Wetlands Stream Habitat Restoration

The StreamFix approach to stream and wetland restoration is to bring the right expertise to focus on the problem. Being a small company, we realize we cannot be all things to all people. Therefore, we work closely with others of similar beliefs and complementary skills to expand the expertise that can be brought to bear on your project.

We offer the following range of services:

Fish passage barrier remediation

Fish Passage barriers are nearly always caused by man, either by something constructed or a result of human impacts to the watershed above the barrier. These barriers can take the form of perched culverts, dams, and other in-stream obstructions. Sometimes the barriers have developed 'naturally' as a stream or river has incised (down cut), usually as a result of changes man has made to the watershed.

StreamFix has never failed to develop a method for mitigating these passage problems while maintaining the needs of both fish and man. Our designs result in a 'natural' reconfiguration of the stream around or through the barrier, i.e., we don't build concrete structures, such as traditional fishladders, to achieve these results.

Habitat restoration

Good aquatic habitat is essential for a thriving aquatic population. Salmonids have different needs than mullet. The insects fish need to feed on have their unique needs. Fish need places to hide, feed, rest and grow. Without appropriate spawning substrate, they cannot reproduce. The best structural habitat may be in place, but if the temperatures are not right, the habitat will not be utilized.

StreamFix takes all of these factors, and more, into consideration when designing habitat restoration.

Stream stabilization

Changes in sediment load and/or hydrology are the usual culprits when a stream aggrades or incises. Our approach is based on locally gathered data. Not only do we make extensive measurement of the reach under consideration, we also look at the watershed above to see what is driving the conditions we are trying to address. We also look at what the downstream impacts resulting from our restoration design will be.

StreamFix will quickly determine the underlying cause of a streams instability and develop appropriate, applicable, effective solutions.

Bank erosion remediation

StreamFix uses the Bank Erosion Hazard Index (BFHI) protocols to evaluate stream bank conditions. These protocols take elements such as root depth, vegetative cover, bank material and stratification, bank height and angle of repose, and more, into consideration during the evaluation. This locally collected data provides a good indicator of the likelihood of further bank erosion at the investigated site.

StreamFix uses this information to help determine an appropriate treatment to help address bank erosion problems.

Wetlands restoration

Wetlands are often closely associated with streams. StreamFix works closely with wetlands scientists to develop hydrology associated with nearby streams to augment and restore wetland functions. Our creative approaches have been effective in restoring wetland hydrology and functions in urban areas where incised streams and diversion of streams have altered those elements.

Stream and wetlands related restoration plan review

StreamFix offers a professional 'second look' at stream and wetland restoration designs. Stream and wetlands restoration is expensive and we often only get one shot at 'getting it right'. We offer a professional 'second look' at proposed projects. During that 'second look' we check any modeling that may have been done, completeness of data and its interpretation, and calculations are verified. This process is similar to the practice of value engineering. This process does not declare a project design as "Right" or "Wrong". It simply verifies what has been done and may make recommendations for elements that could be further addressed or point to differences in calculation results. The decision to follow those recommendations and comments lie with the project owner and designer.