Bannister Creek Mitigation Bank: the interaction of largescale stream mitigation with watershed and future land use planning

Proceedings of the 2009 Georgia Water Resources Conference, April 27, 28, and 29, 2009 Athens, Georgia.The Bannister Creek Mitigation Bank is located within the Etowah River Watershed in northwest Georgia. The Bank comprises approximately 15,000 linear feet of stream restoration and preservation and over 200 acres of riparian buffers to restore systems impaired by intense agricultural practices, which included dredging and straightening of the stream channels and removal of riparian buffer vegetation. One of the specific pollutants addressed during the planning and design process was sedimentation. Based off of initial estimates the site has the potential to reduce approximately 2,000 tons of sediment per year. The Bannister Creek Bank is unique in that it has been master planned with surrounding residential and retail development in a rapidly urbanizing area of Forsyth County. The Bank also has the potential to restore threatened and endangered darter habitats and has been proposed as a site for reintroduction of Cherokee darters. The Bank has been permitted through the US Army corps of Engineers Savannah IRT and will service the Etowah River watershed for impacts to all stream types. Construction on the stream channels was completed in November 2008, and planting of the riparian buffer followed stream construction.Sponsored by: Georgia Environmental Protection Division U.S. Geological Survey, Georgia Water Science Center U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Water Resources Institute The University of Georgia, Water Resources FacultyThis book was published by Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-2152. The views and statements advanced in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not represent official views or policies of The University of Georgia, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Georgia Water Research Institute as authorized by the Water Research Institutes Authorization Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-307) or the other conference sponsors