MSRA Webinar Series - Upland Headwater Channel Restoration: An Approach to Upland Headwater Channel Design and Restoration feat. S. Grant Ginn, PE
MSRA is excited to continue our series of webinars featuring leading industry researchers and partners, as we strive to offer opportunities for discussion and promote advancement of the stream restoration science. Visit our website and social media channels for upcoming webinars.
Continuing Education Credits will be offered for the MSRA Webinar Series!
We hope you will join us:
When: Thursday, October 30th
Time: 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Where: GoToWebinar
Following your registration, and prior to the event, you will receive a webinar link from GoToWebinar on the morning of the webinar which will give you access to the webinar.
Will you be attending?
Register Today! Registration will Close at 3pm the Day Before the Webinar.
EVENT DETAILS:
Cost: Free for members, $10 for non-members
Presentation Abstract: Restoring headwater streams provide a unique set of challenges. In the upland settings of the mountain and piedmont regions of the eastern US, headwater streams often begin as steep gradients within confined valleys and may originate with springs or seeps that provide consistent baseflow hydrology even with only minimal contributing drainage areas. Within these small watersheds, the role that hydrology plays in forming the channel diminishes such that the geomorphic form of the channel is predominantly controlled by either geology, biology or a combination of the two.
One difficulty in applying traditional concepts and experience gained from restoring river systems up into the headwater reaches is that much of this knowledge is built on an understanding of alluvial channel expressions that are found further down the river system. In fully alluvial systems the role of hydrology, and in particular, bankfull flow is well established in forming much of the observable channel features. However, at the upper end of the watershed, the channel form is not greatly influenced by bankfull flow events. Instead, significantly larger episodic events that can trigger mass wasting, debris flows, reorganization of keystone and large wood, and/or excessive scouring often radically alter the channel and valley form. These episodic events are then usually followed by many years of little to no change in the general form of the channel, while the stream settles in, developing additional habitat forms associated with migration of small-grained sediment and colonization of vegetation.
Applying traditional restoration approaches to these unique systems often results in less than satisfactory outcomes. The restoration approach presented has been developed over several decades and seeks to mimic natural headwater processes and functions using only natural materials in a method that has proven applicable over a wide range of site conditions.
Presenter's Abstract: Grant has nearly forty years of experience in the morphologic, hydrologic and hydraulic design of rivers, streams, and wetlands associated with restoration, mitigation, remediation and infrastructure projects. Over the course of his career, he has designed and overseen the restoration of more than 400,000 feet of streams and over 1,900-acres of wetlands. His project experience has spanned across North America in a variety of geologic and geomorphic settings. Grant is currently serving as the river design subject matter expert advising the North Carolina Department of Transportation in their hurricane Helene recovery efforts and recently founded Grant Ginn Consulting to provide river design consulting, design team mentoring, and river management advisory services to public and private clients.
