Urbanization has resulted in a very "flashy" hydrologic regime in Strawberry Creek. Channelization and channel confinement of the creek on the central campus has compounded the problem. Baseflows are quite low most of the year and the shallow flow is dispersed over the streambed. Wet weather peak flows scour the streambed and flush aquatic organisms downstream. The natural pool-riffle sequence of the creek has been destroyed along with aquatic habitat and cover.
It is necessary to restore the natural pool-riffle sequence to provide habitats for the feeding, breeding, and cover of aquatic life. Artificially smooth cement walls that accelerate streamflow should be removed and replaced with biotechnical streambank stabilization methods that incorporate natural riparian growth along both sides of the channel. Check dams are effective in restoring a more natural pool-riffle sequence but also act as physical barriers to migration for aquatic life. Other techniques that can be employed to improve habitat in modified channels include submerged spillways and sills (low structures that create upstream pools and downstream riffles), deflectors and rock clusters used to develop pools (Figure 21), and cover devices such as previously described brush matting or layering.
Reestablishment of desired aquatic species should gradually occur as water quality improves in Strawberry Creek. Actual reintroduction of species will have to be evaluated in the future and will depend upon the water quality and suitability of habitat in the creek. Important physical habitat factors include amount of shading, water depth and velocity, water temperature, substrate conditions, organic material, establishment of vegetation, and the development of a pool-riffle regime.