Section 319
NONPOINT SOORCE PROGRAM SUCCESS STORY
Restoring Stream and Creating Wetlands Improves Aquatic Habitat
\A/3t6rbodV ImDrOVGd ^e Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
--> i'" ^ -. (DNREC) completed a 5,000-foot stream restoration project in the fall of
2005 along Pike Creek. In honor of an adjacent landowner's overwhelming support of the effort, the restoration
activity is referred to as the Three Little Bakers stream restoration project. The DNREC restored the stream chan-
nel and adjacent banks using a host of restoration techniques, planted approximately 5 acres of vegetation within
the riparian zone, and created 3 acres of wetlands. Preliminary results indicate that habitat has improved and
populations of macroinvertebrates and fish have increased significantly. DNREC anticipates that the state will
remove the restored section of Pike Creek from its 303(d) list of impaired waters after a few years of monitoring.
Problem
Pike Creek is in northern New Castle County,
Delaware. It is a tributary of White Clay Creek, which
is part of the National Wild and Scenic River system.
White Clay Creek is a subbasin of the Christina River
Basin and is part of the Piedmont ecoregion. The
4.7-mile segment of Pike Creek that includes the Three
Little Bakers restoration project is listed on the 303(d)
list of impaired waters as having an unknown pollutant
or stressor affecting both habitat and biology.
A Riparian Corridor Stream Inventory Study con-
ducted by the DNREC's Whole Basin Piedmont
Team in 1998-1999, and a Christina River Watershed
Restoration Study conducted in 1999 identified the
upper Pike Creek as a segment in need of restoration.
The studies showed that the stream had significant
bank erosion, which contributed to heavy sediment
loads and degraded aquatic habitat. Deep entrench-
ment with nearly vertical eroding banks was evident
in several segments, and numerous mid-channel bars
had formed from the heavy sedimentation (Figure 1).
Project Highlights
Construction at the Three Little Bakers site began in
early March 2005 and was completed in mid-October
2006. The restoration project implemented many best
management practices (BMPs), including stabilizing
stream banks to reduce erosion, creating in-stream
habitat by building sequences of riffles and pools in
the stream channel, creating 3 acres of forested wet-
lands in thefloodplain area, and planting approximately
5 acres of riparian area with 3,500 native trees and
shrubs (Figures 2, 3 and 4). Once implemented, these
practices reduced the number of out-of-bank flooding
events and maintained the natural look of the stream.
Figure 1. Pre-restoration: Severe bank erosion along
the Pike Creek mainstem at the Three Little Bakers
Golf Course. (Source: DNREC 2002)
Figure 2. Post-restoration: Rock toe and vane, cross
vane, and rootwad installed for bank stabilization,
hydrologic direction, and grade control.
(Source: DNREC 2005)
Word of the project's success has spread. The site
serves as an excellent outdoor classroom—students,
garden clubs, members of the general public, and a
wide array of environmental professionals from the
tri-state region have explored it. The project was
highlighted during the Red Clay Valley Association's
2006 annual meeting and was featured in a series of
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Figure 3. Post-restoration: Live riparian willow sprigs
(Sa/ixsp.) and coir matting installed for bank stabili-
zation and to establish a riparian buffer.
(Source: DNREC 2005)
Figure 4. Post-restoration: Willow plantings one year
after restoration (same area pictured in Fig. 3).
(Source: J. Meyer 2006)
environmental short-courses offered by the Delaware
Nature Society.
In October 2006, 4-H leader John VanStan and his 4-H
group adopted the created wetland site at Three Little
Bakers. Sponsored by the University of Delaware's
Cooperative Extension, the group will monitor the
stream through the Stream Watch Program overseen
by the Delaware Nature Society.
Results
DNREC collected benthic macroinvertebrate samples
in 2006 using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's
(EPA's) Rapid Bioassessment Protocols along the
5,000-linear-foot restored reach at the Three Little
Bakers. Scientists from the DNREC, Division of
Water Resources, Environmental Laboratory Section
compared the 2006 data to baseline data collected
from the same reach before the restoration in 2002.
The scientists also collected samples from a regional
reference stream (Middle Run) in the same watershed.
Results from field data indicate that overall habitat
quality in the restored reach has improved. In fact,
the habitat quality improved from pre-restora-
tion, low-habitat conditions with only 70 percent
resembling conditions comparable to a reference
stream, to moderately degraded conditions with
habitat conditions as high as 99 percent comparable
to the reference stream, ranging from moderately
degraded to good conditions. In conjunction with
reestablishing more natural hydrology and morphol-
ogy, the ecological functions provided by a mature
riparian zone will further contribute to the success of
the restoration and increase potential for colonization
by a more diverse assemblage of benthic organisms.
As these habitat quality improvements continue,
DNREC anticipates that this stream segment will war-
rant removal from Delaware's 303(d) list of impaired
waterbodies.
Partners and Funding
Several state and federal agencies contributed fund-
ing to this project. DNREC administered $368,230 of
section 319 funding for implementing the BMPs listed
above. The Delaware Department of Transportation
contributed $50,000. The New Castle Conservation
District provided $10,000. EPA's Christiania Basin
Watershed Initiative Grant and the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service
contributed $55,700 and $100,000, respectively. The
private landowner—Three Little Bakers Golf Course—
donated $50,000 for the restoration of Pike Creek.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
£ Washington, DC
UJ
o
EPA841-F-07-001S
November 2007
For additional information contact:
Steve Williams, Delaware DNREC
Ecological Restoration Program
302-739-9921 • steve.williams@state.de.us
Bob Palmer, Delaware DNREC, NPS Program
302-739-9922 • robert.palmer@state.de.us
Fred Suffian, EPA Region 3, NPS Program
215-814-5753 • suffian.fred@epa.gov
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