Land Use and Stream Health

Stream health is closely related to land use. Rural landscapes with lots of forest have healthy streams. Urban areas have unhealthy streams. In between, health declines predictably as land use intensifies.

We use the term land use to refer to landscape features such as forest, open land, and developed areas. Click here for more information and a list of land use classifications.

We use the term stream health to refer to the variety and balance of organisms living in the stream. To see how stream communities decline with increasing land use, see Losing Life. Click here for more information about stream health.

The maps below show how stream health declines as land use intensity increases.


Stream health and land use in the Rivanna Watershed

Dot colors indicate stream health, with green being best and black being worst. The red areas on the landscape indicate development (more specifically, impervious cover). Notice that the healthiest streams are situated in areas of lighter development. Click map for an interactive version.


Case Studies

The three watersheds outlined below have very different land use, and very different stream health. To the west is a fully forested watershed with no houses or paved roads, and with excellent stream health. To the east are two watersheds close to town, with poorer health. Scroll down for close-ups of the three basins.


This pristine watershed in western Albemarle has no land disturbance other than a small gravel road. Landscapes such as these are rare, as are the exceptionally healthy streams they harbor. Click map for an interactive version.

The watershed west of the airport is classified as exurban. It is about 50% forested, and has about 3% impervious cover. Stream health is fair. The watershed straddling Route 29 is classified as urban. Like its neighbor, it is about 50% forested. However, it has a lot more impervious cover (17%). Stream health is poor. Click map for an interactive version.

We found that rural and exurban streams are especially sensitive to land use change. Click here to learn more about to Exurban Areas