Our Services

We offer a variety of planning, survey, design, permitting, and construction support services to meet each of our client’s unique goals. Our aim is to combine the right blend of ecology and engineering and to provide successful solutions to modern environmental challenges that promote the wise stewardship of our natural environment.

Stream Restoration and Channel Design

Our channel designs balance habitat with stability and aesthetics to produce streams that look and function as though created by nature.

Our Process

Confluence restores streams and rivers through a process-based design procedure that relies on a thorough understanding of the project vision, clear and concise goals, quantifiable objectives that support the project’s goals, and design criteria that justify each element. Whenever possible, we encourage post-project monitoring to measure the project’s success over time. This process has proven effective on our most challenging projects involving multiple stakeholders and landowners. In addition to restoring streams to improve fish and wildlife habitat, we have designed over a dozen stream remediation, relocation, and stabilization projects involving contaminated stream beds and floodplains.

Applications

  • Fish and Aquatic Habitat Restoration
  • Flood and Drought Resiliency
  • Floodplain and Riparian Restoration
  • Endangered Species Recovery
  • Native Species Revegetation
  • Mitigation Banking Planning and Design
  • Channel Stability

Wetlands

We provide comprehensive wetland services, including delineation, monitoring, and mitigation planning and design.

Our Process

Confluence’s wetland scientists combine their expertise in hydrology, soils, and botany to map, monitor, and restore wetland habitats. We understand the importance of protecting these fragile and vital components of the landscape and work hard with our clients to avoid or minimize wetland losses to development and effectively mitigate losses deemed unavoidable.

Applications

  • Wetland Delineation and Jurisdictional Determinations
  • Wetland Mitigation Design
  • Functional Assessments
  • Army Corps 404 Permitting
  • Mitigation Banking Planning and Design

Water Resource Engineering

Our staff of Civil and Water Resource engineers are experienced in designing a variety of ecologically-sound and flood-resistant structures that provide benefits to fish and wildlife while improving our quality of life.

Our Process

Our engineering team begins by understanding our client’s vision, followed by developing clear and concise goals, identifying all constraints that may factor into achieving those goals, and utilizing defensible design criteria to justify our designs. Nearly all of Confluence’s projects require close collaboration between our engineering and ecological staff, allowing us to generate solutions that are technically and scientifically sound.

Applications

  • Bank Stabilization and Restoration
  • Aquatic Organism Passage
  • Fish Barriers and Screens
  • Flood Studies and Hydraulic Modeling
  • Irrigation Diversion Design
  • Culvert Sizing
  • Channel Stability Analyses
  • Topographic and Bathymetric Surveys

Revegetation and Reclamation

We provide revegetative support for a variety of project types.

Our Process

We provide revegetative support for wetland projects, post-development sites, roadside disturbances, and toward the enhancement of wildlife and waterfowl habitat. When needed, we work with conservation districts and native plant nurseries to meet our clients’ custom revegetation needs.

 

Applications

  • Soil sampling and testing
  • Revegetation plans
  • Vegetation installation
  • Tailored native seed mixes
  • Long-term monitoring
  • Construction oversight
  • Planting crews

Pond Design and Management

Our pond design, construction, and management services offer landowners turnkey solutions to build and enjoy these recreational features.

Our Process

Whether you’ve been thinking about building a new fish pond, wish to improve an existing pond, or have an abundance of aquatic plants and algae that prevents the enjoyment of your pond, our team of aquatic ecologists and designers have the experience and knowledge to help achieve your vision.

 

Applications

  • Recreational and Fish Pond Design and Construction
    Management
  • Wetland / Waterfowl Ponds
  • Nuisance Aquatic Plant Management
  • Water Quality Sampling
  • Fish Stocking
  • Aeration Systems

Ecological Assessments

We collect and analyze relevant field data to evaluate the health of aquatic systems for present and future environmental needs.

Our Process

Through our environmental and ecological assessment services, we collect data and analyze the health of fish communities, macro-invertebrates, periphyton, riparian and wetland vegetation, and stream channel conditions.

Applications

  • Fish Sampling
  • Macroinvertebrate Sampling
  • Water Quality Sampling
  • Rare Plant Surveys
  • Vegetation Assessments

Construction Support Service

In addition to overseeing the construction phase of over 90% of our designs, Confluence offers construction support to larger construction contractors looking to fill specialty support roles.

Our Process

Construction projects can be straightforward or hugely complex and logistically challenging; however, all require careful planning and an ability to adjust as unforeseen circumstances arise. Our construction support team has first-hand experience operating equipment in environmentally challenging settings and understands the need to effectively coordinate with contractors both small and large, to efficiently and safely build projects through to completion.

 

Applications

  • Construction Management and Oversight
  • Staking and Layout
  • SWPPP Administration and Inspections
  • Construction Dewatering Design and Permitting
  • Fish Rescues
  • Bypass Channel Design
  • Environmental Protection Planning
  • Constructability Reviews

Watershed and Land Use Planning

We offer our watershed and land use planning services at various levels of involvement, from field sampling and monitoring to complete watershed planning and restoration assistance.

Applications

  • Flood Studies and Floodplain Delineation
  • Water Quality Restoration Planning
  • Water Budgeting
  • Post-Flood Watershed Assessments and Resiliency Planning
  • Habitat Restoration Planning and Prioritization

Monitoring and Compliance

We work in close partnership with our clients and regulatory agencies to minimize potential conflict and streamline the permitting process.

Our Process

We work hard to streamline the permitting process for our clients. Having worked to perfect our process since 1997, the integrity of our environmental planning and permitting services have earned the respect of regulatory agencies, accelerating the approval process to meet client timelines and budgets.

Applications

  • Stream and Wetland Mitigation Monitoring
  • Discharge and Temperature Monitoring
  • Water Quality Monitoring
  • Development of Project Success Criteria and Monitoring Methods

Let’s Talk About Your Project

We know that each project is different, and we look forward to hearing about yours — let’s work together to find creative solutions to your environmental challenges. Together, we can meet your goals while enhancing your natural spaces.