Catheys Creek Restoration Project
Instream structures constructed to stabilize Catheys Creek above the City of Brevard Water Treatment Plant.
Catheys Creek
Tributary of the French Broad River
Transylvania County, Brevard, NC
Status: Complete
Stream Restored: ~1,000 feet
Partners:
Resource Concern/Issues:
Catheys Creek provides about 1 million gallons of drinking water each day to City water users. Prior to construction, the water intake pipe at Catheys Creek was located next to an eroding streambank along an unpaved road on US Forest Service property. Sediment eroding from this unstable section of the creek often caused clogging in the pipe, threatening to disrupt the flow of clean water to the treatment plant.
Aerial view of the Catheys Creek Project and the Brevard Water Treatment Plant. This view is after instream construction and prior to riparian planting.
Prior to restoration, Catheys Creeks streambanks were eroding causing the adjacent road to be unstable as well.
Project Objectives:
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
Restore and stabilize streambanks
Relocate the water intake pipe upstream to a safe location away from sediment sources.
Stabilize adjacent road
Establish a riparian buffer, remove invasive plant species and reestablish native plants, trees, and shrubs