Chinquapin Creek
Stream Restoration Project

 
 

Phase 1 of the Chinquapin Creek Project raised the streambed and established a floodplain.

Chinquapin Creek

Ararat River Watershed
Surry County, Pilot Mountain, NC
Status: Complete
Stream Restored: ~4,950 feet
Planting Stats: livestakes 5,818 & 1,710 Trees
Carbon Sequestration:  43.5 tons
Sediment Reduction: 359 tons

Resource Institute’s Partners:

In Phase 2 of the Chinquapin Creek Project, the project team used the wood available on-site for the structures. Some rock was used for some of the grade control structures. Native live stakes, bare root seedlings, and a native seed mix were used to vegetate the site.

Natural Resource Concerns/Issues

  • Chinquapin Creek, a tributary of Tom’s Creek. Tom’s Creek plays a crucial role in supplying water to the Town of Mountain Pilot. The primary objective of this project is to significantly reduce the sediment entering the town’s water supply.

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

  • Original Stream = G4

Project Objectives:

  • Restored Stream Type = B4c

  • 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

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