King’s Creek Stream Restoration
Purpose: This project addressed a deeply incised ditch draining agricultural fields that had excessive gully erosion that cut through a forest and discharged sediment directly into King’s Creek, a tributary of the Choptank.
Project: For this project, the ditch was re-designed to have a sinuous shape with wetland benches adjacent to the low flow channel. The banks of the ditch were re-graded to have gradual slopes that transition back to the crop field. At the outlet, an added water control structure allowed the landowner to adjust the water height in the ditch, thus retaining more water as needed during parts of the year to attract waterfowl and encourage wetland vegetation growth.
The steepest section of the gully that cut through the forest was repaired using designs following regenerative stormwater conveyance guidelines. This allowed water to be stepped down from ditch elevation to a stable grade using a series of step pools. Using this method allowed water infiltration as well as dissipating energy to help stop erosion. Once a stable stream grade was met, a natural channel design was used to dissipate stream energy to the middle of the channel and help stabilize the stream banks. This project restored 660 feet of ditch and 720 feet of stream.
Cost: $706,611 funded by Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Pollution Reductions: 322.23 lbs of nitrogen, 17.41 lbs of phosphorus, and 1.50 tons of sediment annually.