Stream Restoration and Soil Restoration cont.

Live branch layering and live fascine soil bioengineering treatments installed above rock toe protection on Lakeview project.

A Team Approach

Planning, designing, and constructing stream restoration and soil bioengineering projects requires a multi-disciplined approach. MSD has assembled a team of engineers, hydrologists, fluvial geomorphologists, biologists, vegetation specialists, and landscape architects to support its stream restoration and soil bioengineering efforts.

Construction requires both earthmoving and landscaping skills. In most soil bioengineering installations, earthmoving must be accomplished under adverse conditions such as limited working space, difficult site access, work on steep slopes, and wet working conditions. In many situations, a way to divert stream flow around the work site must be devised. At the same time, the contractor must be skilled in the intricacies of harvesting, handling, and installing live plant material.

Vegetation establishment on the Lakeview project about four months into its first growing season.

Pilot Projects

MSD constructed two soil bioengineering projects between November 1997 and March 1998: the South Fork of Beargrass Creek at Lakeview Condominiums (Lakeview) and the Winding Falls Stream Relocation (Winding Falls) projects. These projects are MSD's most ambitious soil bioengineering projects to date and represent the agency's efforts to make vegetative stream stabilization an everyday practice. Although MSD had successfully constructed soil bioengineering projects, Winding Falls was its first attempt at natural channel design.

Fuller, Mossbarger, Scott and May Engineers, Inc. prepared the project plans and specifications, with Biohabitats, Inc. (Baltimore, Maryland) serving as the stream restoration and soil bioengineering subconsultant. Gresham, Smith and Partners provided erosion and sediment control expertise on both projects.

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