Centerville Creek + Hika Park

CLIENT
Village of Cleveland

LOCATION
Cleveland, Wisconsin

STATUS
Current Project

Established
January 2009

SIZE
13.85 Acres

CATEGORY
Park / Natural Habitat / River

The Centerville Creek Restoration Project was completed through the development of a number of key partnerships that included the Village of Cleveland, the Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership (LNRP), UW-Madison, and UW-Manitowoc. The Village of Cleveland engaged LNRP to first complete an assessment that could provide a range of options for the restoration of Centerville Creek in the project area defined by the millpond. LNRP led the effort to bring community perspectives into the project framework, initiate discussions with potential funding sources, design and implement a restoration strategy, and commit to a long-term maintenance plan that would ensure returns on these investments.

Funding for this phase of the project came from a variety of sources including Sustain Our Great Lakes, Healing Our Waters, Fund for Lake Michigan, and the Brico Fund.

Goals for this restoration project include:  

• Reconnect the floodplain with the stream channel  

• Remove invasive species and re-establish native vegetation  

• Create a more aesthetically attractive stream corridor 

• Increase the accessibility to the stream and adjacent floodplain for residents

• Improve aquatic habitat conditions

Excavation of the impounded sediments, re-alignment of the existing channel, incorporation of large woody debris (LWD), and planting native vegetation were determined to meet the project goals while balancing the available budget. Approximately 8,500 cubic yards (CY) of sediment will be excavated, the stream length will increase by 150 feet, 68 pieces of LWD will be installed, and 3  acres of native vegetation was established.

The Centerville Creek Dam, located in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, was constructed  just before 1895 and was removed in 1996. The structure was approximately 10 ft high and impounded a 5 acre area. Since dam removal, accumulated impoundment sediments have largely remained in place and channel adjustments have proceeded very slowly due to the cohesive fine grain sizes. The current channel is incised and floods rarely flow onto the floodplain. Consequently, aquatic and riparian habitat in Centerville Creek remains in poor health.

The first phase of the Centerville Creek Restoration Project was completed through the development of several key partnerships established by the Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership (LNRP) that included the Village of Cleveland, UW-Madison, UW-Manitowoc, and the Friends of Hika Bay. The Friends of Hika Bay emerged from the Citizen Advisory Committee formed to provide guidance to the design phase of the project. The creek was restored to a meandering stream constructed with pools, riffles, and other fish habitat structures. The riparian zone was planted with trees, shrubs, forbs, and grasses designed to recreate a “cedar swamp” with time. Hika Park absorbed the newly restored Centerville Creek Corridor and the Hika Shores properties to become 13.9 acres from the original 2.2 acres.

The former Centerville Creek dam was an approximately 10 ft high run-of-the-river concrete dam that was constructed just before 1895. Like most run-of-the-river dams, it had a fixed crest elevation without spillway gates that permit the discharge of impounded waters and adjustment of storage volume. This type of dam configuration maintained a permanent impoundment and backwater.  Run-of-the-river dams have been shown to allow sediment consolidation which impedes erosion following dam removal (Doyle et al., 2003). The consolidation of sediments in the former impoundment, coupled with their cohesive nature, resulted in very slow rates of erosion following dam removal. Today, the majority of sediments remain in place (an estimated 15.4% of the  accumulated sediments have eroded in the 15 years since dam removal), eroding slowly, inhibiting the recovery of aquatic and riparian ecosystems.

The former dam was located 700 ft upstream from its mouth at Lake Michigan. The restoration project begins here and extends about 1400 ft upstream into Centerville Creek. Although the accumulated sediments extend further upstream into the North and South Branches of Centerville Creek, the extent of the restoration project stops at the boundary of Village of Cleveland-owned land. The following paragraphs discuss other pertinent conditions of the site and its watershed.

We designed Centerville Creek to restore the natural hydrologic processes in the stream and floodplain, re-establish native vegetation, improve fish and macro-invertebrate habitat, and optimize the project budget to maximize the ecological function of the stream. This design was based on creating stability in the main channel at the estimated 100-yr flood quantile for a time period of 3 years to allow vegetation to become established. In the floodplain areas, erosion resistance and stability is unknown as the ground surface will be left bare. However, LWD was incorporated into the design to direct over-bank flows and provide some insurance against channel avulsion.  

The four key design components that met the project goals include: (1) excavation of accumulated impoundment sediment to re-connect the floodplain to the stream; (2) re-alignment of the stream to match its pre-dam sinuosity; (3) establishment of native vegetation; and (4) placement of LWD and gravel to provide habitat for aquatic and riparian species.

The vegetation plan aims to re-establish a forested floodplain with a species composition similar to the existing vegetation on the valley walls and the trees documented in the public land surveyor notes. Our primary goal is to restore the white cedar forest that is prevalent along the south side of the valley and was also noted in the area floodplains in 1834. Fifty 5-gallon white cedar trees were  included in the plans, though more could be installed if additional funds were obtained. In addition, 2 black willow (Salix nigra) and 6 basswood (Tilia Americana) trees were included to add some diversity since these species are already present in the area. Only two black willows were specified as they grow aggressively and shade other species. The locations of these two trees will be in areas that are prone to erosion as their quick growth and root systems provide stream bank stability relatively quickly. A mix of 5 shrub species (Pussy willow, Salix discolor; Gray dogwood, Cornus racemosa; Red osier dogwood, Cornus sericea; Ninebark, Physocarpus opulifolius; and Nannyberry, Viburnum lentago) were also specified that are typically found throughout floodplains in the region.  

We designed a seed mix of native grass and sedge species that will provide an immediate ground cover following construction, and adapt to the sunny open conditions following restoration as well as the shaded understory once the trees become larger.

Initial stream restoration will involve added streambank stabilization and in-stream habitat enhancements. Wood structures will be installed to (1) control hydraulic conditions to promote survival and longevity of newly planted vegetation; and (2) provide cover and refuge for fishes, reduce local sediment inputs, increase stable bed material for spawning (gravel), and increase stable substrates for macroinvertebrates. The outcome will be more robust and diverse native fish and bird populations in the ecosystem, and improved Lake Michigan water quality. Work on the stream is being planned for spring of 2021 and with equipment in place, will be immediately followed by tree and shrub planting. LNRP will continue to provide updates on our website and the Village of Cleveland newsletter.