LINCOLNSHIRE, IL – The American Public Works Association Chicago Metro Chapter Lake Branch recognized the Village of Lake Zurich’s Buffalo Creek streambank stabilization project at its January 21, 2025 awards meeting. The award program recognizes outstanding individuals and organizations for representing the best in American public works. Manhard Consulting served as the design team and resident engineer for the project.
Project Summary
The North Branch of Buffalo Creek, located in the semi-urban suburbs of northwestern Illinois, has long faced challenges such as flooding, erosion, and degraded water quality. It has been designated as a wetland under the jurisdiction of the USACE. This project restored nearly 700 linear feet (1,400’ including both sides) of streambank and wetland corridor along the North Branch Buffalo Creek at Bristol Trails Park in Lake Zurich.
This project was a continuation of the efforts to reduce flooding, property damage, degradation of the natural wetland corridor, and shoreline loss in the Bristol Trails Subdivision and at the Bristol Trails Park. The purpose of the project was to reduce the continuing damage to the existing park, surrounding properties, and Village infrastructure. Through the stabilization of the streambank, restoration of the wetland areas, and improved conveyance and storage within the stream, the project lowers the risk of flooding for the adjacent and downstream residential properties, reduces the amount of land being lost to bank erosion, and improves the overall water quality and ecology of the watershed. The end results were to restore hydrologic, biodiversity, and water quality functions to the streambank.
Project Development and Construction
The Village engaged Manhard Consulting and JHWetco to develop a plan that would restore biodiversity, hydrologic functions, and water quality functions to the streambank. The design team at Manhard, including Kevin Lill and Jodi McCarthy, carefully balanced project costs and the minimization of environmental impacts with achieving the goals of the project. A full hydraulic analysis was conducted to ensure that the conveyance capacity of the creek was improved, as well as ensuring the stabilization measures were appropriate for the highly erosive flows generated by storm events. The flow of the creek during low and high flow periods was carefully considered in the planting plan to allow for the successful establishment of wetland vegetation. The project utilized a suite of best management practices to achieve the project goals, including:
Gabion Baskets: Stone filled gabion baskets were installed along the bends and areas of high erosion. The gabions will armor the creek banks and prevent the meandering of the creek cutting into the park and private properties.
Stone Toe Protection: RR-3 rip rap was installed at each treatment area. Stone toe protection was keyed into the lower edge of the outer channel and re-grading occurred on the upper bank through wither cut or fill depending upon location.
Wetland Restoration and Native Seeding: The existing buckthorn and invasive species were cleared from the area and a wetland restoration plan was implemented. The upper portion of the banks was reseeded with a native seed mix, and the lower portion of the banks were reseeded with a wetland seed mix, both appropriate to the site conditions. A cover crop of annual seeds will assist in rapid stabilization of exposed areas.
Grading and Excavation: The reduction of highly erosive areas due to steep slopes helped to improve the hydraulic function of the creek, as it provides additional storage and conveyance capacity. Laying back the slopes to allow higher flows to naturally pass over the top of these areas reduced erosion and increase available volume.
The Village of Lake Zurich has been dedicated to the improvements of Buffalo Creek to reduce the continuing damage to the existing park, surrounding properties, and Village infrastructure. Through strong collaboration with the Lake County Stormwater Management Commission, open communication with neighboring residents, and the technical expertise of Manhard and JHWetco, the goals to restore hydrologic, biodiversity, and water quality functions to the streambank were met. This project serves as a model for future efforts along the creek to lower the risk of the flooding for the adjacent and downstream residential properties and improve the overall water quality and ecology of the watershed.