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

McKenney, Erin 1 ; McMurray, Caleb1; Finch, Abigail1; Jones, Kennedy1; Keaton, Eli1; Parkinson, Hyde1; Patterson, Norah1; James, Jennifer1 2; Burkholder, JoAnn1 2; Meza-Salazar, Ana1

Published May 28, 2026; Updated Jun 10, 2026 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.7m0cfxq89

Data files

May 28, 2026 version files 16.10 KB

Jun 10, 2026 version files 17.41 KB

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.

Provenance for this README

Authors: Erin A. McKenney
Other contributors: Caleb McMurray, Abigail Finch, Kennedy Jones, Eli Keaton, Hyde Parkinson, Norah Patterson, Ana Meza-Salazar
Date created: 2025-09-17
Date modified: 2026-06-08

Dataset Attribution and Usage

Dataset Title: Data and code from: Evaluation of stream visual assessment protocol with measured water quality parameters in urban streams
Persistent identifier:
License: Use of these data is covered by the following license:
- Title: CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)
- Specification: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/; the authors respectfully request to be contacted by researchers interested in the re-use of these data so that the possibility of collaboration can be discussed.

Methodological Information

All data were collected by the authors.
Methods of data collection/generation: see manuscript for details

Data and File Overview

Summary Metrics

File count: 5
Total file size: 16.458 KB
Range of individual file sizes: 258 B - 6.19 KB
File formats: .csv, .md, .R

map_Rscript.R
StreamQualityData.csv
Enterococcus_SVAP.csv
SVAP-correlation.R
README.md

File/Folder Details

Description of the Data and file structure

Water quality data, physical data, visual assessment data, and stream metadata are in CSV format.
R code used to produce maps of the study sites and run statistical analyses are provided as .R files.

Details for: map_Rscript.R

Description: R code for producing maps of (A) the United States; (B) Raleigh, NC and Wake County, NC with Richland Creek, House Creek, Walnut Creek, and Rocky Branch Creek. The file is formatted for the R environment.
Size: 5.49 KB

Details for: StreamQualityData.csv

Description: a comma-separated table of physical and water quality data collected from 3 sites each along Richland Creek, House Creek, Walnut Creek, and Rocky Branch Creek in fall 2024. The file is formatted for analysis in the R environment.
Size: 3.17 KB
Dimensions: 25 rows x 25 columns
Variables:
- Stream: name of stream
- Site: three sites (A, B, C) assessed along each stream
- Date
- Water Temperature: in degrees Celsius, measured with YSI ProSolo ODO Optical Dissolved Oxygen Meter (Xylem Inc., Washington D.C., USA)
- Dissolved Oxygen (mg/L): measured with YSI ProSolo ODO Optical Dissolved Oxygen Meter (Xylem Inc., Washington D.C., USA)
- Dissolved Oxygen (%): measured with YSI ProSolo ODO Optical Dissolved Oxygen Meter (Xylem Inc., Washington D.C., USA)
- Conductivity (Œºs): measured with an Apera PC60 pocket water probe (Apera Instruments, Columbus, OH, USA)
- Total Dissolved Solids (ppm): measured with an Apera PC60 pocket water probe (Apera Instruments, Columbus, OH, USA)
- Salinity (ppt): measured with an Apera PC60 pocket water probe (Apera Instruments, Columbus, OH, USA)
- pH: measured with an Apera PC60 pocket water probe (Apera Instruments, Columbus, OH, USA)
- Turbidity (NTU): measured with a Hatch 2100P portable turbidimeter (Hatch, Loveland, CO, USA)
- Average Depth (cm): measured using a meter stick
- speed (m/sec): measured using a meter stick, ping pong ball and a stopwatch
- Average Canopy Cover (%): measured with spherical densiometers
- Channel Condition: assessed following the SVAP (NCRS 1998), and was assigned a score ranging from 0 to 10
- Hydrologic Alteration: assessed following the SVAP (NCRS 1998), and was assigned a score ranging from 0 to 10
- Riparian Zone: assessed following the SVAP (NCRS 1998), and was assigned a score ranging from 0 to 10
- Bank Stability: assessed following the SVAP (NCRS 1998), and was assigned a score ranging from 0 to 10
- Water Appearance: assessed following the SVAP (NCRS 1998), and was assigned a score ranging from 0 to 10
- Nutrient Enrichment: assessed following the SVAP (NCRS 1998), and was assigned a score ranging from 0 to 10
- Barriers to Fish Movement: assessed following the SVAP (NCRS 1998), and was assigned a score ranging from 0 to 10
- Instream Fish Cover: assessed following the SVAP (NCRS 1998), and was assigned a score ranging from 0 to 10
- Pools: assessed following the SVAP (NCRS 1998), and was assigned a score ranging from 0 to 10
- Invertebrate Cover: assessed following the SVAP (NCRS 1998), and was assigned a score ranging from 0 to 10
- Overall Score: averaged scores across all 10 SVAP factors to calculate an overall health score for each stream site, per SVAP guidelines

Details for: Enterococcus_SVAP.csv

Description: a comma-separated table containing the Most Probable Number (MPN) of Enterococcus for Richland Creek, House Creek, Walnut Creek, and Rocky Branch Creek. Each creek was sampled on two diffrent dates in fall 2024. The file is formatted for analysis in the R environment.
Size: 258 B
Dimensions: 9 rows x 3 columns
Variables:
- Stream: name of stream
- Date: sample date
- Enterococcus: quantity in Most Probable Number (MPN)

Details for: SVAP-correlation.R

R code for calculating Spearman's correlations between stream visual assessment protocol (SVAP) visual scores and traditional water quality metrics. The file is formatted for the R environment.
Size: 2.63 KB