.... Specialising in reducing accelerated erosion

Soil Bioengineering with Live Pole Drain System / Riparian Habitat Restoration

SHEEP CREEK PROJECT

Location: Salmo, British Columbia

Client: Ministry of Transportation and Highways (MOTH)

Objective: To restore stability of the slide site above the road and stream bank below the road, while restoring riparian cover and function in relation to local fish habitat conditions. To stop the annual spring event of flowing mud over Sheep Creek Road and reduce sedimentation of Sheep Creek resulting from both surface and stream erosion at high flow.

Sheep Creek site is located near Salmo, British Columbia. Terra Erosion Control Ltd., in association with Forterra Consultants Ltd., was retained by the Ministry of Transportation and Highways (MOTH) to field review and make recommendations for the stabilization of a debris slide/earth flow at approximately 5.5 km on the Sheep Creek public road.

The debris slide and earth flow at the failure site originally occurred between the fall of 1998 and the spring of 1999. Prescriptive recommendations for biotechnical stabilization treatments were completed based on the field review in October 2000 and April 2001. Terra Erosion Control Ltd. installed stabilizing structures in May of 2001. The project was carried out as a trial for the MOTH. Though it was a challenging site for slope stabilization, the work has to date been successful in significantly reducing slide and earth flow activity on site at a cost substantially less than conventional engineering treatments.

The site was monitored the following spring of 2002 and repair work was carried out on small failures that had occurred. The site was visited again during the summer and fall of 2002 and the summer of 2003, 2004 and 2005. The site showed fully functioning structures, live pole drain systems were working well and there was good overall growth of the establishing vegetation.

 
Sites prior to commencing work, April 2001

 

 

Live pole drain and contour fascines installation

 

Upper site layout

 

Lower site layout

Early growth, June 2001 (all 3 shots)
 

 

 

Site above road, June 2002

 

Site below road, June 2002

 

 
Upper portion of site, black cottonwood
growing into sandy area

 

Site, Summer 2003

 

Lower site, summer 2003

 

Upper site view from above, summer 2003

Upper and lower site - August 2004.

slope stabilization

 
Upper site showing alder seedling growth summer 2005

Upper site showing alder seedling growth summer 2005

 
Lower site showing growth adjacent to creek summer 2005
Lower site showing growth adjacent to creek summer 2005
 
Upper site showing live pole drain system growth summer 2005

Upper site showing live pole drain system growth summer 2005

 

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Soil Bioengineering ~ Riparian Habitat Restoration ~ Live Pole Drains