The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) secured funding to restore a portion of Twelve Mile Creek in Mobile, Alabama. Twelve Mile Creek is one of six main tributaries within the 19,000+/- acre Three Mile Creek Watershed.
A portion of this stream was selected for restoration, approximately 1,800 linear foot (LF) of ephemeral stream located between Dickens Ferry Road and Foreman Road in the City of Mobile.
This restoration project reach was selected due to the more natural setting and absence of engineered creek hardening. The reach originates northwest of the project site and travels through multiple piped crossings and an urbanized watershed before entering the site. The project reach was a heavily degraded channel with extensive vertical and horizontal instabilities. Streambank erosion has caused the lowering of the channel bottom, bank slope failures, tree loss, and habitat impairment. It also lacked access to the adjacent floodplain and the riparian corridor was overwhelmed with invasive vegetation.
Restoration efforts included the reconstruction of the existing channel based on stable morphological dimensions with a meandering alignment and a modified profile. The stream incorporated natural channel design structures such as toe wood, and brush runs. These components provided vertical and lateral stability and improved habitat diversity. Hydrologic connectivity was also improved through the grading in of a floodplain. Riparian improvements included the removal of invasive species and supplemental planting of native species.
This project represents an option for a more natural configuration of stormwater management while maintain and protecting public infrastructure.