Town of Kernersville Starts New Streambank Restoration Phase
The town of Kernersville is starting the second phase of a stream restoration project that aims to stabilize the banks of Beeson Creek.
Streams in Kernersville have highly erodible banks in general, said Donald Schlesselman, the engineering project coordinator for the Kernersville Stormwater Department.
'We're at the headwaters of five different watersheds, so our banks erode very easily, and Beeson Creek, which is adjacent to Ivey Redmon Sports Complex, has a high sediment load,' Schlesselman said.
In 2015, the town conducted a study of the Beeson Creek watershed.
Schlesselman said the town has been collaborating with other groups to prevent erosion and sediment pollution in streams and waterways in Kernersville.
'We worked with the state and some granting providers to keep that sediment from going further downstream and keep it out of the lakes and streams further downstream,' Schlesselman said.
The first phase of the stream bank restoration was in 2017-19 and restored the area adjacent to the soccer field at Ivey Redmond. The town used a $400,000 N.C. Clean Water Management Trust Fund grant. After the project was completed, the project was named the American Public Works Association's Stormwater Management Project of the Year for Natural Systems in 2020.
In 2020, the town was approved for a $400,000 grant from the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and in 2021 the town was approved for $100,00 from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality.
This next phase was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors.
'This phase will restore approximately 1,200 linear feet of degraded stream and 2.75 acres of riparian buffer,' Schlesselman said. 'We expect construction to be completed this summer, and we will be planting native riparian plants in the fall. We will have several opportunities for the public to get involved with the restoration, like tours, planting parties and frog walks.'
Schlesselman said restoring streambanks has numerous benefits.
'Some people might think that the streambanks are going to wash away (anyway) and to let nature take its course. ... That sediment load that gets washed downstream, it not only affects water quality but it affects our infrastructures too. Think of all of our water supply lakes, and when that sediment gets trapped in those lakes it reduces the capacity of our lakes and streams,' Schlesselman said.
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