The Riviera Grise drains water from the Cul-de-Sac watershed, Haiti, which covers most of the rural areas along the flood plains and areas that extend into steep hillsides. It also covers urban areas of Port-Au-Prince, the capital city of Haiti. The river drains approximately 290 km2 of watershed area.

The hillsides were once covered with vegetation and perennial crops such as coffee. Subsistence farming was practiced on the plains to grow crops such as sugar cane, banana, and mangoes. Deforestation in the hills over a period of time between 2000 and 2010, along with intensive agriculture, causes extreme erosion during heavy rainfall. Sediments resulting from erosion are carried across plains and discharged into the river. This has led to severe stream bank erosion and sedimentation of the river (Hylkema, 2011). The entire Port-Au-Prince area was catastrophically affected by a huge earthquake January 12, 2010 resulting in estimated deaths of more than 230,000 in the capital city. This study evaluated subsequent deterioration of the river after the earthquake and potential impacts on stream quality.

The remainder of the study can be read in the application note Preliminary Assessment of Water Quality in Riviera Grise near Port-Au-Prince, Haiti

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