' O'
Mis
PRO"5*-
NONPOINT SOURCE SUCCESS STORY
Stream Daylighting Restores Atlanta's Candler Park Brook
Waterbody Improved ln the 1950s'Candler Park Brookwas piped int0 undereround
culverts and confined in a surface concrete channel. Decades
later, the concrete channel was deteriorating and the biological health of the stream was very poor.
Neighborhood partners and the City of Atlanta used grant funding from the Clean Water Act (CWA)
Section 319(h) Program to remove the underground culverts and surface concrete channel, restore
the stream to its natural channel, plant native vegetation and re-establish a narrow floodplain. The
health of the stream and its ecosystem improved and now supports small fish, wading birds, beavers
and other wildlife.
Problem
Candler Park Brook is a headwaters stream that drains
into Lullwater Creek, Peavine Creek, Peachtree Creek,
the Chattahoochee River, and ultimately into the Gulf
of Mexico. The brook flows through a public park and
golf course in Atlanta (Figure 1).
In the 1950s, Candler Park Brook was contained in
an underground pipe and a surface concrete channel
(Figure 2). After 50 years, the culverts that had housed
the stream were collapsing, leading to sink holes in
the ground surface. The surface concrete channel was
also deteriorating. In addition, the brook was impacted
by illegal dumping; stormwater overflows and urban
runoff. The biological health of the stream was very
poor, supporting only fly larvae and aquatic worms, and
the riparian habitat was virtually nonexistent. Biological
monitoring and assessment of Candler Park Brook
in 1999 indicated impaired biological condition, and
habitat assessments indicated a poor rating. Benthic
macroinvertebrate samples also indicated suboptimai
or poor habitat condition ratings. Project partners
wanted to restore the biologic health of Candler Park
Brook and provide a healthier ecosystem for fish and
other wildlife, as well as the community, to enjoy.
Story Highlights
The need to restore Candler Park Brook was identi-
fied in Watershed Restoration Action Strategy for the
Lullwater Fork. In 2002, a CWA section 319(h) grant
was awarded to remove the culverts and concrete
channel and to daylight the stream. The project
Figure 1. I he restored Candler Park Brook flows through
an Atlanta park.
removed approximately 850 feet of concrete culvert
and daylighted another 1,850 feet of underground
stream. The stream was restored by implementing
a natural channel design approach, and the riparian
buffer was restored with native vegetation, including
black willow live stakes and other woody and herba-
ceous species.
Stormwater pipes were removed at the head of the
watershed, and stormwater was restored to surface
flow, which was directed through 650 linear feet of
bioretention and an open stream channel. Two micro-
pool retention basins and one extended detention
pond were also installed to reduce stormwater runoff
to the stream.

-------
Figure 3. Changes can be seen by comparing the project area in 2002 (left, before
restoration), 2008 (middle, after stream restoration), and 2018 (right, after a beaver
dam impoundment formed in the restored stream channel).
Results
Two rehabilitation goals were set for the project:
improvement in biological health and a return to
naturalized stream flow. Monitoring that was con-
ducted four years after project completion showed
the macroinvertebrate index improved from very poor
to poor condition. A fish survey showed no fish at the
start of the project, but by the fourth year showed
numerous small fish (native mosquito fish were most
numerous).
Daylighting the stream also opened the door for bea-
vers to colonize in the park. First documented in 2009,
this unplanned but ecologically significant outcome
has created an estimated 1.3 acres of wetlands (per
interpretation from 2019 Google Earth maps). Two
beaver dams have created sizable ponds and wetlands,
which offers new habitat for wading birds, ducks, frogs
and other wildlife (Figure 3).
Partners and Funding
Many partners worked together to realize the
Candler Park Brook Stream Restoration Project.
The City of Atlanta and a coalition of community,
environmental and municipal partners participated,
including the Candler Park Neighborhood Organization
(CPNO), the City of Atlanta Department of Parks and
Figure 2. Before the restoration project, Candler Park
Brook emerged from an underground culvert and
flowed through a concrete channel.
Recreation, Park Pride, the Georgia Environmental
Protection Division and several other iocal organiza-
tions (Freedom Park Conservancy Luliwater Fork
improvement Committee, Mary Lin School, Peavine
Watershed Alliance and Paidea School). The project
was funded in 2002 by a CWA section 319(h) grant
for $875,000, with $525,000 from CWA 319(h)
federal funds and $350,000 from the City of Atlanta's
Community Bond money. Dr. Steven Jones designed
and implemented the restoration project.
&
*L PRO^°
2
o
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Water
Washington, DC
EPA 841-F-20-00111
December 2020
For additional information contact:
Dr. Steven Jones
Meanders River Restoration, Inc.
404-245-5497 • sjones@meandersrr.com
Anne Weinberg
Candler Park Conservancy
301-351-9660 • anneweinb@gmail.com

-------