogged outlet structures
Excessive erosion
Plant diversity and coverage
Presence of invasives
Percent vegetative cover
Presence of wetland plants
Cattails
Arrowheads
Marsh smartweeds
Color, quality, and size of leaves, stems, and
flowers
13. Evapotranspiration BMPs
Low
Medium
Seasonal – standard
rain gauge
Hydrologic
Precipitation
Outflow
Seasonal – visual
inspection
High
Continuous
Seasonal – visual
inspection
Continuous
Volumetric water content
Continuous (optional)
Water Quality
Surface water samples
Ecological
Plant diversity and
coverage
Nutrient uptake
Event or Continuous
Seasonal – visual
inspection
Seasonal – visual
inspection
Yearly – plant
inventory
www.villanova.edu/vusp
Seasonal – visual inspection
13
Yearly – plant samples
14. Visual inspection checklist for
evapotranspiration SCMs
Inflow and outflow
Clogged outlet structure
Plant diversity and coverage
Presence of invasives
Percent vegetative cover
Color, quality, and size of leaves, stems, and
flowers
15. Ponds and Wetlands (Naturalized SCMs)
Low
Medium
Seasonal – standard
rain gauge
Hydrologic
Precipitation
Inflow and outflow
Seasonal – visual
inspection
High
Continuous
Seasonal – visual
inspection
Continuous
Water Quality
Surface water samples
Ecological
Plant diversity and
coverage
Event or Continuous
Seasonal – visual
inspection
Seasonal – visual
inspection
Yearly – plant
inventory
Yearly – plant samples
Nutrient uptake
Insect and animal
utilization
Soil conditions
Seasonal – visual inspection
Yearly – plant inventory
Yearly – inspection
www.villanova.edu/vusp
15
Yearly – soil samples
16. Visual inspection checklist for
bioinfiltration and naturalized SCMs
Infiltration rate
Ponded water present for more than 48 hours
after rainfall event
Inflow and outflow
Sediment accumulation in basin area
Clogged inlet structures
Clogged outlet structures
Excessive erosion
Plant diversity and coverage
Presence of invasives
Percent vegetative cover
Presence of wetland plants
Cattails
Arrowheads
Marsh smartweeds
Color, quality, and size of leaves, stems, and
flowers
17. QR codes on
signage
Comparisons
to higher
levels
Education – place
in watershed
Checklists
Citizens can
add locations
Reliability?
Mapping
Combine
data for all
levels
Compatibility
with existing
apps
Water
reporter
Creekwatch
EPA
USGS
18. Conclusions
• Need to start small, but the sky is the limit
• Maybe able to better link individual SCMs with
watershed improvements
• This work was supported by the William Penn
Foundation and the TVSSI is grateful for their
support
