[Tagging] Marking waterway=brook as deprecated and problematic (Clifford Snow)

[Michael Patrick]

>
> I'd like to make the argument that defining streams, whether they are
> called rivers, streams, creeks, brooks or any other such term just creates
> unnecessary conflicts.
>

I would agree, if one doesn't use a robust classification system.
A simple one I use for continental US:stream sizes (
https://www.nature.com/articles/sdata201917/figures/3 ) uses hard edge
attributes of flow range (m3s−1), the Gradient, the Range (Rise/Run), the
average Summer Temperature, and the yearly temperature Range. These
attributes end up being the primary differentiation of all streams in the
United States, based on a large field of other measurable values ( like
'leaping distance' :-). From
https://www.nature.com/articles/sdata201917/tables/5

Headwater (HW)
Small Creek (SC)
Large Creek (LC)
Small River (SR)
Medium River (MR)
Mainstem (MS)
Large River (LR)
Great River (GR)

Considering the wide variety of stream types through estuaries, braids,
desert flash floods, alpine snowmelt, and the Mississippi river, eight
categories is pretty simple. The details are at:McManamay, R. A., &
DeRolph, C. R. (2019). A stream classification system for the conterminous
United States. *Scientific Data*, *6*(1), 190017
https://www.nature.com/articles/sdata201917

The wide variety of terrain and climate found in the US makes it fairly
robust for larger areas, but there are also similar global classifications.

Michael Patrick
Data Ferret
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