ASTM_D_6145_-_97_2012.pdf

Designation:D614597(Reapproved 2012)Standard Guide forMonitoring Sediment in Watersheds1This standard is issued under the fixed designation D6145;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.INTRODUCTIONSoil erosion and resulting sedimentation is the major cause of nonpoint source pollution thatthreatens water resources.These impacts include:impaired aquatic habitat;destruction of sport andcommercial fisheries and shellfisheries;lost reservoir capacity for flood control,power generation,andstorage of potable water supplies;excessive flooding;impaired navigation;aggradation of irrigationand drainage channels;lost productivity of lands swamped by deposition and infertile overwash;increased levels of water treatment;lost or declined recreational opportunities;and impaired aestheticvalues.The amount of sediment in a stream can affect channel shape,sinuosity,and the relativebalance between riffles and pools.Excessive sediment in a stream causes a decrease in channelcapacity which in turn results in more frequent and larger out of bank floods.In addition to the adversephysical effects of sediment loads,many nutrients,pesticides,and heavy metals are sorbed onto finesediment particles which may result in eutrophic or toxic waters.Indirect effects of increased sedimentloads may include increased stream temperatures and decreased intergravel dissolved oxygen levels.This guide recommends a process for developing and implementing monitoring projects forsediment in a watershed.It follows Guide D5851 with more specifics applicable to watersheds andsediment.These guidelines are presented for use in the nationwide strategy for monitoring developed by theIntergovernmental Task Force on Monitoring(ITFM).The nationwide monitoring strategy is an effortto improve the technical aspects of water monitoring to support sound water-quality decision-making.It is needed to integrate monitoring activities more effectively and economically and to achieve abetter return of investments in monitoring projects(1)2.This guide is offered as a guide for standardizing methods used in projects to monitor and evaluateactual and potential nonpoint and point source sediment pollution within a watershed.The guide isapplicable to landscapes and surface water resources,recognizing the need for a comprehensiveunderstanding of naturally occurring and manmade impacts to the entire watershed hydrologic system.1.Scope1.1 PurposeThis guide is intended to provide generalguidance on a watershed monitoring program directed towardsediment.The guide offers a series of general steps withoutsetting forth a specific course of action.It gives advice forestablishing a monitoring program,not an implementationprogram.1.2 Sedimentation as referred to in this guide is thedetachment,entrainment,transportation,and deposition oferoded soil and rock particles.Specific types or parameters ofsediment may include:suspended sediment,bedload,bedmaterial,turbidity,wash load,sediment concentration,totalload,sediment deposits,particle size distribution,sedimentvolumes and particle chemistry.Monitoring may include notonly sediments suspended in water but sediments deposited infields,floodplains,and channel bottoms.1.3 This guide applies to surface waters as found in streamsand rivers;lakes,ponds,reservoirs,estuaries,and wetlands.1.4 LimitationsThis guide does not establish a standardprocedure to follow in all situations and it does not cover thedetail necessary to define all of the needs of a particularmonitoring objective or project.Other standards and guidesincluded in the reference and standard sections describe in1This guide is under the jurisdiction of ASTM CommitteeD19 on Water and isthe direct responsibility of Subcommittee D19.02 on Quality Systems,Specification,and Statistics.Current edition approved June 1,2012.Published June 2012.Originallyapproved in 1997.Last previous edition approved in 2007 as D6145 97(2007).DOI:10.1520/D6145-97R12.2The boldface numbers given in parentheses refer to a list of references at theend of this standard.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United States1 detail the procedures,equipment,operations,and site selectionfor collecting,measuring,analyzing,and monitoring sedimentand related constituants.1.5 Additional ASTM and US Geological Survey standardsapplicable to sediment monitoring are listed in Appendix X1and Appendix X2.Due to the large number of optionalstandards and procedures involved in sediment monitoring,most individual standards are not referenced in this document.Standards and procedures have been grouped in the appendicesaccording to the type of analyses or sampling that would berequired for a specific type of measurement or monito