Beaver Run Riparian Restoration
Confidential • Springdale, OH
Solution Overview
Client:
Confidential
Business Challenge:
- Flash flooding and property damage associated with a degraded riparian corridor
Solution:
- Bioengineering design to stabilize and enhance the riparian corridor
Results:
- An enhanced riparian corridor that supports native flora and fauna while enhancing water quality and preventing flooding and erosion
Challenge
A degraded riparian corridor along Beaver Run required stabilization and restoration. Extensive hydromodification had turned Beaver Run, a Mill Creek tributary located at Chamberlain Park in the City of Springdale, Ohio, into a flash flood waterway that was cutting deeper into its streambed, undermining fill materials, eroding streambanks, sending sediments downstream, and collecting discarded items, especially shopping carts. If left unrestored, Beaver Run and its tributary could have ultimately caused costly problems for nearby infrastructure (e.g., I-275) and commercial land uses (e.g., Tri-County Mall). Also at risk were the backyards of several streamside houses.
Solution
Apex Companies team members developed bioengineering design and specifications and conducted construction oversight to stabilize and enhance the degraded riparian corridor along Beaver Run.
Streambanks were stabilized with soil encapsulated lifts, coir logs, coir matting, woody cuttings, prairie plants, upland and mixed-mesophytic forest buffer. A plunge pool was also constructed to reduce water velocity and increase storage.
Results
This project enhanced the riparian corridor by providing food and cover for terrestrial animal species, improved water quality and reduced erosion. Enhancement of the riparian system provided shading to moderate water temperature and discourage eutrophication. The use of natural materials allowed aesthetic bank stabilization to promote the establishment of hard-mast trees and other tree species useful to wildlife.