Measuring the geometry and the flow in river channels is an area of great interest in hydraulic engineering. Data describing these physical parameters has practical value in predicting flood levels and river restoration designs. Traditional survey techniques for mapping river bathymetry and determining flows are time consuming, imprecise and costly. Acoustic Doppler technology has been used for measuring water velocity for the past 25 years. These systems have primarily been utilized to study the currents and wave patterns of oceans and estuaries. Further advancements through the 1990’s have led to acoustic Doppler profiling systems capable of obtaining high-resolution data in rivers and streams. Acoustic Doppler profiler systems are currently available for river and stream surveying, however very little attention has been given to the applications of this technology to shallow rivers and streams. The objectives of this study are to design a system capable of maximizing the utility of acoustic Doppler technology in a low head river system, shakedown and implement this system in field, the assessment of the resulting data and make recommendations for data application (i.e. describe parameters able to be defined by the data), 4) Verify the validity of the data acquired from surveying low head rivers and streams, 5) Summarize the capabilities and limitations of implementing acoustic Doppler technology in low head bodies of water. This study documents the design and implementation of a system intended to streamline data aquisition in low-head rivers and stream.