Project Description
Arey Farm
Ecosystem Services was contracted to establish a nutrient credit offset bank in the Shenandoah/Potomac River watershed. This project is unique in that it was the first bank permitted by the Department of Environmental Quality that used stream restoration as a method for generating nutrient credits. The restored stream is an upper reach of Mossy Creek, located above the large spring in Mount Solon, VA. This reach was heavily degraded due to livestock access and lack of adequate buffers. The restoration approach utilized stable reference conditions, removal of legacy sediment, and the restoration of floodplain wetlands.
Ecosystem Services provided the following services: USACE delineation and confirmation, Bank Hazard Erosion Index (BEHI) assessment, geomorphic assessment and survey, bank pin installation and monitoring, stream restoration design and construction administration.
Construction of this project was completed by River Works in spring 2016. The project was funded by a private landowner, and every effort was made to reduce costs including balancing cut and fill, sourcing materials on site including logs, woods, and salvaged streambed materials, and going above and beyond on construction administration to avoid change orders and time delays. In addition, the project made heavy use of vegetation in place of rock to ensure bank stability.
Goals
- An approved nutrient reduction certificate for land conversion and stream restoration activities
- Improved local water quality from reduction of sediment, nutrients and pathogens reaching waterway
- Improved aquatic and terrestrial habitat
Services: Regulatory, Plan Production and Mapping, Stream and Wetland Design, Nutrient
