Little Topashaw Creek - Major Objectives : USDA ARS

Little Topashaw Creek - Major Objectives

This research was based on two major findings of the DEC project.

Gully

Low-cost, environmentally friendly methods to stabilize incised channels are badly needed. DEC systems featured combinations of grade control drop structures, stone channel stabilization structures, drop pipes, small reservoirs (floodwater retarding structures), and land treatment. These methods are effective, but costs for treating an entire watershed range as high as $300 per acre, and costs for channel stabilization are as high as $50 per ft.
Stabilization of incising channels and their stream corridors can have major, positive ecological effects, particularly when stabilization works are designed to address habitat-limiting factors.

Specific objectives included:

Test and demonstrate an approach for channel stabilization that cost less than $25 per ft of bank treated when implemented on a wider scale.
Test and demonstrate a low-cost approach for stabilizing gullies caused by overbank drainage into an incised channel.
Quantify ecological effects of the proposed low-cost measures, which will be selected and designed with full consideration of existing habitat deficiencies.