Watershed Science - The Upper Grand River, by David P. Lusch, PhD, GISP of Remote Sensing & GIS Research and Outreach Services (RS&GIS), Michigan State University. Presented as part of a Watershed Management Short Course, March 2007.

1. WATERSHED SCIENCE
• David P. Lusch, Ph.D., GISP
Senior Research Specialist
• Michigan State University
­ Remote Sensing & GIS, GEOGRAPHY
­ Institute of Water Research
• http://www.rsgis.msu.edu/datadocs.htm
David P. Lusch, Ph.D., GISP Watershed Management
RS&GIS­GEOG and IWR, MSU Short Course 1/ 78

2. Watersheds
• A watershed is a geographic area in
which water (surface runoff, lakes and
streams) drains to a common outlet.
­ Because of the integrated nature of natural
drainage systems (i.e., smaller tributaries
joining to form larger streams), watersheds
form a nested hierarchy of areas (i.e.,
smaller watersheds subdivide larger
watersheds).
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3. Watersheds
• The watershed of any hydrographic
feature (lake, stream or wetland) is the
surface area that contributes overland
flow (runoff) to the feature.
­ In most landscapes, the surface watershed
corresponds with the subsurface watershed
which contributes interflow and
groundwater discharge.
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4. Watersheds
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5. Watersheds
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6. Watersheds
Grand River watershed within
the Lake Michigan watershed
The Upper Grand River
watershed extends farther east
than any other component
of the Lake Michigan watershed
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7. Watersheds Grand River watershed
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8. Watersheds Grand River watershed
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9. Watersheds Topographic Elevation
640 ft
830 ft
1140 ft
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10. Watersheds Bedrock Surface Elevation
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11. Grand River headwaters
Watersheds
Sections 19 & 20,
Sections 19 & 20,
Sumerset Twp, Hillsdale County
Sumerset Twp, Hillsdale County
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12. Grand River headwaters
Watersheds (down­valley view)
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13. Grand River headwaters
Watersheds (down­valley view)
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14. Grand River headwaters
Watersheds
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15. Grand River headwaters
Watersheds
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16. Watersheds Grand River – SW Ingham Co.
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17. Watersheds Grand River – SW Clinton Co.
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18. Watersheds Mouth of the Upper Grand River
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19. Watersheds
• To appreciate the diverse valley forms
of the Grand River and to explain why it
winds across south­central Michigan
with several large meander bends, we
need a quick review of the recent earth
history of the area.
­ Let’s pick up the story as the last ice age
14
comes to a close, about 15,500 C yrs
ago.
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20. 14
15,500 C years ago
Watersheds
l W isiso onsin
c nsin
c
W estsCCentral W
­ entra
W e t­
oo
Ca
az
lh
ou
m
n
la
Ka
h
ep
J os Branch
Cass S t.
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21. 14
14,800 C years ago
Watersheds
in
in
is onns
t tral Wiscco s
eenral W
W st t­C n
W ees­C
oo
az
Calhoun Jackson
m
la
Ka
ph
Cass se Branch
. Jo
St
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22. Watersheds
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23. 14
14,700 C years ago
Watersheds
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24. SE Michigan Interlobate Crease
Watersheds
14
Ice margin 14,700 C 14 years ago
Ice margin 14,700 C years ago
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25. SE Michigan Interlobate Zone
Watersheds
14
Ice margin 14,700 C 14 years ago
Ice margin 14,700 C years ago
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26. 14
Interlobate drainage 14,700 C years ago
Watersheds
Early
Kalamazoo R.
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27. 14
Interlobate drainage 14,500 C years ago
Watersheds
Major headwaters of the
Major headwaters of the
Jackson Co. reach of the
Jackson Co. reach of the
Grand R. is the
Grand R. is the
Portage River
Portage River
Early
Kalamazoo R.
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28. 14
Interlobate drainage 14,400 C years ago
Watersheds
Early
Huron R.
Major headwaters of the
Major headwaters of the
Jackson Co. reach of the
Jackson Co. reach of the
Early Grand R. is the
Grand R. is the
Portage River
Portage River
Kalamazoo R.
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29. 14
Interlobate drainage 14,400 C years ago
Watersheds
Early
Huron R.
Ann Arbor – Pinkney
Ann Arbor – Pinkney
segment of the Huron R.
segment of the Huron R.
Early is flowing opposite of its
is flowing opposite of its
modern course
modern course
Kalamazoo R.
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30. 14
Interlobate drainage 14,300 C years ago
Watersheds
Early Red
Cedar R.
Early
Huron R.
Ann Arbor – Pinkney
Ann Arbor – Pinkney
segment of the Huron R.
segment of the Huron R.
Early is now flowing toward
is now flowing toward
Ann Arbor, as it does today
Ann Arbor, as it does today
Kalamazoo R.
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31. 14
Interlobate drainage 14,300 C years ago
Watersheds
Early Red
Cedar R.
Early
Huron R.
Early
At Ann Arbor, this stage of
At Ann Arbor, this stage of
Kalamazoo R. the Huron R. flows SW
the Huron R. flows SW
along the ice margin, spilling
along the ice margin, spilling
into Glacial Lake Maumee
into Glacial Lake Maumee
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32. 14
Interlobate drainage 13,850 C years ago
Watersheds
The major flow is along
The major flow is along
the ice margin from
the ice margin from
the Flint area
the Flint area
Early
Thornapple R.
Early The Upper Grand R.
The Upper Grand R.
flows as it does today
flows as it does today
Kalamazoo R.
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33. 14
Interlobate drainage 13,850 C years ago
Watersheds
The Looking Glass and
The Looking Glass and
Red Cedar rivers flow
Red Cedar rivers flow
as they do today
as they do today
Early
Thornapple R.
The Huron R.
The Huron R.
flows as it does
flows as it does
today past
today past
Early Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor
Kalamazoo R.
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34. Hydrologic Cycle
• Precipitation
• Evapotranspiration
• Surface depression storage
• Runoff
• Infiltration (recharge)
• Groundwater storage and flow
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35. Hydrologic Cycle
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36. Hydrologic Cycle
• Infiltration
­ Infiltration capacity
decreases with the
duration of the storm
­ Runoff ONLY
occurs when rainfall
intensity exceeds the
infiltration capacity
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37. Hydrologic Cycle
Recharge = Rain – Evaporation – Runoff
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38. Hydrologic Cycle
• Precipitation: 32”– 34”
• Evapotranspiration: 20” ­ 26”
• Runoff: 3”
• Recharge (Infiltration): 5” – 9”
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39. Hydrologic Cycle
Annual Precipitation
33”
30”
33”
In southern Lower
Michigan, annual 33”
precipitation declines
along a NE­trending 36”
gradient.
39”
36”
39”
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40. Recharge to the
Hydrologic Cycle water­table aquifer
http://gwmap.rsgis.msu.edu/
No recharge estimates due to lack of data
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41. Recharge to the
Hydrologic Cycle water­table aquifer
http://gwmap.rsgis.msu.edu/
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42. Hydrologic Cycle Baseflow
• The baseflow of a river is the amount
of groundwater discharged from an
aquifer into the watercourse.
− This discharge occurs year­round, but fluctuates
seasonally depending on the level of the water in
the aquifer.
− The baseflow of a river is supplemented by direct
runoff during and immediately after precipitation
or snowmelt events.
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43. Hydrologic Cycle Baseflow
cfs = cubic feet per second
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44. Hydrologic Cycle Baseflow
Grand R. @ Goose lake 1.2 cfs
Grand R. @ Grand Lake 12 cfs
Grand R. @ Vandercook Lake 43 cfs
Grand R. @ Jackson 116 cfs
Grand R. @ (below Portage R.) 249 cfs
Grand R. @ Eaton Rapids 435 cfs
Grand R. @ Lansing (above Red Cedar R.) 496 cfs
Grand R. @ Lansing (below Red Cedar R.) 763 cfs
Grand R. @ Grand Ledge 800 cfs
Grand R. @ Portland (above Looking Glass R.) 866 cfs
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45. Sources of Water in Streams
• Overland Flow
• Interflow
• Baseflow (groundwater discharge)
• Direct precipitation in channel
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46. Sources of Water in Streams
Precipitation ET Overland Flow
(runoff)
Soil Moisture
Water table
Infiltration
Groundwater
Interflow
Groundwater
flow
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47. Channel Flow
• Perennial, Intermittent & Ephemeral
Streams
Wet season
water table
Ephemeral
Intermittent
Perennial
Dry season
water table
Ephemeral stream
Intermittent stream
Perennial stream
Ephemeral flow zone
Intermittent flow zone
Perennial flow zone
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48. Channel Flow
Ephemeral
Streams
Perennial
Stream
Intermittent
Stream
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49. Stream Hydrographs
• Stream discharge (volume/time) at a
single location as a function of time
• Annual Hydrograph
­ note baseflow recession
• Storm Hydrograph
­ Lag time
­ Peak discharge
­ Rising/Falling limb; Recession
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50. Stream Hydrographs
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51. Stream Hydrographs
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52. Stream Hydrographs
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53. Stream Hydrographs
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54. Influence of Development
• Produces greater volume of runoff
-increases the coefficient of runoff
-decreases infiltration
(limiting groundwater recharge)
• Increases delivery rate of runoff
­ increases the drainage density
­ faster channel flow in ditches and
storm sewers (compared to natural
channels)
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55. Influence of Development
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56. Influence of Development
• Polluted runoff is now widely recognized
by environmental scientists and
regulators as the single largest threat to
water quality in the United States (non­
point source pollution).
• Urban stormwater management is a
critical component of watershed
management.
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57. Influence of Development
> 25%
12% ­ 15%
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58. Influence of Development
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59. Influence of Development
From: Wyckoff, Manning, Olsson & Riggs. 2003. How Much Development is Too Much?
Huron River Watershed Council. Ann Arbor, Michigan, 71p.
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60. Influence of Development
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61. Influence of Development
The Guidebook may be
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research.htm#imp
Copies of a CD­ROM of
appendices (sample
ordinances and Master
Plan language) are
available from the
HRWC. Shipping and
handling charges
apply. Contact HRWC
at 734 / 769­5123 for
details.
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62. Influence of Development
http://nemo.uconn.edu
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63. Channel Pattern
• Meandering
• Length of straight­channel reaches
rarely exceed 10 times channel width
­ e.g., for a 40 ft.­wide stream, straight
reaches will usually be less than 400 ft.
long.
• Thalweg
-line of maximum depth & velocity
-as the thalweg becomes sinuous, a
Pool­Riffle sequence develops
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64. Channel Pattern
• Thalweg – “the fast­flow tube”
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65. Pool and Riffle Sequence
Pool
Bar Bar
Riffle
Bar
Bar
Pool
Thalweg
Thalweg
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66. Pool and Riffle Sequence
• Pools
­ Deeper water
­ Fine­textured bed sediments
­ Low water­surface slope
­ At apex of thalweg curvature
­ Scoured at high discharges
­ Pool to pool spacing is 5 ­ 7 times
the channel width
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67. Pool and Riffle Sequence
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68. Pool and Riffle Sequence
• Riffles
­ Shallower water
­ Coarse­textured bed sediments
­ Higher water­surface slope
­ At inflection point of sinuous thalweg
­ Scoured at low flows
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69. Pool and Riffle Sequence
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70. Flow Components in Meanders
• Super­elevation of water on outside
of meander
• Velocity increases toward outside
of meander
• Increased shear stress on bed at
outside of meander due to increased
depth
• Helical flow pattern (down at outside;
up at inside of meander)
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71. Flow Components in Meanders
Helical flow pattern (Thalweg)
(down at outside;
up at inside of meander)
Super­elevation of water
on outside of meander
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72. Stream Sediment Movement
• Function of
­ sediment particle size
­ stream bed velocity
• Graphically depicted by the
Hjulstrom diagram
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73. Stream Sediment Movement
Clay Silt Sand Gravel
vfs fs ms cs vcs granule pebble
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74. Stream Sediment Movement
USGS Field Measurements – Grand River at Jackson, MI
Velocity (cm/sec)
Mean 36.8
Median 36.1
Mode 36.3 +/­ s = 23.1 – 50.5 cm/sec
68.2 % of the time
Stnd. Deviation 13.7
Range 65.5
Minimum 11.6
Maximum 77.1
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75. Stream Sediment Movement
50.5
36.8
23.1
Clay Silt Sand Gravel
vfs fs ms cs vcs granule pebble
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76. Floodplains
Floodplain Floodplain
of the river
River
Cross­section of a river valley
showing the floodplain
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77. Floodplains
Floodplain Terrace
River
Cross­section of a river valley
showing the floodplain
Terrace of the Glacial
St. Joseph River
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78. WATERSHED HYDROLOGY
The End
David P. Lusch, Ph.D., GISP
Senior Research Specialist
lusch@msu.edu
Michigan State University
Remote Sensing and GIS Research and Outreach Services,
Dept. of Geography
Institute of Water Research
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