High-frequency time series of stage height, stream discharge, and water quality (specific conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH, temperature, turbidity) for Stroubles Creek in Blacksburg, Virginia, USA 2013-2018

A pressure transducer (CS450, Campbell Scientific Inc., Logan, UT,
USA) and a multi-parameter water quality sonde (YSI Series 6:6920 v2,
YSI Inc., Yellow Springs, OH, USA) were deployed by the Virginia Tech
Biological Systems Engineering (BSE) Stream Research, Education, and
Management (StREAM) Lab (vtstreamlab.weebly.com/) from January 2013 to
December 2018 to assess stage and water quality, and calculate
discharge in Stroubles Creek, Blacksburg, VA (4118326.215 N, 549236.02
W). Stroubles Creek is a 19 km tributary of the New River in
Blacksburg, Virginia, USA. Stroubles Creek begins immediately below
the Virginia Tech campus and flows north into the Kanawha River in the
Valley and Ridge physiographic province. Stroubles Creek was a
historic water supply for the town of Blacksburg and remains a highly
visible waterway in the town, as it traverses both the downtown area
and much of the Virginia Tech campus. In 2002, Stroubles Creek was
placed on Virginia’s 303(d) list of impaired water bodies with a
benthic impairment by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
(VADEQ). A total maximum daily load (TMDL) plan was subsequently
developed in 2003 for the stream in collaboration with Virginia Tech’s
BSE department, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and
the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. During
2008-2010, a 2.1 km reach of Stroubles Creek, mostly upstream of the
StREAM Lab, was restored by means of cattle exclusion, natural
revegetation, bank reshaping, and creating an inset floodplain. The
water quality dataset provided here is associated with the upper
Stroubles Creek watershed which drains approximately 14.5 km2.
Currently, data from the StREAM Lab are used by 8-10 faculty and their
graduate students in 7 departments across 5 colleges at Virginia Tech
for research and at least 16 classes for field labs and/or
assignments.