Valley Green Road Stream Stabilization

Client : Friends of the Wissahickon
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Human influences and several record rain events had severely damaged this urban stream in the 1,800-acre Wissahickon Valley Park, the crown jewel of the City of Philadelphia's celebrated Fairmount Park system. Actively eroding streambanks were undermining mature trees and a heavily used adjacent parking lot, creating unsafe conditions for park users. A solution to the unique challenge of a stream with flow little more than a trickle during normal conditions but over its banks and extremely high energy during major storms was required. Skelly and Loy, Inc.'s robust yet aesthetically pleasing solution employed a unique natural step-pool stream channel approach, providing in-stream aquatic habitat during low flow conditions and energy dissipation during high flows. To complement the park setting, local rock was used for stream stabilization, and timber guide rails were incorporated in the parking area reconstruction. Project construction was completed by Skelly and Loy's in-house construction staff and Philadelphia Water's Watershed Restoration Team, with assistance from the Friends of the Wissahickon and Philadelphia Parks and Recreation. The result: the stream's function and stability have been restored, allowing the benefits of Wissahickon Valley Park to be fully and safely enjoyed by visitors for years to come.

Markets:Non-Profit
Services: Engineering, Permitting, Surveying, Construction