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Non-perennial streamflow and sediment mobilization in a semi-arid rangeland slated for development


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Created: Aug 06, 2025 at 3:42 p.m. (UTC)
Last updated: Aug 13, 2025 at 10:15 p.m. (UTC)
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Abstract

Urbanization has profound impacts on stream morphology and streamflow patterns. Predicting these impacts in semi-arid areas is limited by the lack of information on pre-development streamflow, as non-perennial streams are not well monitored in semi-arid areas. This research focuses on the ephemeral stream West Stroh Gulch, located south of Denver, Colorado, U.S. This grassland watershed was used for grazing during the pre-development study period of June 2020 – August 2023. During this time, time-lapse photography at five locations along the stream network along with radar-rainfall data were used to determine which storm events did, or did not, lead to a streamflow response. Out of 115 recorded storm events, 32 led to streamflow. A classification tree indicated that streamflow was due to storm events with higher rainfall intensities (maximum 30-minute intensity above 4.3 mm/hr and 60-minute intensity above 6.2 mm/hr) and 7-day antecedent rainfall above 20.3 mm. A two-dimensional hydrodynamic model (SRH-2D) enabled comparison of the impacts of predicted flows through a reach of interest. The model used a digital elevation model developed using structure-from-motion techniques and drone aerial imagery. Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) generated peak flows were used to simulate impacts of different sized storms (Water Quality Capture Event (WQE), 2-, 5-, 10-, 50-, and 100-year storms) and development and stormwater management scenarios (pre-development, developed undetained, and developed with distributed detention). Results predicted that the smallest but most frequent storms (WQE and 2-year storms) would cause increased flow and boundary shear stress post-development. For larger storms, distributed detention facilities reduced post-development flows below pre-development and were well below the undetained development, which consistently had the largest flow and potential for sediment mobilization. The findings contribute to understanding of ephemeral streamflow in rangelands and streamflow regime alterations as drivers of sediment mobilization with urban development.

Subject Keywords

Coverage

Spatial

Coordinate System/Geographic Projection:
WGS 84 EPSG:4326
Coordinate Units:
Decimal degrees
Place/Area Name:
West Stroh Gulch in Parker, Colorado, USA
Longitude
-104.7861°
Latitude
39.4873°

Temporal

Start Date:
End Date:

Content

README.txt

These are the datasets used for the analysis of the streamflow response of a pre-developed watershed. 

WestStrohGulch_Rainmaker.R
This is the script used to process the rainfall data from the rain gauges and the Gauge Adjusted Radar Rainfall (GARR). The details about the package used (Rainmaker) can be found in the script.

Rain_Data/2730_2020-2023_RainDataDownload.csv
This is the downloaded rainfall data from the Mile High Flood District (MHFD) database (https://alert5.udfcd.org/single-device-data/) for the station 2730 - Parker (Salisbury Park)
It contains the following data:
Date > Date when the rainfall was recorded (mm/dd/yyyy)
Time > Time when the rainfall was recorded (hh:mm:ss)
Cumulative Rain > The cumulative rain, usually since the begin of the calendar year, in inches.
Rain > Recorded rainfall in inches.


Rain_Data/2860_2020-2023_RainDataDownload.csv
This is the downloaded rainfall data from the Mile High Flood District (MHFD) database (https://alert5.udfcd.org/single-device-data/) for the station 2860 - Cherry Creek at Stroh
It contains the following data:
Date > Date when the rainfall was recorded (mm/dd/yyyy)
Time > Time when the rainfall was recorded (hh:mm:ss)
Cumulative Rain > The cumulative rain, usually since the begin of the calendar year, in inches.
Rain > Recorded rainfall in inches.


Rain_Data/GARR_2020-2023_RainDataDownload.csv
This is the weighted average of the GARR data provided by the MHFD.
It contains the following data:
No > Record number
Date > Date when the rainfall was recorded (mm/dd/yyy hh:mm)
Rain > Recorded rainfall in inches.

WestStrohGulch_ClassificationTree.RMD
This is the script used to generate the classification trees presented in the manuscript, including the non-pruned and the pruned versions. The details about the packages used can be found in the script.

GARRWeighted_AllStorms_Properties-Antecedent.csv
This is the dataset used for the generation of the classification trees and it is the input for the WestStrohGulch_ClassificationTree.RMD script. 
It contains the following data:
StartDate > Date and time when the storm started (mm/dd/yyy hh:mm)
EndDate > Date and time when the storm ended (mm/dd/yyy hh:mm)
streamflow
rain > Total rainfall (inches)
duration > Storm duration (hours)
Ievent > Rainfall intensity for the event (in/hr)
Ix > Maximum rainfall intensity for different time period -5,10,30,60,120,180 minutes (in/hr)
prevhrs > Hours since the previous storm event (hrs)
cumdx > Cumulative rainfall for the previous -1,2,3,7 days (inches)
doy > Day of the year
maxtempx > Max temperature in the previous -1,2,3,7 days (Celsius). This temperature was taken from the weather station USW00093067 - DENVER CENTENNIAL AIRPORT, CO US

Credits

Funding Agencies

This resource was created using funding from the following sources:
Agency Name Award Title Award Number
U.S. National Science Foundation CAREER: Science and Education for Connecting Urban Irrigation Efficiency to Streamflow in Semi-Arid Cities 2045340, 2318903
U.S. National Science Foundation SRS RN: Transforming Rural-Urban Systems: Trajectories for Sustainability in the Intermountain West 2115169

How to Cite

Ramírez-Núñez, J. S., D. Poteet, A. S. Bhaskar (2025). Non-perennial streamflow and sediment mobilization in a semi-arid rangeland slated for development, HydroShare, http://www.hydroshare.org/resource/b4169343619848778f76d68b7c3c074f

This resource is shared under the Creative Commons Attribution CC BY.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
CC-BY

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