Natural Stream Channel Design

Over time, natural rivers attain a stable form within the constraints of the surrounding land topography and geology, the water flow volume, and the substrate or sediment within their banks. Applying this concept to stream restoration, natural channel design methodologies attempt to mimic natural conditions to create or restore stable stream channels. Unlike streambank stabilization and in-stream habitat enhancement projects, natural channel designs often result in a significant change in the size, pattern, shape, or profile of a stream channel.

Natural channel design methods are applicable to a wide range of stream restoration-related applications, including: 

• Dechannelization: Natural channel design methods can be used to restore natural stream form and function to stream channels that have been artificially straightened, ditched, or paved. 

• Daylighting: Natural channel design can be applied to restoring stable channel form to streams that have been piped and buried. 

• Stream Relocation: Natural channel design is increasingly being used to design stream channels when public works projects (e.g., road building, bridge construction) require the relocation of a portion of stream channel. 

• Destabilized Stream Restoration: Natural channel design can be used to enhance the ecological functions and values of streams that have become unstable due to changes in sediment loading and hydrology as a result of large-scale land use changes. 

• Flood control projects: Natural channel design can be used as an environmentally-friendly alternative to conventional flood control channels and levee projects. 

• Dam removal: Dam removal projects often produce stream instability, which can be mitigated through the use of natural channel design techniques.

For more information on natural channel design, see the Streambank Stabilization chapter written by F. X. Browne, Inc. in the Pennsylvania Lake Managment Handbook (5.02 MB file) or contact info@fxbrowne.com. 

Recent Projects

A natural channel design project was just completed at Nine Mile Run in Pittsburgh, PA. The $7.7 million project restored 2.2 miles of the stream and parts of two tributaries -- Fern Hollow Creek and Falls Ravine Creek, which was daylighted. Under the direction of the Corps of Engineers, the project is the largest urban stream restoration project in the nation and one of the first to utilize new restoration ecology techniques that mimic natural ecosystems. 

Another new natural channel design project is part of the preservation of a 630-acre farm in Hinesburg, VT, located in the Platte River headwaters. It is the first project funded by Vermont’s new Clean and Clear program.  Plans for the property include restoration of wetlands and repair of dredged channels. The remaining land will be used for working agriculture, limited development, passive recreation, and wildlife habitat. To view a video news story about the project, visit http://www.wptz.com/video/9571236/index.html