A $29,293 grant from the Great Lakes Commission was awarded to the DeKalb County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) for a bank stabilization project on Cedar Creek at the east edge of Waterloo. The project attacked severe bank erosion at a bend in the stream, which was compounded by a bridge that directs water into the stream bank.
The problem caused an estimated soil loss of 52.6 tons per year according to Allen Haynes, DeKalb SWCD Natural Resources Coordinator. DeKalb County SWCD along with Hine Farms, Inc. and the DeKalb County Surveyor's Office cooperated on the project.
The goals for project were to:
* Strengthen the working relationship between the DeKalb County Surveyor's Office and the DeKalb SWCD;
* Significantly reduce sediment loading from the site; and
* Increase public awareness of conservation Best Management Practices for addressing natural resource concerns.
Landowner Maynard Hine told Haynes the problem started in the early 1970s when a new bridge on the county road made the stream wider. Since then, water washed away several feet of creek bank.
Workers started the project in early October 2010 using a variety of techniques to stabilize the bank. The process began with hauling in 1,021 tons of soil to replace what had happened been lost over the past decades. Most of the other material came from the site, including logs that now are held in place by steel cables.
Crews added layers of willow cuttings, which will sprout in the spring as low shrubs. Root wads have been installed to slow the water and provide habitat for fish, birds and game. Layers of jute fabric will hold plantings. At the top of the bank, a straw blanket holds the soil until grass grows. The project also rebuilt Waterloo's storm drainage outlet on the west bank of the creek.
Hine said he twice tried to solve the erosion problem, with no success. Until now he could not get public agencies to help.
"I'm glad the SWCD and surveyor got together and would do this project," Hine said. "I really think this has got a shot at lasting for a good many years."
The Great Lakes Commission is an interstate agency that promotes orderly, integrated and comprehensive development, use and conservation of the water and related natural resources of the Great Lakes basin and St. Lawrence River.