The Community Flow Monitoring Network hosted its inaugural Flow Regatta on August 9th, 2024.
This workshop was an opportunity for everyone involved in the Network to meet in-person, share knowledge, ask questions, and connect over all things flow related.
The event took place at Rosewall Creek Provincial Park in Fanny Bay. In total, 14 participants attended from seven different organizations. Most participants were currently active volunteers with the Network, but there were a few new faces, and some attendees who had never conducted flow monitoring before.
After some opening remarks and introductions, the morning was spent getting hands-on practice with discharge measurements using a Flowtracker and several Flowtracker2s. We conducted these measurements across three different transects to compare differences in transect location, instruments, and operators.
Some discussion points that came up throughout the morning activities included:
- There is always uncertainty associated with discharge measurements. Our aim is to reduce this uncertainty as much as possible by following best practices and refreshing our skills periodically to increase the quality of monitoring.
- Transect site selection has a strong influence on the uncertainty of your measurement. Take your time and choose the best transect location according to the criteria. *See our Field Guide or SOP for more info on site selection*
- Throughout the transect, you will make dozens of small decisions that influence your measurement (panel size and placement, water depth measurement, etc.). Consistent errors can lead to systemic bias.
- Regarding tricky transect sites with lots of exposed boulders: try taking 2-3 measurements at different transects and comparing them. If you must measure directly around a boulder, try to insert a panel on either side of it and behind/above it to reduce the uncertainty of the measurement right around the boulder.
We also had a guest speaker, Elodie Roger, a restoration biologist who has extensive experience in aquatic restoration, lead discussions and facilitate conversations on approaches to restoring streamflow. Elodie shared some examples of flow restoration projects she is currently working on, with a focus on process based and low tech approaches, and the applications of stream restoration in relation to flow. Other topics she touched on included groundwater-surface water interactions, flow-fish habitat connections, and how flow data can be used to inform restoration practices.
The use of an ADCP to measure discharge being demonstrated at the Flow Regatta
In the afternoon, provincial hydrometric specialist Jon Jeffery demonstrated the use of an ADCP (‘acoustic doppler current profiler’) that can be used to conduct discharge measurements during high flows or in large streams and rivers that are unsafe to wade across.
A big thank you to everyone who came out and participated in this event, and many thanks to all of the people who helped put this workshop together. It would not have been such a successful day without such an energized and engaging group of people!
We hope to host our next Flow Regatta in 2025 – stay tuned!