Woods Creek Restoration Stabilizes Riparian Area

    Market

  • Local Governments

    Services

  • Engineering
  • Sustainability + Resilience
  • Water
  • Water Resources

    Locations

  • Village of Lake in the Hills, Illinois

The Woods Creek Restoration Project is located on property owned by the Village of Lake in the Hills, near Ken Carpenter Park. The project area is adjacent to a paved trail system and bounded on the north and south by residential subdivisions.

The Woods Creek Watershed-Based Plan (WCWBP) identified this project location as a critical area for improvements and recommended it as one of the highest-ranking implementation projects in the WCWBP for streambank and channel restoration and riparian area restoration and maintenance.

The project received funding through the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Section 319 grant program administered by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), as well as a grant from the local Soil and Water Conservation District.

The Village worked with HR Green to design and stabilize approximately 1,817 centerline feet of Woods Creek and improve 27 acres of adjacent wetlands with native vegetation. HR Green incorporated wetland and riparian area restoration, streambank and shoreline protection, and stream channel restoration best management practices (BMPs). The installed BMPs provide much-needed relief from the bank erosion and nutrient transport that was occurring in the Woods Creek Watershed.

The project required permitting through the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Illinois Department of Natural Resources – Office of Water Resources as well as other associated agencies. Construction was completed smoothly and the project is currently in the Monitoring and Maintenance period. 

This project stabilized Woods Creek, improved adjacent wetlands to their natural state, reduced the amount of silt and sediment being transported into the lake and therefore reducing the frequency of dredging required, and improved overall water quality for the region.

HR Green and the Village of Lake in the Hills, Illinois won a Merit Award in ACEC Illinois’ 2021 Engineering Excellence Award Competition for the Woods Creek Restoration project.

Awards

ACEC Illinois – Merit Award.

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