An Assessment of a Small Urban Stream Restoration Project in Northern California

Abstract

Stream restoration projects have become increasingly common, and the need for systematic post-project evaluation, particularly for small-scale projects, is evident. This study describes how a 70-m restored reach of a small urban stream, Baxter Creek (in Poinsett Park, El Cerrito, California), was quickly and inexpensively evaluated using habitat, biological, and resident-attitude assessments. The restoration involved opening a previously culverted channel, planting riparian vegetation, and adding in-stream step-pool sequences and sinuosity. Replicated benthic macroinvertebrate samples from the restored site and an upstream unrestored site were compared using several metrics, including taxa richness and a biotic index. Both biological and habitat quality improved in the restored compared with the unrestored section. However, when compared with a creek restored 12 years before, habitat condition was of lower quality in the recently restored creek. A survey of the neighborhood residents indicated that, overall, they were pleased with the restored creek site. The approach used in this demonstration project may be applicable to other small-scale evaluations of urban stream restorations.

Identifying Watershed, Landscape, and Engineering Design Factors that Influence the Biotic Condition of Restored Streams

“…These results suggest that site selection, including watershed condition, and design procedures and decisions made by the project managers and designers have an influence on the biological outcome of the stream restoration project. Further, this study confirms the influence of watershed condition on macroinvertebrate community metrics that is previously well documented [32,36,54].…”

“…EPT represents taxa from the "pollution sensitive" orders of Ephemeroptera (mayflies), Plecoptera (stoneflies), and Trichoptera (caddisflies). EPT taxa are widely used as indicators of environmental disturbances and urbanization [36] since they show a response to a wide array of pollutants over both long-term and short-term exposures; they are an indicator of flow persistence [37]; and are considered an appropriate richness measure for evaluating stream health [38]. The percent shredders and predators metric was selected as a surrogate for organic retention, which can be limiting in streams following restoration construction that includes extensive earthwork.…”

Can Rapid Assessments Predict the Biotic Condition of Restored Streams?

“…The number of dominant EPT taxa (EPT taxa), which includes taxa from the "pollution sensitive" macroinvertebrate orders of Ephemeroptera (mayflies), Plecoptera (stoneflies) and Trichoptera (caddisflies), was chosen for the prediction analysis. EPT taxa were chosen for this and other select graphical and statistical analyses because they are widely used as indicators of environmental disturbances and urbanization [25], they show a response to a wide array of pollutants over both long-term and short-term exposures, they are an indicator of flow persistence [26], and they are considered an appropriate richness measure for evaluating stream health [10]. A final objective of this study was to provide techniques for improving rapid habitat assessment tools so that they can serve as better indicators of the biological communities that can be expected to colonize restored streams.…”

Colonization and community changes in benthic macroinvertebrates in Cheonggye Stream, a restored downtown stream in Seoul, Korea

“…Five study sites along the restored section of the have been devoted to restoring these degraded streams to conditions closer to their natural state (Malmqvist et al 1991, Quinn et al 1992, Bis et al 2000, Brown 2000, Muotka et al 2002, Purcell et al 2002, Moerke et al 2004, Alexander and Allan 2006, Nakano et al 2008.…”