Darrow Road Stream Restoration: Enhancing Water Quality
EnviroScience, Inc., in collaboration with RiverReach Construction and GPD Group, is proud to lead the Darrow Road Stream Restoration Project’s design-build team. This project addresses significant impairments to Darrow Road Park Ditch—including channel straightening, historic dredging, and in-stream sediment deposition, which have degraded the water quality and habitat of the stream.
The restoration project will focus on re-establishing a healthy, functioning stream system. The current ditch, which is unnaturally deep and straight, has disconnected from its floodplain. This loss of floodplain interaction means reduced sediment deposition, nutrient exchange, and energy release—all factors that are vital to stream health. Additionally, the straightened channel has compromised the stream’s ability to dissipate energy, leading to bank erosion and reduced habitat diversity for invertebrates, fish, and other wildlife.
At EnviroScience, we understand that successful restoration requires a thorough evaluation of the existing landscape and surrounding infrastructure. Our specialized services in stream restoration, habitat enhancement, and wetland management are central to this project. Using a combination of innovative ecological assessment and engineering, our team will design a solution that restores the stream’s natural flow while preserving critical surrounding features such as residential areas and roads.
Key Project Goals
Restoration of Stream Function
Redirecting the stream’s flow to improve energy dissipation and create a variety of in-stream habitats, including riffles and pools, essential for wildlife.
Wetland Enhancement
Invasive species will be controlled, and native plant species will be reintroduced to improve habitat quality and stabilize the streambanks.
Erosion Control and Water Quality Improvement
Reestablishing the stream’s connection to the floodplain will reduce erosion and enhance the stream’s ability to filter pollutants, improving overall water quality.
It is important to note that this restoration effort is focused on improving water quality and stream function rather than stormwater control. Our approach emphasizes minimal disruption to the existing landscape while prioritizing long-term ecological improvements.
The project is currently in the design phase, with permitting to follow. Construction is slated to begin in 2025 to transform Darrow Road Park Ditch into a thriving, ecologically balanced stream system.
At EnviroScience, we are committed to providing tailored environmental solutions that enhance ecosystems while meeting the unique needs of each project. Our stream and wetland restoration services are grounded in a deep understanding of ecology, regulatory requirements, and sustainable development practices.
Few environmental firms in the country retain EnviroScience’s degree of scientific know-how, talent, and capability under one roof. The diverse backgrounds of our biologists, environmental engineers, scientists, and divers enable us to provide comprehensive in-house services and an integrated approach to solving environmental challenges—saving clients time, reducing costs, and ensuring high-quality results.
Our client guarantee is to provide “Excellence in Any Environment,” meaning no matter what we do, we will deliver on our Core Values of respect, client advocacy, quality work, accountability, teamwork, and safety. EnviroScience was created with the concept that we could solve complex problems by empowering great people. This concept still holds true today as our scientists explore the latest environmental legislation and regulations and incorporate the most up-to-date technology to gather and report data.
EnviroScience expertise includes but is not limited to aquatic surveys (including macroinvertebrate surveys and biological assessments); ecological restoration; ecological services (including impact assessments, invasive species control, and water quality monitoring); emergency response; engineering and compliance services; endangered mussel surveys; laboratory and analysis; stormwater management; sustainability services; threatened and endangered species; and wetlands and streams (including delineation and mitigation). Further, EnviroScience is one of the few biological firms in the country that is a general member of the Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI) and offers full-service commercial diving services.