Implementation of natural channel design on two Georgia power stream restoration projects

A natural channel design approach was implemented to restore Sawmill Creek in Rabun County, Georgia, and an unnamed tributary of the Etowah River in Dawson County. Both properties are owned by Georgia Power Company. After five years the Sawmill Creek restoration reach has successfully endured multiple bankfull events with no failures of structures. The implemented design has successfully met the objective of providing aquatic habitat while restoring the sediment transport competence of the stream and reducing shear stress on the channel banks. The unnamed tributary of the Etowah River contained the Cherokee Darter downstream and upstream of the 350-foot restoration reach but not within the degraded reach. The objectives of the natural channel design were to reconnect the stream with the floodplain (priority 1 restoration); to restore the proper pattern, profile and dimension; and to restore darter habitat. An aquatic assessment three years after the restoration confirmed that the Cherokee Darter has inhabited the restoration reach.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 Facult