Benefits of Quarterly and Post-Storm Monitoring to Overall Public Relations and Urban Stream Restoration Project Success
Madison Warfield
Gannett Fleming
Owings Mills, Maryland
Authors: Warfield, Madison, Gewandter, Heather, and Hollida, John
In order for urban stream restorations to demonstrate success over time and satisfy permit requirements, various monitoring and reporting timeframes are established, leaving many project sites with only one monitoring event expected per year. In the industry today, there is a need to provide current and readily available data and analysis regarding the efficacy of these urban stream restoration projects to our clients, officials, and general public. Additional climate-related challenges, including faster-moving and higher-volume stream flows during more frequent storm events will demand further assessment of channel stability and adjustment in the long term.
The Upper Watts Branch Forest Preserve Stream Restoration and Environmental Stabilization project, designed by Hazen and Sawyer for the City of Rockville, Maryland, included over two-thousand linear feet of natural channel stream restoration and the repair of three stormwater outfalls. In 2022, Gannett Fleming completed three years of post-construction monitoring, which included evaluating changes in structural stability, stream buffer conditions, longitudinal profiles, flow regime, stream pattern, cross sections, bed material, soil profile, and vegetation viability. Quarterly inspections after significant storm events, such as hurricanes or nor'easters, included visual evaluations of stream conditions to determine the presence of any excess sedimentation downstream or if there was any necessary maintenance. After storm events, robust vegetation growth was observed to maintain stability throughout the site and the stream restoration was observed to be functioning as intended.
Involvement with diverse stakeholders was key to gain support, and collaboration was vital as the project is located within an active park, forest preserve, and residential neighborhood. An over ten-year process proved to be widely successful through constant community outreach, with local meetings helping to answer questions and address public concerns. Quarterly and post-storm monitoring aided in providing up-to-date photos and observations of the stream and wetland restoration shared with the public using the online City of Rockville ESRI Story Map. An Army Corps of Engineers permit requirement mandated the more frequent quarterly and post-storm monitoring of this urban stream restoration, ultimately showcasing the significance of long-term restoration goals and importance of education-based public relations.
About Madison Warfield
Madison Warfield is an Environmental Scientist with Gannett Fleming in the Owings Mills, Maryland office and is responsible for conducting a wide range of natural resource project tasks. Madison’s responsibilities include preparing permits and reports for projects that affect forests, threatened and endangered species, streams, and wetlands by assessing stream geomorphology and delineating natural resources, including wetlands and waterways within project areas. Other responsibilities include ecosystem restoration assessments and design, alternatives analysis, agency coordination, best management practice design and inspection, and post-construction monitoring. Madison is a Chesapeake Urban Stormwater Professional and a Qualified Forest Professional in Maryland. Madison obtained her Bachelors of Arts degree in Environmental Studies with a focus in Geography and Geosciences at Salisbury University in December of 2017 and has five years of field experience as an Environmental Scientist working in the Mid-Atlantic region.
