What does the graph mean? Look at one of the rain events (blue bars). After each rain event:
  • Stream depth increases, due to water running off the surrounding watershed. Stream depth will increase more in urbanized watersheds (and will increase more quickly) because water cannot infiltrate into soil covered with roads and parking lots.
  • Turbidity increases. Sediments are washed from the watershed into the stream. Loose sediments from construction projects, roads, parking lots, and un-vegetated soils are carried into the streams.
  • Conductivity (salt concentration) decreases. This is because salts in the streams are diluted because the large volume of water entering the stream during the storm dilutes the salts.
Read more about how summer storms in urban areas can impact streams. (coming soon!) View this graph for Chester Creek or Kingsbury Creek

What does the graph mean? See the explanation of the previous graph.

Read more about how summer storms in urban areas can impact streams. (coming soon!) View this graph for Chester Creek or Kingsbury Creek

What does the graph mean? Look at the snow event (blue bar). After the snow event:
  • Stream depth remains about the same. 2.6 inches of snow is equivalent to only 0.2 inches of water. Most of this "sticks" to the ground and melts slowly, allowing it to infiltrate into the surrounding soil.
  • Turbidity remains low. Since snow "sticks" to the ground, and melts slowly, it doesn't carry much sediment to the stream.
  • Conductivity (salt concentration) increases. The salt that the city puts on roads to make driving easier also ends up in the streams.
Read more about how winter storms in urban areas can impact streams. (coming soon!)

View this graph for Chester Creek or Kingsbury Creek


View this graph for Chester Creek or Kingsbury Creek