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Data and code from: Evaluation of stream visual assessment protocol with measured water quality parameters in urban streams

McKenney, Erin1; McMurray, Caleb1; Finch, Abigail1; Jones, Kennedy1; Keaton, Eli1; Parkinson, Hyde1; Patterson, Norah1; James, Jennifer12; Burkholder, JoAnn12; Meza-Salazar, Ana1

Published May 28, 2026 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.7m0cfxq89

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May 28, 2026 version files 16.10 KB

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Abstract

Accurate assessment of stream health is important due to the numerous known influences of habitat and water quality on aquatic ecosystems as well as human health. The Stream Visual Assessment Protocol (SVAP) of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is an accessible resource for resource managers and the citizenry that provides a rapid “snapshot” assessment of general stream health, based upon visual physical characteristics. This study evaluated whether SVAP scores can be used to infer water quality conditions. We developed SVAP scores for four urban streams in the southeastern U.S. Piedmont region using ten metrics, and assessed whether the scores were strongly correlated with measured data for three physical features (depth, speed, canopy cover) and nine water quality parameters (water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen concentration and percent saturation, conductivity, salinity, total dissolved solids, turbidity, and Enterococcus).  The SVAP scores were strongly correlated with measured physical characteristics, but there were few significant correlations between SVAP scores and water quality data.  The findings suggest that the SVAP should not be used to infer water quality conditions, which are critically important to stream habitat health.