Brush Creek Restoration

Santa Rosa, CA

City of Santa Rosa
Fall 1999

This is a comprehensive salmon and steelhead habitat restoration project, designed by Carlisle Macy of Santa Rosa. Approximately 800 linear feet of Brush Creek, a tributary to Santa Rosa Creek was reconfigured within an eighty-foot wide flood control channel to optimize spawning habitat for anadramous fish.  Prior to restoration, the summer flow stagnated, creating large pools with relatively high temperatures due to full sun exposure.  This ponding condition was not conducive to salmon and steelhead habitat.

The goal of the project was to create a low flow channel that limits ponding and is aligned along the shady side of the flood control channel.  Construction included installation of weirs, “wing” deflectors, and redwood root wads. These structures act as both habitat and as controls for the newly meandering low-flow channel. The channel slope was very low, resulting in grade tolerances in the 1/10-foot range for the deflectors and the 1/100-foot range for the weirs. The revegetation portion of the project involved dense reforestation of the upper banks of the flood control channel, alder plantings along the low-flow channel, and installation of a temporary irrigation system.

This was a high profile project (the first of its kind in the City of Santa Rosa) with numerous agencies monitoring construction progress, including: City of Santa Rosa, Sonoma County Water Agency, DFG, ACE and NMFS. Challenges included a 24-7 pump bypass, detailed placement (within 0.10-foot elevation) of up to 9000 lb. stones, and numerous field design decisions.