The inaugural spring Community Flow Monitoring Network meeting was held on Thursday, May 19, 2022 10:00 am – 12:00 pm via Zoom.
12 representatives from 5 groups attended.
The purpose of the meeting was to provide an overview of the pilot program, community-based monitoring, changes underway, and plans for development of the structured network.
We introduced some of the main project partners from the Ministry of Environment, Jon Jeffery (Hydrometric Specialist) and Neil Goeller (Unit Head, Groundwater, Hydrometric & Hydrology Programs). The Province is currently developing a new provincial monitoring network and there may be opportunities for community monitoring groups to take part in the provincial network through this pilot program.
Jon reviewed some of the main aspects to remember when visiting a flow data collection site:
Stage
- Height of water, usually taken using a staff gauge.
- Remember to take a stage reading every visit, very important to note the time of the reading. If your staff gauge needs repair, please notify BCCF and we will try to help you get a new gauge.
Discharge
- Flow measurement, usually taken using a FlowTracker or perhaps by another method (e.g. bucket fill, weir, salt dilution, etc.)
- We pair the discharge measurement with the stage measurement, so it’s also important to note the time during which you collected the measurement.
- Remember to spend a lot of time weighing and choosing the site where you will take the measurement, this is the most important factor besides operation of the equipment.
Control condition
- The point downstream of the logger and staff gauge that controls the water height behind it.
- The control is a very important aspect to monitor, and often gets overlooked in community monitoring. Take regular measurements of how deep the water is at the control point, but be careful not to bump or adjust anything in the substrate around the control as it could affect the readings.
- Make a note of the condition of the control point during every site visit – this can be a quick note such as “clear”, or “submerged”, or “covered with debris – cleaned at 11:00 am”.
- Take a photo of the control from upstream and downstream angles, during every site visit.
- If you make any changes to the control, such as cleaning leaf litter, moving rocks, cutting back invasive plants, etc., you must make a note of the time & date of the changes. Keep this with the site history and record notes.
Thea assigned each existing station a monitoring group for the summer. We also circulated a “mission statement” document for groups to fill out that will help guide monitoring on your stream. This is also a requirement to complete for the project funding.
We discussed upcoming monitoring plans and answered some questions about scheduling and submission of surveys, mission statements.
Thea reviewed how to access the new Google Drive for uploading data, requested each group provide 1-2 main contact person(s) for data uploads and contact.
2022 Summer monitoring plan:
– Aim for one spring higher-flow measurement (e.g. May 20 – June 2)
– BCCF and the province will conduct site visits with each group to audit their station condition and data review. Staff will also help groups conduct benchmarking at their sites during this time.
– Aim to collect 3-6 measurements from June – October. BCCF can help groups get access to equipment throughout the summer. Supplemental training and support will be provided as needed. Share data using new Google Drive link.
– Pre-knowledge surveys have been distributed. Please fill out and return to BCCF.
Next Group Meeting:
Fall 2023 – keep an eye out for a meeting invitation after the summer slows down. Topic: working with the data