Cove Creek
Stream Restoration Project

 
 

To stabilize Cove Creek’s streambanks, the project team installed root wads and rock structures.

Cove Creek

Watauga River Watershed
Watauga County, Sugar Grove, NC
Status: Complete
Stream Restored: ~ 1,992 feet
Planting Stats: 4,000 livestakes, 800 trees
Carbon Sequestration: 19.2 tons
Sediment Reduction: 104 tons

Resource Institute’s Partners:

The project team also created a floodplain bench and planted live stakes and shrubs to create a riparian buffer and further stabilize Cove Creek’s streambanks.

Natural Resource Concerns/Issues

  • Streambanks on Cove Creek were steep and severely eroded and lacked a riparian buffer

  • Original Stream = C4

Project Objectives:

  • Restored Stream Type = C4

  • Improve water quality by reducing sediment, nutrient, organic, and inorganic loading of the stream and reduce streambank erosion

  • Stabilize the stream reach to prevent further aggradation or degradation by providing an improved dimension, pattern and/or profile that will improve sediment transport and manage surface waters and groundwater levels in floodplains, riparian areas, and wetlands

  • Construct rock and woody structures to provide instream habitat, stabilize streambanks and the channel bed

  • Provide an alternate watering source for livestock, including a pump and livestock pipeline to convey water to watering facilities and protect the surrounding heavy-use area.

  • Install fencing to restrict livestock access to the stream corridor to protect streambanks and streambank vegetation

  • Establish a riparian buffer, remove invasive plant species, and reestablish native plants, trees, and shrubs