A Modification of the Habitat Evaluation Procedure for Determining Instream Flow Requirements in Warmwater Streams
- 1 February 1992
- journal article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in North American Journal of Fisheries Management
- Vol. 12 (1) , 47-54
- https://doi.org/10.1577/1548-8675(1992)012<0047:amothe>2.3.co;2
Abstract
The Kansas State Water Plan that was developed in the early 1980s provided means by which standards for minimum desirable streamflow (MDS) could be adopted. To develop and apply an expedient, defendable procedure for recommending MDS values for selected streams in Kansas, we used a modified habitat evaluation procedure (HEP). With this procedure, mean cross-sectional values for stream width, depth, and velocity were related to total fish standing crop. These values were converted to habitat suitability indices (HSI) and multiplied by stream area to estimate fish habitat units (HU) at different discharges. We adopted a standard policy of recommending MDS values that would yield 80% of the average HUs available at median discharge. Final MDS values achieved through negotiations with water management agencies were judged adequate overall. Subsequently, the Kansas legislature adopted this first set of MDS standards for the state.Keywords
This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: