River inspection: field survey guide

Abstract

River studies generally begin with field inspection visits in order to collect information. Nevertheless, these visits often need to be repeated because there is not enough data, its quality is poor, the right tools are not available to properly collect them or some data are omitted for lack of clarity about what is needed. In practice, an increase in the number of visits is not desirable. It increases costs and external factors also exist that make additional visits impossible (for example, access has been changed or the conditions to be analyzed no longer exist). This paper proposes a methodological field survey guide to study rivers and hydraulics
in such a way that ensures gathering the greatest amount and the best quality information as possible in one visit. An example of the application of the implementation of the guide is shown in a 10 km section of the Hondo River, located on the outskirts of the city of Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico. The guide itself does not provide classifications or evaluations of the channel, but rather the elements needed to achieve these objectives. This guide is considered useful for engineers, technicians and river specialists wishing to undertake field studies, or for agencies such as Conagua, the CFE, state and federal governments, as well as universities and institutes involved in the maintenance, conservation, evaluation and management of rivers.