Big Elkin Creek
Stream Restoration Project

 
 

The project team constructed rock and woody structures and planted a riparian buffer to stabilize Big Elkin Creek.

Big Elkin Creek

Tributary of the Yadkin River
Surry County, Elkin, NC
Status: Complete
Stream Restored: ~3,500 feet

Partners:

Prior to restoration, severe erosion on Big Elkin Creek created an incised channel with no access to a floodplain.

Resource Concern/Issues:

Severe erosion on Big Elkin Creek created an incised channel with no access to a floodplain. Hurricanes Michael & Florence exacerbated the situation in 2018, causing additional erosion. Six years of this battering caused severe instability and steep unstable streambanks. Big Elkin Creek was moving thousands of tons of excess sediment each year. 

Project Objectives:

  • Improve water quality by reducing sediment, 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