ABOUT THE PROJECT
The Reedy Creek Nature Preserve is a great park and an important natural resource for Charlotte. However, Reedy Creek and many other streams in the Preserve are in a degraded condition. The bed and banks of many of the streams are actively eroding. When the stream bed erodes, it makes the stream channels very deep and disturbs the areas where fish and aquatic insects live and eat. Stream bank erosion results in fine sediments like clay in the water, which is bad for water quality. Erosion also exposes tree roots, which causes trees to fall over into the stream.
The streams in the Preserve have been in bad shape for a long time. Fortunately, Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation (MCP&R) and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services (CMSWS) are now teaming up to repair the streams in the Preserve! Funding for the project will initially be paid for with CMSWS storm water fees.
The project goals were to:
- Stabilize eroding stream banks
- Restore the floodplain along the streams to their natural function
- Return the stream path to a more natural pattern
- Improve habitat
- Enhance water quality
- Reduce pollution in Reedy Creek and its tributaries
Wildlands Engineering, Inc. has been hired to work on the Reedy Creek Nature Preserve restoration project. Wildlands specializes in fixing stream bank erosion and improving habitat. Scientists and engineers with Wildlands studied the streams’ shape, flow, and location in the landscape. They looked at the places in the stream and floodplain where insects, fish, frogs, and other animals live. They also looked at the plants along the stream and in low, wet areas called wetlands. They determined what could be done to improve the stream and developed design drawings. Wildlands Realty, LLC was hired to represent CMSWS as easements were acquired on adjacent land to facilitate the project design. After plans were approved, Wildlands Engineering will partnered with North State Environmental, a construction contractor, to build the design.
Click here to download the project’s latest press release »
This stream cam is a part of CMSWS’s Flood Information and Notification System (FINS)
