Erosion Control of Bioengineering Stream Restoration Techniques Case Studies: Strawberry Creek and Blackberry Creek

A growing concern for the environment causes myriad issues to surface such that
whole communities take interest in how mitigation is employed to solve problems. Not to
be overlooked are the methods utilized for urban stream control and restoration.
Previously, organizations such as the Army Corps of Engineers, the sole government
agency responsible for installing flood control measures, solved the problem of urban
stream restoration and bank stabilization by creating structures to prevent floods and bank
failures: high-tech solutions. Consequently, concrete walls and embankments were built
ignoring the ecological implications of these structures, such as the loss of riparian
habitats. Furthermore, as shown by the Wildcat Creek in San Pablo, California, a project
plagued with long delays and unacceptably huge costs, high-tech solutions do not always
succeed (Riley, 1989). Bioengineering techniques, which depend on local resources,
vegetation and intensive labor to provide the same support and restoration as the
conventional methods, offer a low-tech alternative.