Headwaters
Program Overview
The Chattahoochee River Headwaters Riparian Restoration and Education Project focused on (1) demonstrating the value of functioning riparian (streamside) zones in protecting stream health, and (2) helping interested communities protect and restore these systems.
The Soque River Restoration Project has been the cornerstone of the Riparian Restoration and Education Project. In close cooperation with scientists from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a private landowner, UCR restored a severely eroding 1300-foot reach of river in Habersham County in 1998, using a technique new to Georgia. Other project partners included the Savage-Roberts Farms, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Soque River Watershed Association, and Southeast Waters Americorps. To visit the restoration site, contact the Headwaters Office.
What is Restoration?
Restoration means different things to different people, but generally it implies an attempt to restore a system to a more naturally functioning state. On land, this can include reintroducing a predator, such as the wolf, that may have been a crucial part of the ecosystem in the past, or by restoring the tallgrass prairies with native plant species.
Stream or river restoration can also take varying forms. Currently there are many types of restoration techniques in use. The choice of a technique, however, depends largely on the specific goals of the project (see additional resources section especially "stream corridor restoration principles, processes and practices").
Project Goals
UCR had four main goals for the Soque Project:
- Prevent the further contribution of sediment and loss of property (through erosion) from riverbanks into the Soque River.
- Use a restoration technique that is new to Georgia.
- Improve fish habitat and stream health.
- Demonstrate that it is easier and more cost-effective to prevent problems than it is to fix them.
Project Approach:
To achieve project goals, UCR chose to use techniques based on the work of hydrologist David Rosgen of Wildland Hydrology, which aim to bring a river back into "balance" in terms of the amount of water it must usually carry and the amount and type of materials it must transport (such as pebbles, sand, rocks). This approach is based on the concept of "natural stability" whereby "natural stream channel stability is achieved by allowing the river to develop a stable dimension, pattern and profile [i.e. cross section, meander pattern and slope] such that, over time, channel features are maintained and the stream system neither aggrades or degrades" (Rosgen 1996). One of the key components of this type project is establishment of current and design "bankfull" width (bankfull discharge is that flow that is responsible for the majority of channel formation).
Rivers and streams have energy that is used, for example, to carve meanders (curves) and to carry sediment downstream. Rivers, like energy, will follow the path of least resistance, and thus a river is greatly influenced by the shape and texture (width, depth, bottom habitat) of its path.
Site Selection and Description
UCR selected the Soque River Watershed, because an EPA study of sediment yield delivery to the Chattahoochee River revealed that the Soque River had the highest sediment loading of any tributary between the River's headwaters and Lake Lanier. Other important criteria for site selection included i) easy access to the site for future educational programs, ii) an "unstable" channel, and iii) a landowner who was cooperative and owned both sides of the river.
Field Surveys
Field survey methods focused on determining the meander pattern and slope profile of both the Soque site and that of a nearby "reference" or comparison site in the Smithgall Woods Conservation Center by measuring parameters such as the river's width to depth ratio, floodplain width, stream slope and size of stream substrate (e.g. pebbles, sand, silt, cobble). As part of the underlying physical template governing stream dynamics, fluvial geomorphology is increasingly recognized as an essential component in stream management and restoration planning.
Diagnosis and Design
Based on fieldwork, UCR and EPA recognized several issues that needed to be addressed at the Soque site: Using bankpins (rebar hammered horizontally into bank), it was estimated that an average of 60 tons of sediment eroded into the water during the first two months of 1998. Additionally, the landowner reported a loss of one-half an acre of pastureland over several years. Past land use practices, including dredging, channelization, cattle grazing and the clearing of vegetation from streambanks, likely caused the stream to evolve to the unstable condition, scouring (eroding) in some places and aggrading (building-up of materials) to form center bars in other portions of the river reach.
A design for the Soque River Restoration Project was developed by EPA scientists with goals to increase stream sinuosity, decrease bankfull width, and save any existing trees within the riparian zone. Additionally, the design included reconstruction of the most impacted section of the eroding channel, which was too "tight" and giving it a more appropriate degree of curvature. Instream structures, such as rock cross vanes and rock vanes were included to create habitat and divert erosive flows away from vulnerable banks.
Implementation
Implementation took place during a two-week period in October 1998, chosen to coincide with the historic low precipitation period in this region, so as to minimize downstream disturbance from construction-generated sediment. Despite the timing and the use of erosion controls, operation of heavy equipment in the stream sent a substantial amount of sediment downstream during construction, although it was minimal compared to the long-term sediment contribution from pre-restoration unstable banks. Immediately following construction, the Southeast Waters Americorps team worked to stabilize the banks of the new channel with BioD-Mat®(a coconut fiber mat), black willow fascines (bundles) and grass seed.
Community Involvement
Following construction, community members and groups volunteered to revegetate the riparian (streamside) zone with native plants. More than 200 individuals representing government agencies, local citizens and schools visited the site during the first year after implementation.
Project Results
After project completion, bankpins for monitoring were reinstalled and bank erosion is now negligible even after heavy rains. Thus, UCR's primary goal - a decrease in sediment yield - was achieved. Fish habitat diversity was also improved in this section of the Soque and once the planted riparian zone flourished, stream temperatures decreased. Although there are many approaches and opinions regarding river restoration, the emphasis on observing and planning for a river's natural hydrologic and geomorphic tendencies is crucial. By focusing on these natural characteristics, restoration projects can avoid simply "stabilizing" one area, which often causes unintended damage elsewhere in the stream channel.
Lessons Learned
UCR learned some important lessons from this project. First, prevention is more cost-effective than restoration (the Soque project cost approximately $80,000 and was very labor-intensive). Second, it takes very little disturbance to upset any river system - even a stream segment, such as the Soque, close to the river's headwaters in a wilderness area. Knowing that this project represents only a tiny percentage of all the river miles in our watershed, the value of prevention is all the more clear.
Soque Video and Educational Materials
The award winning Soque Diary video, produced by Fran Burst of Burst Video-Film, chronicles both river restoration and community watershed protection efforts in the Chattahoochee Headwaters. The video traces the Soque Restoration Project, from its inception and site selection, through fieldwork, implementation and post-construction community involvement to replant the riparian zone.
The Soque Restoration Project Resource Kit, produced by Mary Vachon of Mary Vachon Design and printed courtesy of Scientific Games International, provides in-depth information about the Soque Project and also includes advice on riparian zone reestablishment, potential funding sources for restoration projects, and a restoration bibliography for further reading. To order a copy of the Soque Restoration Project Resource Kit, please call UCR’s Headwaters office at 770-538-2619 or via email.
Please also visit these sections:
Headwaters Education Programs
What Are Riparian Buffer Zones?
Source Water Protection Program in Habersham County
Biodiversity: Assessment of Threatened Fish Species
West Fork Little River Restoration in Hall County
