Stream Bank Restoration

 
Climate change is here, no more thinking it is something our grandchildren will see, we see it now. In North Carolina we are still averaging about the same amount of rainfall per year but shorter duration events with heavier rain amounts cause flash flooding in our streams and rivers. These rain events along with heavy development and massive amounts of impervious surfaces cause streams to become more incised, they dig their way deeper and deeper and loose their ability to use the area around them as flood plain. Stream bank restoration re-slopes the banks, stabilizes them with vegetation, (all native) and lowers the pressure on the bottom of the stream . Look over the following pictures of banks I have repaired. Just cutting back one side will help reduce erosion on the opposite bank.

Below are a few pictures of recent restorations.    Sometimes I get to a site and can't even see the stream like the pic below and to the left so after a few days of excavation I get to the pic further down.   Often difficult to bid a job without really seeing what is there,  a big gamble.   Many of my jobs are funded by 319 grants from EPA and are given to the CCAP program in the state.    A bid done in December may not be completed until the following September.   By far the worst part of my job is guessing what actual costs will be at the time of construction.

The rip rap on the bank was put there by the city of Durham

15 Sept. 2015



                        23 Sept 2015



24 April 2017

25 Jan 2015

27 April 2017

7 June 2017

20 June 2017

Sometimes it is difficult to bid a job because there is no easy stream access.  The job below is one,   it was not possible to see what the bank looked like until the day I cut off the vegetation.

Stream behind fence

April to finish in May