Finding Common Ground Between Different Types of Stream Restoration Design Methods
Will Harman, PG
Stream Mechanics
Ecosystem Planning & Restoration
Raleigh, NC
The term stream restoration means different things to different people. Some define stream restoration strictly as returning a river corridor back to a pre-disturbed condition. Others define stream restoration more broadly as an improvement to physical, chemical, or biological processes. Exacerbating the problem, stream restoration practitioners work under widely varying programmatic goals, including compensatory stream mitigation, total maximum daily load requirements, grant-funded projects, recreational fishing, infrastructure protection, and more. Given this variety in terminology and funding drivers, it is no wonder that disagreements abound in how best to “do the work” of stream restoration.
This presentation starts with a brief overview of stream restoration definitions and how they led to the development of various stream restoration methods. Next a brief overview of common stream restoration methods will be provided, including process based and natural channel design approaches. Processed-based examples will include beaver dam analogs and stage zero. Natural channel design examples will vary by stream type, including B, C/E, and Cc-/DA. Two approaches developed in the Mid Atlantic Region will also be highlighted: Valley Restoration and Regenerative Stormwater Conveyance.
About Will Harman, PG
Will Harman is a founder of Stream Mechanics and Ecosystem Planning and Restoration. In the course of his 32-year career, he has participated in hundreds of stream restoration projects, representing a wide variety of landscape settings and techniques. Examples include steep gradient, step-pool designs in Alaska to low gradient meandering streams in North Carolina, and urban solutions in San Antonio, Texas.
He has authored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles and proceeding papers on stream assessment and restoration methods and was the principal author of two design manuals. He developed the Stream Functions Pyramid Framework and co-developed the Stream Quantification Tool, which is being used by many state and federal agencies to quantify the functional uplift from stream restoration practices.
Prior to working in the private sector, Will was on the faculty at NC State University where he co-founded the NC Stream Restoration Program. He is a licensed geologist in North Carolina.
