Boulder County, Colo. - Boulder County, in partnership with the City
of Longmont, has completed restoration of a 1,960 foot segment of North St.
Vrain Creek that was scoured and degraded by the 2013 Flood. Funding for the
project was provided by Boulder County, the City of Longmont, and the
Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) with Community Development Block Grant- Disaster
Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds. The
North St. Vrain Creek Collaborative
Restoration Project is the
first stream restoration project implemented under the Watershed Resilience
Pilot Program.

“The
N. St. Vrain Creek project is a successful example of the goals we are trying
to achieve with the Watershed Resilience Pilot Program,” said KC McFerson, CDBG-DR
Watershed Program Manager at DOLA. “The project aligns watershed restoration
and risk mitigation with community goals using a collaborative approach.”

The overall
restoration goal was to restore the stream channel and improve the North St.
Vrain Creek in-stream aquatic habitat and riparian ecology. The N. St. Vrain
Creek Collaborative Restoration Project included:

• Excavation
  and configuration of creek benthic material to create, enhance, and protect
  aquatic riffle, pool, and run habitat
• Placement
  of large rock structures to provide better benthic habitat stability and to
  maintain creek resilience
• Placement
  of habitat rock and features for structure and flow diversity
• Revegetation
  of riparian areas

The restoration
project was implemented in conjunction with the reconstruction of Longmont Dam
Road by the Boulder County Transportation Department, allowing cost
efficiencies estimated at 50% compared to completing the creek restoration
project on its own.

“In
many flood-affected areas, the road and creek are interconnected. Constructing
the road and stream restoration projects together improves the success of both
projects,” said George Gerstle, Director of the Boulder County Transportation
Department.

The Boulder County Transportation Department plans to
implement five additional stream restoration projects adjacent to road
reconstruction projects.

The City of
Longmont plans to reinstall a wheelchair accessible fishing pier in the project
area that was destroyed in the flood. The City of Longmont will also be
implementing a stream restoration project upstream of the N. St. Vrain Creek
project.

Flatirons, Inc. and Blue Earth Solutions
developed the designs for the road and creek projects. American West
Construction, LLC constructed both the road and the creek elements of the
project. Loris and Associates and Blue Earth Solutions provided construction management
for the project.