The demonstration of stream restoration is in the Geronimo Creek watershed in Seguin, Texas at the Irma Lewis Seguin Outdoor Learning Center.
TWRI coordinated with partners including the Irma Lewis Seguin Outdoor Learning Center, the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority and the Geronimo and Alligator Creeks Watershed Partnership on this demonstration.
Riparian restoration and stream bank stabilization leads to improvements in water quality, in-stream habitat, terrestrial wildlife, aquatic species and overall stream health. In addition, reduced sedimentation rates are a cost-effective strategy for extending the operational life of the state’s water supply reservoirs for water availability. The Geronimo and Alligator Creek Watershed Protection Plan, as does most watershed plans, includes implementing riparian forest and herbaceous buffers to reduce pollutant loads in the watershed.
At the demonstration site, riparian buffers were implemented using natural bank stabilization techniques and native vegetation were planted on one of the two sites of approximately 100 feet to demonstrate the difference in bank erosion rates and sediment suspended in the creek’s water. The vegetation holds the soil particles and stabilizes the bank, reducing bank erosion. The vegetation also acts as a filter for the water, especially during flood events, which, in turn, increases the stream’s overall water quality.
Results of erosion and total suspended solids in the creek of the restored site to the upstream non-restored site show the benefits of the increased vegetation cover on the banks.
