Levels of Service Applied to Urban Streams

Abstract

The idea of levels of service for resource allocation is explored in managing troublesome urban collector streams in Charlotte, N.C. Results suggest that a classification system based on levels of service would be of significant use to public officials in analyzing problems of remediation. Assigning levels of service provides a basis for quantitative communication between laypersons and technical staff. The level‐of‐service concept is adapted from those in use in transportation applications. Five levels of service are suggested to describe the functional quality of urban streams. The proposed level of service measures represent a reasonable approach to assessing the performance quality of an urban stream. A major benefit of using the measures is the opportunity to view the stream system as a whole instead of as a series of citizen complaints. The downstream effects of various alternatives can be more easily assessed when the downstream conditions are already known. The prioritization of projects based on level‐of‐service measures would allow public funds to be spent more equitably.