Brookside Channel and Floodplain Improvements

The Brookside rehabilitation project resulted in numerous improvements to urban stream corridor function. Alleviating chronic flooding problems in the immediate neighborhood by improving flood storage was accomplished by excavating more than 70,000 m³ from the floodplain. Oversteepened channel banks were regraded to lower angles and were lined with biodegradable geotextiles to provide temporary erosion protection until groundcover re-establishment. Bank slope regrading was adjusted to preserve as many existing lower bankside trees as possible. Eroding channel bends were either eliminated by flood storage excavation or were stabilized with biotechnical revetments which simultaneously provide aquatic habitat benefits.