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Multiple types of data were collected at four sites along West Creek in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Each site had a large piece of anthropogenic debris; water tank, shopping cart, concrete pipe, round metal and concrete base. GPS survey data were collected in spring and fall of 2023 and spring and summer of 2024. Data was also collected on between 10 and 16 0.5msq patches at each site. They were photographed in the fall of 2022, spring and fall of 2023 and spring and summer of 2024. A modified Pebble Counts workflow (Purinton and Bookhagen 2021) was used to create a dataset of b-axis measurements. 

This study was on anthropogenic debris (trash) in urban streams around Cuyahoga County, Ohio and Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Ten stream reaches were visited in North Carolina. Fourteen stream reaches were visited in 2021 and 11 were re-visited in 2024 in Ohio. The data collected were on the physical properties of the trash and their location within the stream. Within each 50 m reach, 4-6 transects were created across the stream channel and every piece of trash within 2 m of the transect was included. Cluster analysis on the variables collected was used to create morphospecies of trash and microhabitats within the stream. Data analysis was done using those clusters and including environmental and land use data from the reaches and surrounding areas. Manuscript in prep (Stumpf et al.) 

To examine relationships between in-stream debris concentrations and different geomorphologic characteristics, catchment characteristics, and catchment and riparian land cover in US urban streams, we collected data on debris (>5 cm), large wood, cross-section and longitudinal profiles, and sediment sizes in 24 stream reaches in two metropolitan areas (Cleveland, Ohio; Charlotte, North Carolina). This dataset supports analyses published in: Farooq, N., Jefferson, A.J., Greising, C., Kearns, K., Muratori, S., Snyder, K. 2025. Prediction of anthropogenic debris and its association with geomorphology in US urban streams. Science of the Total Environment. 975: 179317. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179317 (open access) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969725009532 

Anthropogenic debris in urban streams is a persistent environmental problem, yet previous studies have focused largely on how land use influences debris concentrations, while neglecting the potential role of fluvial geomorphology in mediating storage. To examine relationships between in-stream debris concentrations and different geomorphologic characteristics, catchment characteristics, and catchment and riparian land cover in US urban streams, we collected data on debris (>5 cm), large wood, cross-section and longitudinal profiles, and sediment sizes in 24 stream reaches in two metropolitan areas (Cleveland, Ohio; Charlotte, North Carolina). Debris concentrations ranged from 0.18 to 4.7 pieces/m bankfull width, with an average of 1.55 pieces/m. Plastic comprised 71.8 % of the collected debris, and in two reaches with repeated measurements, debris re-accumulated quickly following removal. In city-specific multiple linear regression models, debris concentrations across stream reaches was explained as well or better by geomorphologic variables than GIS variables, but when data from the two cities were combined, the opposite was true. Cross-section characteristics were among the strongest predictors of debris concentration in both cities. Our analysis suggests that roughness associated with stream banks plays an important role in debris storage, through trapping debris on riparian vegetation and by creating width constrictions that lead to low velocity zones and debris settling on the bed. Future work on interactions between bank and vegetative roughness and anthropogenic debris may reveal generalizable predictors of debris storage in urban streams. 

This dataset contains stream bed material size distributions for 39 stream reaches along 12 streams in and near Cuyahoga County, Ohio. All data were collected using the Wolman pebble count technique (Wolman, 1954), in either transect or zig-zag forms (Bunte and Abt, 2001). Data were collected between 2016 and 2023 over the course of several projects.