Friends,
It has been 2 months since I published the last update on the creek restoration project. The good news is that the project has hit some major milestones. In order to keep the update from getting way too long, I have decided to post the February update in multiple posts.
Creek Restoration Design update
The design was provided by our engineer Don Porior. The original design was delivered in December. Since then the design has been in internal review with key stakeholders. Through multiple revisions, the design is as you see it today (see cover photo of this article). The current design is simpler and less expensive to implement that we expected 4 HUGE logs 50ft long and ~50 inches in diameter and a lot of rock.
Here is the Purpose and Scope section of the engineering packet which is well written by Don Porior. This is a great summary of our project.
PURPOSE AND SCOPE
This project is large wood restoration project aimed at enhancing a historically impacted section of Tenmile Creek within the City of Lakeside city limits. This reach begins approximately 1000 feet below the out of Tenmile Creek at South Tenmile Lake, adjacent to the City of Lakeside’s Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) and ODEQ required wastewater irrigation fields. In the early 1970s, for the development of the new WWTP, this creek area was cleared and dug with the spoils placed on the eastern creek bank as a berm to reduce flooding to the new treatment plant. In the early 1980s, the City of Lakeside with the Lakeside Drainage District dug a channel on the west side of the creek directly across from the WWTP in this reach to reduce flooding for the City residents and WWTP.
In the early 2000s, the City” ODEQ WWTP Discharge Permit required the City to stop WWTP discharges into the Creek when the Creek reached elevations of 7’msl or lower. With this requirement, the City dug and placed a wastewater irrigation pipe across this section of creek to irrigate the western pasture with treated wastewater. When Tenmile Creek flows are above 7’msl, the City can discharge treated wastewater in the Creek and the WWTP discharge pipe is located upstream on the eastern streambank within the project area. During the summers of 2015 and 2016, an illegal log salvage operation removed multiple very large logs from this stream reach impacting the stream habitat and causing bank erosion within the proposed project site.
Project Partners propose to enhance Tenmile Creek habitat in the section by mechanically placing 4 large log structures that will restore stream habitat and floodplain connectivity for native aquatic species. Logs that are 50’ in length x 54” wide, will be embedded in both the eastern and western stream banks and anchored with large boulders.
The western bank that is actively eroding, adding sediment into the Creek as well as damaging the City’s important irrigation pasture will be sloped and standard bioengineering techniques and materials will be used to stabilize. The berm on the eastern stream bank will be pulled back to widen the channel to reduce flooding and thin layered spread on the adjacent eastern irritation pasture. The Project site is easily accessed from both sides of Tenmile Creek by road and City irrigation pastures for implementation and project monitoring.
This restoration project will have limited temporary impacts to the channel and in the long term improve in-stream habitat for native aquatic fish species. This project will have no impacts to navigation, safety, and recreation in Tenmile Creek.
Stay tuned for the next update where we talk fundraising and next steps.
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