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From ‘Wild and Wonderful’ to the ‘Downtown Riverwalk’: Adjusting Stream Restoration Techniques and Approaches Based on the Degree of Urbanization in the Adjacent Landscape

Julianne Busa
Fuss & O’Neill
Springfield, MA

Author: Busa, Julianne H., PhD, PWS, Certified Senior Ecologist

Even when your core restoration goals are the same, the degree of urbanization adjacent to a given project can place significant constraints on approach.  We feature four case studies of dam removal projects, all funded through the Massachusetts Municipal Vulnerability Program.  Each project shares common goals of climate and flood resilience and improved ecological connectivity; three of the four also aim to increase public access for education and recreation.  Where the projects differ substantially is their position in the surrounding landscape.  Little River Dam in Haverhill, MA is at the heart of a heavily-developed urban center in an industrial mill town—the river is penned in between an active rail line and a dense neighborhood, with additional infrastructure either proximal to or crossing the river.  Titus Pond in South Hadley, MA, is ripe for an educational restoration project in easy walking distance to the school and senior center, but the embankment supports a state roadway.  Home Brew Dam in Uxbridge, MA is in a site that could be allowed to restore naturally, with one exception—it is situated among critical water supply wells. Finally, at the other end of the spectrum, the Lower Scarborough Reservoir Dam is situated in an existing conservation area on a quiet rural road in Belchertown, MA.

As we provide a tour of the approaches used in each design, we’ll use these cases as a platform to discuss the projects as stages on a continuum between the more heavily engineered restoration required in a constrained urban environment, and a more process-based restoration (our preferred approach, when possible).  The case studies provide a framework to engage key points and considerations that guide (or constrain) restoration design in different landscapes with varying degrees of development.  We’ll talk about what has to change in the design approach in these different environments, what never seems to change (e.g., the public narrative around dam removal and the engagement process necessary to win people over to restoration), and the ways we’re finding to work aspects of process-based restoration (such as large wood installations for channel aggradation) into some of our semi-urban projects.