WARSSS a watershed assessment for river stability and sediment supply: an overview

WARSSS integrates the disciplines of hydrology, geomorphology, geology, engineering, soil and plant science into a watershed assessment methodology. WARSSS is a three-phase methodology that: Identifies specific locations and processes adversely affected by various land uses Provides a consistent, quantitative analysis of sediment supply and channel stability Predicts hillslope, hydrologic and channel processes contributing to sediment yield and river impairment Establishes a basis for site- and process-specific mitigation Documents a better understanding of the cumulative effects of various land uses on the water resources The EPA has supported and peer reviewed WARSSS as an alternative to numeric standards for “clean sediment TMDLs.” WARSSS is also used in river restoration by documenting the cause and consequence of impairment and establishing criteria for natural channel design.