Coffee Creek Channel and Floodplain Restoration
Coffee Creek Center is a planned community based on the philosophy that human and wildlife habitats are entitled to be treated with equal importance. The project encompasses more than 650 acres near the southern shores of Lake Michigan, in Chesterton, Indiana. Confluence Consulting and J.F. New & Associates are participating members of the Coffee Creek Project Team, which includes Lake Erie Land Company, William McDonough & Partners, and Conservation Design Forum. |
|
| The central feature of this planned development is the 200-acre Coffee Creek Conservation Area, a new public open space that encompasses Coffee Creek ant its adjacent floodplain and wetlands. A variety of habitats have been restored and preserved within the conservation area, including native prairie, wetland, savanna, and hardwood forests in addition to the stream ecosystem. Bike and walking trails wind their way through the conservation area to welcome people into the natural environment. |
The natural ecosystem that existed prior to agricultural development featured a series of prairie, wetland, forest, and swamp ecosystems. At that time, the stream was fed mainly by groundwater, which flowed naturally into the channel through the infiltration of rain and snowmelt into the dense root systems of diverse native plants. This greatly reduced the effects of droughts and flooding on the native ecosystems. After settlement, conditions were dramatically altered, resulting in a stream channel with tall, eroding banks, and a high proportion of fine sediment in the channel. The gentle hydrology associated with natural infiltration was replaced by flashy, sediment-laden runoff from agricultural drainage tiles. Riparian and floodplain areas were overtaken by low-quality plant species commonly found in areas of environmental disturbance.
Confluence led the restoration efforts for Coffee Creek and its floodplain. Designs included stabilizing over 3,000 feet of eroding stream banks using 5 different bioengineered bank treatments. Pools, spawning gravel and woody debris were incorporated into the stream channel to restore habitat for salmon. Six floodplain areas totaling over 4 acres were excavated along the stream and function to remove fine sediments during flood events, leaving clean gravel substrates in the channel. The new floodplains included oxbow wetlands and were planted by J.F. New & Associates with native wet prairie vegetation to increase infiltration and groundwater recharge. These restoration efforts will greatly improve habitat conditions for humans and wildlife at Coffee Creek.
