The Hyporheic Handbook A handbook on the groundwater–surface water interface and hyporheic zone for environment managers Integrated catchment science programme Science report: SC050070 The Environment Agency is the leading public body protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales. It’s our job to make sure that air, land and water are looked after by everyone in today’s society, so that tomorrow’s generations inherit a cleaner, healthier world. Our work includes tackling flooding and pollution incidents, reducing industry’s impacts on the environment, cleaning up rivers, coastal waters and contaminated land, and improving wildlife habitats. This report is the result of research funded by NERC and supported by the Environment Agency’s Science Programme. Published by: Dissemination Status: Environment Agency, Rio House, Waterside Drive, Released to all regions Aztec West, Almondsbury, Bristol, BS32 4UD Publicly available Tel: 01454 624400 Fax: 01454 624409 www.environment-agency.gov.uk Keywords: hyporheic zone, groundwater-surface water ISBN: 978-1-84911-131-7 interactions © Environment Agency – October, 2009 Environment Agency’s Project Manager: Joanne Briddock, Yorkshire and North East Region All rights reserved. This document may be reproduced with prior permission of the Environment Agency. Science Project Number: SC050070 The views and statements expressed in this report are those of the author alone. The views or statements Product Code: expressed in this publication do not necessarily SCHO1009BRDX-E-P represent the views of the Environment Agency and the Environment Agency cannot accept any responsibility for such views or statements. This report is printed on Cyclus Print, a 100% recycled stock, which is 100% post consumer waste and is totally chlorine free. Water used is treated and in most cases returned to source in better condition than removed. Further copies of this summary are available from our publications catalogue: http://publications.environment- agency.gov.uk or our National Customer Contact Centre: T: 08708 506506 E: [email protected]. Science Report – The Hyporheic Handbook ii Science at the Environment Agency Science underpins the work of the Environment Agency. It provides an up-to-date understanding of the world about us and helps us to develop monitoring tools and techniques to manage our environment as efficiently and effectively as possible. The work of the Environment Agency’s Science Department is a key ingredient in the partnership between research, policy and operations that enables the Environment Agency to protect and restore our environment. The science programme focuses on five main areas of activity: • Setting the agenda, by identifying where strategic science can inform our evidence-based policies, advisory and regulatory roles; • Funding science, by supporting programmes, projects and people in response to long-term strategic needs, medium-term policy priorities and shorter-term operational requirements; • Managing science, by ensuring that our programmes and projects are fit for purpose and executed according to international scientific standards; • Carrying out science, by undertaking research – either by contracting it out to research organisations and consultancies or by doing it ourselves; • Delivering information, advice, tools and techniques, by making appropriate products available to our policy and operations staff. Steve Killeen Head of Science iii Science Report – The Hyporheic Handbook Authors Steve Buss ESI Ltd, New Zealand House, 160-162 Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY2 6FD, UK. Zuansi Cai Groundwater Protection and Restoration Group, University of Sheffield, Broad Lane, Sheffield S3 7 HQ, UK. Bayarni Cardenas Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin, USA. Jan Fleckenstein Department of Hydrology, University of Bayreuth, Universitätstrasse 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany. David Hannah School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK. Kate Heppell Department of Geography, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 4NS, UK. Paul Hulme Environment Agency, Olton Court, 10 Warwick Road, Solihull B92 7HX, UK. Tristan Ibrahim Catchment Science Centre, Kroto Research Institute, University of Sheffield, Broad Lane, Sheffield S3 7HQ, UK. Daniel Kaeser Centre for Sustainable Water Management, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster LA1 4AP, UK. Stefan Krause School of Physical and Geographical Sciences, Earth Sciences and Geography Department. Keele University, Keele, ST5 5BG,UK. Damian Lawler School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK. David Lerner Catchment Science Centre, Kroto Research Institute, University of Sheffield, Broad Lane, Sheffield S3 7HQ, UK. Jenny Mant River Restoration Centre, Cranfield University, Building 53, Cranfield, Bedfordshire MK43 OAL, UK. Iain Malcolm Marine Scotland, Freshwater Laboratory, Faskally, Pitlochry, Perthshire PH16 5LB, UK. Science Report – The Hyporheic Handbook iv Gareth Old Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, Oxford, OX10 8BB, UK. Geoff Parkin School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, NE1 7RU. Roger Pickup Biomedical and Life Sciences Division, School of Health and Medicine, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, UK. Gilles Pinay School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK. Jonathan Porter Environment Agency, Starcross Laboratory, Staplake Mount, Starcross, Exeter Devon EX6 8PE, UK. Glenn Rhodes Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre, Library Avenue, Bailrigg, Lancaster, LA1 4AD, UK. Anna Richie Catchment Science Centre, Kroto Research Institute, University of Sheffield, Broad Lane, Sheffield S3 7HQ, UK. Janet Riley ESI Ltd, New Zealand House, 160-162 Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY2 6FD, UK. Anne Robertson School of Human and Life Sciences, Roehampton University, London, SW15 4JD, UK. David Sear School of Geopgraphy, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK. Brian Shields Environment Agency, Richard Fairclough House, Knutsford Road, Warrington, Cheshire WAA 1HT, UK. Jonathan Smith Catchment Science Centre, Kroto Research Institute, University of Sheffield, Broad Lane, Sheffield S3 7HQ, UK. John Tellam School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK. Paul Wood Department of Geography, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK. v Science Report – The Hyporheic Handbook Acknowledgements The Hyporheic Handbook is a product of the Hyporheic Network. The Hyporheic Network is a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) funded Knowledge Transfer Network on groundwater – surface water interactions and hyporheic zone processes. The authors wish to acknowledge the support and assistance of many colleagues who have contributed to the review, production and publishing of the Handbook: Joanne Briddock, Mark Cuthbert, Thibault Datry, John Davis, Rolf Farrell, Richard Greswell, Jan Hookey, Tim Johns, Dave Johnson, Arifur Rahman. We are also very grateful for the support and efforts of the Environment Agency Science Communication department, in particular, Stuart Turner and our editor Hazel Phillips. Science Report – The Hyporheic Handbook vi Contents 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Background and objectives of the handbook 1 1.2 Why is the groundwater–surface water interface important? 2 1.3 How can the hyporheic zone be damaged? 3 1.4 Conceptual models 4 2 Environmental management context 6 2.1 Legislative drivers 6 2.2 Legislative and management context 6 2.3 Environmental management questions 10 3 Geomorphology and Sediments of the Hyporheic Zone 16 3.1 Summary of key messages 16 3.2 Introduction 18 3.3 Long timescale impacts: valley materials and geomorphology materials 20 3.4 Basin scale geomorphological contexts 22 3.5 Reach scales 30 3.6 Site and bedform scales 31 3.7 The role of fine sediment 32 3.8 Conclusions 43 4 Water and unreacting solute flow and exchange 48 4.1 Summary of key messages 48 4.2 Introduction 48 4.3 Catchment Scale Flow 49 4.4 Reach Scale Flow 54 4.5 Sub-Reach Scale Flow 67 4.6 Other Factors 75 4.7 River Bed Sediment Permeability 76 4.8 An Overview of the Flow System in the River/Aquifer Interface Zone 78 4.9 Solute Transport 83 4.10 Towards Prediction 91 5 Biogeochemistry and hydroecology of the hyporheic zone 92 5.1 Summary of key messages 92 5.2 Chapter Scope 93 5.3 Perspectives on the hyporheic zone (HZ) 93 5.4 Processes, functions and scaling 94 6 Microbial and invertebrate ecology 108 6.1 Introduction 108 6.2 Microbial ecology of protozoa, fungi and bacteria: global scale 108 6.3 Global scale biogeochemical processes and cycles 108 6.4 Hyporheic zone as a biological entity 109 6.5 Microbial ecology in the hyporheic zone 110 6.6 Physical location of microbes 110 6.7 Biofilms 111 6.8 Microbial diversity (functional groups) 111 6.9 Decomposition under anaerobic conditions 113 6.10 Chemolithotrophy: energy via inorganic compounds 113 6.11 Bacterial Community identity 114 6.12 Fungi 115 6.13 Protozoa 115 6.14 Microbial pathogens in HZ 117 6.15 HZ is a biological entity 117 6.16 Investigating microbial ecology of HZ 118 vii Science Report – The Hyporheic Handbook 7 Fish ecology and the hyporheic zone 123 7.1 Summary of key messages 123 7.2 Introduction 123 7.3 Salmonid spawning behaviour/process 124 7.4 Timing