Velocity of water in a stream

Recently we went on a trip to Turkey Run at the entrance to the Potomac River.

To figure out how much water was flowing at the time through Turkey Run towards the Potomac, we first started with creating a section of the stream bed.

Using two people holding a rope and a measuring tape taught over the stream, and one person measuring the depth at regular intervals, we created this table:

Then we made a chart from those numbers-

Then using something that floats (a stick or piece of paper) we would measure out a distance (maybe 10 meters) and time how long it takes for that object to float that distance.

Multiplying these values (area x time) will get you the velocity.