Presented by: Scott Lowe and Mike Miller
McCormick Taylor

ABSTRACT:

Headwater channels are an important ecological component of healthy watersheds as they provide a direct connection between uplands and the downstream riparian landscape.  Headwater and outfall channels located in developed watersheds experience higher rates of both vertical and lateral erosion and are responsible for high sediment and pollutant load delivery to downstream reaches.  Due to high amounts of erosion and important ecological connections, stabilization and restoration of headwater and outfall channels are important components of meeting National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit requirements.  The Alternative Headwater Channel and Outfall Protocol was developed by the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) to provide an accurate estimate of sediment erosion and pollutant load reduction using computational methods based on engineering and scientific principles.   

The Alternative Headwater Channel and Outfall Protocol was approved for use in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed as Protocol 5 by the Water Quality Goal Implementation Team as described in Recommendations for Crediting Outfall and Gully Stabilization Projects in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed (October 15, 2019). McCormick Taylor was the lead technical author of the Alternative Headwater Channel and Outfall Protocol and provided assistance through the Water Quality Goal Implementation Team’s review and approval process. The Protocol 5 provides a physically based evaluation process that is representative of the dominant erosion mechanisms driving channel evolution in headwater and outfall channels. This protocol provides an alternative to calculating pollution reduction for Protocol 1: Credit for Preventing Sediment during Storm Flow in Recommendations of the Expert Panel to Define Removal Rates for Individual Stream Restoration Projects. While Protocol 1 focuses on streambanks as the dominant mechanism of channel erosion and sediment supply, the Protocol 5 focuses on both bed erosion (incision) and bank erosion.

The presentation will discuss the development and history of Protocol 5 as well as background on the technical methods of the computations.

SPEAKER BIOS: 

Scott Lowe, McCormick Taylor, has over 26 years of experience performing all aspects of environmental design and permitting services, including designing and advertising complex and award-winning compensatory mitigation and TMDL projects for MDOT SHA and other municipalities. He has served as the President of the Maryland Stream Restoration Association and served on the advisory committee for the Chesapeake Bay Trust’s Pooled Monitoring Group; the Chesapeake Bay Program’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) for Legacy Sediments; and the STAC for Sustainable Streams. He is a recognized expert in MS4 and TMDL crediting of stream and outfall restoration crediting and supported the development of The Alternative Headwater and Outfall Channel Crediting Protocol. He has served as project manager and principal designer on several large-scale Mid-Atlantic stream restoration projects, including the SR 220 Stream Mitigation Project, the Northwest Branch of the Anacostia River, the PB-85 Stream Restoration project and the Restoration of Charles Branch at Rosaryville State Park. Scott has a MS in Environmental Engineering from The Johns Hopkins University and a BS in Environmental Science from Virginia Tech.

Mike Miller, McCormick Taylor, has over 19 years of experience working on projects involving stream restoration, wetland mitigation, stream bioassessment, ecology, and watershed management. He is directly involved in collecting fluvial geomorphic data for stream stability assessment and disturbance characterization and prepares stream restoration design plans. Mr. Miller also has experience with detailed sediment transport analyses including sediment transport sampling, transport formula calibration, effective discharge calculation, and capacity-supply assessment to examine sediment transport continuity. His experience with sediment transport modeling includes bed load and suspended load transport. Additional experience includes H&H modeling, water budget modeling for wetland mitigation design, watershed assessment, and benthic macroinvertebrate collection and identification. Mike has a MS in Environmental Science from the University of Idaho and a BS in Environmental Science from Messiah College.

Engineers:

This seminar does qualify for 1.0 Professional Development Hour (PDH). A Certificate of Attendance will be available for AWRA-PMAS members only. The meeting price for non-members who wish to receive a Certificate of Attendance for the PDH is $10.00 ($3.00 for meeting + $7.00 for certificate).  

Please note: Presentation is to be given through Zoom at the link below. PDH's will be issued through PDFs. Please allow extra time to register through Zoom and get software set up. Presentation will start at noon. Early participants will be in a Waiting Room until noon. Participants must email AWRA.PMAS@gmail.com to request PDH Certificate after the event.

Presentation at:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87048661339?pwd=NnRDZVhHYnF2MHRXZEtOMnFKVm9jdz09

ALSO look out for an invitation for our Social Event, later on Wednesday, Nov 10th at 6pm! 

Thank you!