Land Management

Little Beaver Creek Restoration Project Underway

Written by: Mark Martel & Jeff Kavanaugh

Beavercreek residents and bike path users have surely noticed major earth-moving work along a stretch of the Little Beaver Creek between North Fairfield and Factory Roads. The Greene County Park District with assistance from many local groups recently secured a federal grant to improve the stream. Work there will reroute and repair parts of the stream for erosion and flood control, water quality, wildlife conservation and scenic beauty.

Over the decades, highway construction and utility access have greatly modified the natural channel of the Little Beaver Creek. During that time urban expansion decreased green space while storm water runoff increased from the now impermeable roads, homes and businesses. Together these forces have led to severe bank erosion and the creek bottom has become more deeply entrenched in its floodplain.

Straightening and deepening of the waterway has diminished the stream’s capacity to absorb the storm water into the flood plain, and much of the low quality water moves quickly to the Little Miami River where it does more harm. There have been other unwelcome changes to the original natural stream such as tainted runoff that recently killed fish in a small tributary.

This coordinated effort by Greene County Sanitary Engineering, Ohio EPA, Greene County Park District, Greene County Soil and Water Conservation District, MEEC and BCWA will oversee in-stream habitat restoration and stream bank stabilization along 2,100 feet of the Little Beaver Creek.

Many individuals and organizations made this project possible, including Don Leeds, Grant Administrator, Greene County Soil & Water Conservation District; Jim Schneider, Project Manager, Greene County Park District; Jeffrey Hissong, Director, Greene County Sanitary Engineering; Kristen Risch, QA Manager, Malcolm Pirnie, Inc.; and Don Geiger Of UD, with the help of volunteers largely from the Beaver Creek Wetland Association.

Over the past year or so volunteers have been working in the surrounding areas to improve habitat there so that when the stream restoration is finished the entire Creekside Reserve will be a far better and biologically complete habitat. Faculty and students from the University of Dayton have also been doing biological survey work in the creek so that the ecosystem, before and after restoration, can be compared.

Restoration includes a complex series of steps designed to remove the problems and reconstruct a stream system that closely approximates the former natural state of the stream.

In mid-November, contractors began the heavy earth-moving work to resculpt parts of the streambed and banks. Their work plan includes moving the stream to halt dangerous erosion under a steep cliff, removing old railroad trestles and putting curve back in the stream in just the right places. Restoration will stabilize the stream banks and improve aquatic habitat, through the installation of J-hook weirs and cross vanes, structures made of stone and enormous boulders that deflect the moving water to slow the erosion and direct the stream in more natural ways. As part of the project 300 feet of stream channel will be relocated.

Many of these improvements will help preserve stream bank structure, provide habitat for fish and other aquatic animals and supply food for aquatic insects. They also improve in-stream habitat by creating pools for cover
and riffles that provide oxygen. Improvements to the floodplain may bring opportunities for greater diversity of wildlife. A new walking path is also being installed along some stretches.

Lead contractor on this project is Malcolm Pirnie of Columbus Ohio. Their environmental engineers are specialized in stream restoration.

A large amount of work lies ahead, principally in helping to restore plant and animal life in the areas disrupted by construction. A major aspect of the project is the emphasis on continued monitoring and adaptive management to bring back natural habitat. Adaptive management means that unanticipated conditions that may require different approaches will be integrated into the project until the restoration is stable and performing in a more or less natural way. This long-term management is very often overlooked and omitted from restoration projects of this type.

Work began as the leaves came down, and the work site quickly began to look pretty raw. But that will only be for a short time, for nature abhors a vacuum. Once spring arrives we hope to see the beginnings of a healthier, more robust stream that’s better able to cope with storm runoff, and strike a better balance between people and nature. Long-time visitors to other wetlands locations can attest to the remarkable recuperative powers of nature when we are wise enough to work in concert with it.
—Mark Martel & Jeff Kavanaugh

Creekside Reserve Photos

Erosion which severly undercut a hillside is being halted by moving the stream many yards to the north. Photo by Jim Amon

300 feet of the creek has been moved. The undercut hillside at right is the back of the wetland created in 2002 by the Route 35 & North Fairfield interchange construction. Photo by Jim Amon

Cross vanes built of heavy stones help redirect stream flow to reduce erosion. Photo by Kate Hagenbuch

New pathways promise all-weather access for hikers. Photo by Jim Amon