ACWQAustin Canopy & Water Quality

Progress Report: Austin Tree-Canopy Resource, Phase II

Spring 2012, Geography 4427, Texas State University

April 2, 2012

Urban Forestry Program and Urban Forestry Board, City of Austin, Texas

Ashley Zavala Project Manager,

GIS Analyst, and &Webmaster

Lowell Hughes GIS Analyst and

Remote Sensing Analyst

Eli PruittGIS Analyst, Editor,

&Webmaster

Team Members

Purpose StatementTo update the City of Austin Urban Forestry Program on the progress of Austin Canopy and Water Quality towards the completion of the Austin Tree-Canopy Resource, Phase II Project.

The City of Austin’s Urban Forestry Program approached ACWQ seeking information about the relationship between tree canopy and the water quality of creeks within the greater Austin area.

Background

The objective of ACWQ is to determine the percentage of tree canopy coverage within the stream reach buffers.

Create a toolTime permitting, clip datasets

Project Description

Initial ResearchTable 1Distribution of tree canopy coverageWe have determined stream flow

directionWe have established a website

template

Work Completed

Data Set Source

Tree Canopy City of Austin (COA)

Watershed City of Austin (COA)

Streams & Creeks City of Austin (COA)

County Lines City of Austin (COA)

City boundary City of Austin (COA)

Digital Elevation Model (DEM) City of Austin (COA)

Water Quality Data City of Austin (COA)

Water Quality Data Sampling Sites City of Austin (COA)

EII REACH Watersheds COA Urban Forestry Program

Soil Type USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services

Habitat (Eco Regions) Texas Parks & Wildlife (TPWD)

Hydrology Texas Parks & Wildlife (TPWD)

Impervious Cover United States Geological Survey (USGS)

National Hydrography Dataset United States Geological Survey (USGS)

Table 1. Data sets and their source

Data Table

Stream Flow Direction Model

Table 2. Stream Flow Direction Model

Buffered Canopy Model

Table 3. Buffered Canopy Model

Figure 1A. Tree Canopy Located in Study Area

Figure 1. Tree Canopy Located within Stream Buffer

Figure 2. City Limits

Figure 3. Tree Canopy Located Within Watershed

Figure 4. Stream Flow Direction

Figure 5. Impervious Cover Within Watershed

Figure 6. Land Cover Within Watershed

Figure 7. Natural Ecological Regions

Figure 8. Soil Type

Figure 9. Vegetative Cover

Locating datasetsDevelop a stream networkOrganizing water quality dataReviewing USGS National Hydrography

DatasetWebsite development

Work in Progress

Locating datasetsStream NetworkStream- unique identifying featureStream Buffer extentHow far upstreamUSGS sampling sites or COA sampling

sites provided

Problems

Locating datasets Develop a stream network Organizing water quality data Reviewing USGS National Hydrography Dataset Complete the website Delineate sub-watersheds Clip all datasets Revisit research-isolate a connection between

tree/tree canopy and water quality Complete all final deliverables

Work To Be Completed

Proposed Timeline

Current Timeline

Overall the progress of the team has slowed as further clarification is needed on several issues. Once feedback is provided, the team is confident that we will be able to move forward and complete the project by the May 4th deadline.

Summary

Questions?