Reedy Patch Creek Restoration Project
Reedy Patch Creek instream structures looking upstream, July 2020
Reedy Patch Creek
Tributary of the Broad River
Henderson County, Edneyville, NC
Status: Complete
Stream Restored: ~850 feet
Partners:
Resource Concern/Issues:
Reedy Patch Creek experienced multiple physical, ecological, and biological impacts. The streambanks suffered critical erosion due to limited stabilizing vegetation. As a result, the creek widened excessively and was not adequately transporting sediment, causing significant downstream silt deposits.
Reedy Patch Creek’s eroding streambanks prior to restoration.
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
Establish a riparian buffer, remove invasive plant species and reestablish native plants, trees, and shrubs
A restored reach of Reedy Patch Creek immediately following in-stream construction.