Introduction to Urban Stream Restoration in Alabama

Thursday, October 26 & Friday, October 27, 2023  |  8:00am-4:00pm

CASIC Building, Auburn University, 559 Devall Drive, Auburn, Alabama 36832

Fee waived for municipal employees and students, contact laurabellcooley@auburn.edu for information.
Eligible for 1.4 Continuing Education Units | Lunches included

Through a series of case study presentations and site visits, this two-day workshop will explore how stream restoration projects in Alabama have been initiated, designed, and built. Presenters will discuss how stream restoration practices can be used to protect infrastructure and land value, improve habitat, and water quality, and provide recreational opportunities for the community. You will hear from various speakers about their incentives for using stream restoration, their project identification and prioritization process, their funding strategies, and the various lessons learned from stream restoration projects across the state.

This workshop is intended for municipal leaders, MS4 managers, watershed coordinators, community planners, landscape architects, engineers, consultants, and environmental nonprofits.

The workshop is facilitated by the Auburn University Water Resources Center and funded via a National Fish and Wildlife Grant received by the City of Auburn.

Presenters:

• Wade Burcham, PE – Principle and Civil Engineer, 5020 Engineering Resource Group Incorporated
• David Bidelspach, PE – Design Engineer and Partner, 5 Smooth Stones Restoration
• Dusty Kimbrow, CPSWQ, CFM – Watershed Program Manager, City of Auburn

Agenda (Subject to Change):

Day 1: Introduction to Stream Restoration: Reasoning and Approach

• 7:45am Sign in and Coffee
• 8:00am CooleyWelcome and Introductions
• 8:15am Burcham/Bidelspach
  • Stream Restoration and Urban Drainage
  • Urban Drainage
  • Streams Good Bad Ugly
  • Why Urban Drainage BMPs and How help
  • Good Neighbor Policies
• 9:30am Discussion Why stream restoration?
• 9:45am Kimbrow City of Auburn Case Study: Stream stabilization to protect infrastructure.
• 10:15am Q&A / Break
• 10:30am Burcham/Bidelspach
  • Streams fix themselves
  • Trajectory economic analysis
  • Analysis decision
  • Why not stream restoration?
• 11:00am Burcham/Bidelspach Watershed and regional comparisons
• 11:15am Discussion Stream restoration alternatives (Channel and Floodplain)
• 11:30am Lunch
• 12:30pm Leave for site visit
• 1:00-4:00pm Disturbed reach assessment, bank erosion, floodplains, watershed comparison, riparian

Day 2: Stream Restoration Logistics

• 8:00am Cooley Welcome and Coffee
• 8:30am Burcham/Bidelspach
  • In depth focus on stream restoration planning and reasoning.
  • Case Study – Example Project
  • Channel and Floodplain with Bankfull Identification
  • Alternatives, other cohoices and Functional Purpose
  • MCDA Multi Criteria Decision Analysis Tool
  • Group MCDA
  • Engagement and Outreach
• 10:00am  Break
  • Rough Cost estimating
  • Permitting
  • Funding
  • Design Software Introduction
  • Monitoring and Why
• 11:30am Lunch
• 12:30pm Site visit to Auburn Restoration Projects
• 4:00 Adjourn