The Scuffletown Creek Wetland Restoration Project, Chesapeake, Virginia
The Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Chesapeake, Va., are partnering up to restore 30,000 square feet of wetlands along Scuffletown Creek. This project is authorized under Section 206 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-303) as amended.
This area was formerly wetlands that have been covered with three to seven feet of fill material containing primarily construction debris. The project will take place on city-owned property adjacent to property owned by an antenna tower company.
The site of the restoration will provide additional wildlife habitat, a connection between two adjacent marshes, increased runoff filtering capacity and stabilization of the shoreline.
The project is part of a comprehensive effort to restore wetlands lost to the Elizabeth River Basin since the end of World War II.
The project consists of the following:
- Clearing and excavation of about 3,300 cubic yards of fill material to establish the correct slope for the tidal wetland area.
- Importation of 950 cubic yards of sand into the existing substrate.
- Construction of approximately three 56-foot-long stone/sand containment structures to be placed perpendicular to the shoreline.
- Planting of more than 8,900 wetland plants in the restoration area. Plants will primarily be Spartina alterniflora in the main portion of the marsh with Spartina patens, Iva frutescens,Baccharis halimifolia, and Morella cerifera around the perimeter in the areas above mean high water.
Updated: 17-May-2010