Urban Channel Restoration: Design and Monitoring

Bioengineering techniques employing living vegetation and non-living organic materials, often in combination with hard structures, are an effective approach for channel stabilization while restoring some natural riparian functions. A good bioengineering design relies on careful analysis of hydrologic and geomorphic conditions to help the selection and location of vegetation, and other materials and the design of the channel form and cross-section. A case study located in Chicopee, Massachusetts demonstrates the integration of geomorphic considerations in bioengineering design in a highly incised urban channel where hard structure was originally planned. Monitoring for one year after construction shows positive results in terms of structural stability, sediment transport, vegetative development, and aquatic and terrestrial habitat.