Relationship Between Soil Properties and Erosion in a Stream Affected by Urban Runoff

Storm runoff and parking lot drainage systems can have a strong erosive effect on the soil when the water is discharged into a small drainage channel. Soil properties may have an effect on storm runoff erosion patterns and could potentially affect stream restoration efforts. This study investigates soil erosion in a channel in a public forest preserve, starting at a culvert that opens from a parking lot drainage system. The results may be of use to the residents of the surrounding community. The volume of drainage, the channel morphology, and soil properties all may play a role in variations in erosional patterns observed along the length of the stream. This hypothesis will be tested by examining samples of stream bank soils relative to the channel morphology. Soil profiles will be examined for soil texture and structure. The deepest erosional scouring occurs where the storm runoff and drainage pour out of a culvert to form the beginning of the channel. Comparing soil properties to cross-sectional profiles from the culvert to the confluence with a much larger river will give a better understanding of how it has been modified by erosion. Further research will incorporate the results of this study with those of a study of streambed sediments and will lead to recommendations for restoring the stream.