City begins $650,000 project to restore Reedy River streambanks – Greenville News

This winter, Greenville's focus on sustainability is in full flow, literally.

The City of Greenville is embarking on a new initiative to sustainably restorethestreambanks of the Reedy River. Five sites, totaling more than 600ft across the top of the banks,are scheduled for restoration two inFalls Park, two in ClevelandPark and one along Swamp Rabbit Trailnear Andover Apartments, according to interim city engineer Paul Dow.Another site will also undergo restorationas part ofthe construction of Parallel Parkway.

The project will cost $650,000.

Restoring these bankshelps protectinfrastructure near the sites, such as roads and trails, Dow said.

"We dont have infinite resources, so we have to prioritize where damaged streambanks get work," Dow said. "If you have a damaged streambank that threatens the integrity of a trail orroad or a bridge or something that the public uses, then that rises upthe priority list of where we do work."

The project is already underway, beginning with the site near Andover Apartments. While the banks are being worked on, the nearby trails will be closed to the public, Dow said, but he's highly motivated to move the work along quickly so as not to prolong the disturbance.

Another concern is weather conditions, and great care has to be taken to watch the forecast and plan ahead while the streams are being worked on. The winter storm that left nearly 5 inches of snow in some parts of the Upstate delayed the project by a week, he said.

Streambanks naturally erode over time as rivers flood and the soil underneath gives way to the water, but streams in urban areas face a unique challenge, Dow said. Flash storms cause the water to rise faster than it would in a more natural setting, harming the integrity of the banks. Many of the sitesbeing worked on were damaged during heavy rain in February 2020, Dow said.

Read more:Trump approves FEMA disaster funds for South Carolina's February storms

"These sorts of things, they dont get better on their own," Dow said."Nature will want to lay the streambanks backso that itworks for the river, but sometimes that gets in the way of our infrastructure. We have to actually repair what weve lost."

In some cases, streams are stabilized by pouring concrete or placing large rocks along the banks, Dow said, but the city council's focus on sustainability brought them to another solution. The city plans to repair the banks using materials that are native to the stream itself. By using strong matting and strategically installingplants and other materials to combat erosion, the restoration will become integrated with the stream and and be as good or better than a natural streambank, Dow said.

"The natural systems approach tries touse what the streambank itself would be composed of," Dow said. "Essentiallyyoure putting back soil and youre putting back plants, and ultimately what that does is provides a real stable stream bank."

Similar methodshave been used to repair streambanks in McPherson Park, Dow said, and have so far held up against erosion.

"I've put in miles and miles of these types of projects, and they're still good years and years later."

Gisela Hausmann, a 59-year-old author who lives on Paris Mountain, said she is thrilled with the city's approach to the restoration. Originally from Vienna, Hausmann said Greenville's parks and commitment to sustainability remind her of home.

We Austrians have a long history of loving revitalizationprojects,because we figured out that it works. It makes money, she said.

Having lived in different parts of the United States for the last 30 years, Hausmann said she's in awe of Greenville's approach.

Ive lived in other parts ofthe United States, in the Florida Keys and in Bloomington, North Carolina,and I have never seen such impressive efforts like here in Greenville, which is one of the reasons Imgonnastay.

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City begins $650,000 project to restore Reedy River streambanks - Greenville News