Woods Creek Riparian Restoration...2009/06/06 · Woods Creek Riparian Restoration H u r o n i R iv...
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Alliance of downriver watersheds Grow Zone Mini-Grant Project Profile Woods Creek Riparian Restoration H u r o n R i v e r Bl a kely D rai n S t r e a m Bunton Drain H u b b a r d Drai n La k e G ri g g s D r a i n C arr D r a i n Hosmer Drain H u r o n Riv er Hannan Rd Huron River Dr Haggerty Rd Harris Rd Barth Rd Savage Rd Bemis Rd Riggs Rd Pennsylvania Rd Renton Rd Eureka Rd Fret Rd Savage Rd N SUMPTER TWP. PROJECT LOCATION ^ _ HURON TWP. ROMULUS VAN BUREN TWP. L o w e r H u r o n R i ver W at e rs he d C o m b i n e d Do w n riv e r Wat e rsh ed Van Buren Township, Michigan The Huron Clinton Metropolitan Authority (HCMA) converted a former turf grass area to a nave vegetaon area to serve as a ripari- an buffer along the banks of Woods Creek within the Lower Huron Metropark. The HCMA hopes that this new riparian buffer will reduce erosion, provide a deep rooted vegetave filter to remove excess nutrients and pollutants, improve wildlife habitat, and provide an educaonal opportunity for Metropark visitors. The new nave planngs are found along the right bank or south side of Woods Creek, just upstream of the creek’s confluence with the Huron River. This locaon was chosen, in part, because of the findings of the Lower Huron River Watershed Man- agement Plan. In the plan, Woods Creek was expected to witness a significant loss of support for aquat- ic life as a result of predicted urban development and increased imper- viousness in surrounding areas. Why native plant gardens? Native plants have deep, “thirsty” roots that help retain water on your site and filter out the pollutants in runoff. They help stabilize soils and prevent erosion. Native plants are drought tolerant, so you water less. Native plants are disease resistant and rarely require fertilizers, so you save money. Native plants improve soil conditions on their own, so you save time. Reducing water runoff from hard surfaces and yards is key to protect- ing water quality. Water that runs off hard surfaces, lawns and gardens contain pollutants like fertilizers, dirt and debris. When polluted runoff enters storm drains and ditches, it is discharged into the river system unfiltered. About the Grow Zone Mini-Grant The Grow Zone Mini-Grant program was established in 2008 to find host sites within the Downriver area to implement native planting projects. After issuing a call for proposals, the Alliance of Downriver Watersheds selected a total of 10 host sites, which included several schools, parks and municipal properties. What’s a grow zone? A “grow zone” is a native planting area that is implemented to improve water quality and wildlife habitat. Grow zones, which usually replace lawn areas, provide many benefits: • reduce stormwater going to our rivers • increase wildlife habitat • improve water quality, and, • cost less to maintain than traditional lawn areas
Transcript of Woods Creek Riparian Restoration...2009/06/06 · Woods Creek Riparian Restoration H u r o n i R iv...
Alliance of downriver watersheds
Grow ZoneMini-Grant
ProjectProfile
Woods Creek RiparianRestoration
Hur o
n Ri
ver
Blakely Drain
Stream
Bunton Drain
Hubbar d Drain
La keGriggs D
rain C arr D rain
Hosmer Drain
Huron River
Hannan Rd
Huro
n Rive
r Dr
Hagg
erty
Rd
Harris Rd
Barth Rd
Savage Rd
Bemis Rd
Riggs Rd
Pennsylvania Rd
Rent
on R
d
Eureka Rd
Fret Rd
Savage Rd
N
SUMPTERTWP.
PROJECTLOCATION
_̂
HURONTWP.
ROMULUS
VAN BURENTWP.
L owe r Hur on R
i ver Watershed
Combined Do w nriver Wat ershed
Van Buren Township, Michigan
The Huron Clinton Metropolitan Authority (HCMA) converted a former turf grass area to a native vegetation area to serve as a ripari-an buffer along the banks of Woods Creek within the Lower Huron Metropark. The HCMA hopes that this new riparian buffer will reduce erosion, provide a deep rooted vegetative filter to remove excess nutrients and pollutants, improve wildlife habitat, and provide an educational opportunity for Metropark visitors.
The new native plantings are found along the right bank or south side of Woods Creek, just upstream of the creek’s confluence with the Huron River. This location was chosen, in part, because of the findings of the Lower Huron River Watershed Man-agement Plan. In the plan, Woods Creek was expected to witness a significant loss of support for aquat-ic life as a result of predicted urban development and increased imper-viousness in surrounding areas.
Why native plant gardens?Native plants have deep, “thirsty” roots that help retain water on your site and filter out the pollutants in runoff. They help stabilize soils and prevent erosion. Native plants are drought tolerant, so you water less. Native plants are disease resistant and rarely require fertilizers, so you save money. Native plants improve soil conditions on their own, so you save time.
Reducing water runoff from hard surfaces and yards is key to protect-ing water quality. Water that runs off hard surfaces, lawns and gardens contain pollutants like fertilizers, dirt and debris. When polluted runoff enters storm drains and ditches, it is discharged into the river system unfiltered.
About the Grow Zone Mini-GrantThe Grow Zone Mini-Grant program was established in 2008 to find host sites within the Downriver area to implement native planting projects. After issuing a call for proposals, the Alliance of Downriver Watersheds selected a total of 10 host sites, which included several schools, parks and municipal properties.
What’s a grow zone?A “grow zone” is a native planting area that is implemented to improve water quality and wildlife habitat. Grow zones, which usually replace lawn areas, provide many benefits:• reduce stormwater going to our
rivers• increase wildlife habitat• improve water quality, and,• cost less to maintain than
traditional lawn areas
Project at a Glance
LocationWoods CreekLower Huron Metropark17845 Savage RoadVan Buren Township, MI
ApplicantHuron Clinton Metropolitan Authority
Partners• Woods Creek Friends• Van Buren Township• Wayne County
Award Amount$3,578
Funding SourceClean Michigan InitiativeNonpoint Source Program
Planting DateJune 6, 2009
Planting Size9000 square feet
Estimated Increase inRainwater Infiltration303 percent
Estimated MaintenanceSavings$963 per year
A suite of plant plugs and seeds consistent with a riparian floodplain environment were selected for the project. With assistance from its project partners, which included the Woods Creek Friends (WCF), Van Buren Township, and Wayne County, the HCMA recruited various volun-teers to engage in a planting and seeding event (June 2009).
Since planting, the approximately 9000 square foot native planting area has already been shown to achieve a 303 percent improvement in rainwater infiltration in com-parison to the previous turf grass. Further monitoring activities will be performed by WCF in order to gauge the impacts of the project.
Over the course of the next several years, the Alliance of Downriver Watersheds (ADW) will engage in the monitoring of each grow zone site (10 were completed in 2009) and is committed to implementing addi-tional green infrastructure projects to realize regional water quality and habitat diversity improvements.
BEFORE
PLANTING DAY - JUNE 2009
AFTER
About the Alliance of Downriver WatershedsThe Alliance of Downriver Watersheds (ADW) is a governing body in southeast Michigan established to carry out stormwater policy and management across the Ecorse Creek, Combined Downriver and Lower Huron River watersheds. The members of the ADW include the Wayne County Airport Authority, Woodhaven-Brown-stown School District and 24 units of govern-ment in the Downriver Area.
www.allianceofdownriverwatersheds.com
This Nonpoint Source Pollution Control project has been funded, in part, by the Clean Michigan Initiative Nonpoint Source Program to Wayne County for the Grow Zones Across the ADW proj-ect. The contents of this document do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute en-dorsement or recommendation for use.
