Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2007DE113B

The University of Delaware Experimental Watershed: A Green Campus Initiative

Institute: Delaware
Year Established: 2007 Start Date: 2007-06-01 End Date: 2008-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $1,750 Total Non-Federal Funds: $3,500

Principal Investigators: Gerald Kauffman, Laura Yayac

Project Summary: The University of Delaware Water Resources Agency plans to restore the stream channel and riparian buffer of Blue Hen Creek, an on-campus tributary to the White Clay Creek National Wild and Scenic River in Newark, Delaware. UD undergraduate and graduate students will restore this stream as part of their course work in water resources engineering and natural resources management classes. The Blue Hen Creek is a Piedmont headwater stream that feeds the White Clay Creek, source of drinking water to Newark and the UD campus, and one of only six trout streams in Delaware. Specific objectives of this project are to demonstrate the viability of low cost, low equipment intensive natural stream restoration techniques by volunteers to restore headwater tributaries in the Piedmont to reduce sediment loads and comply with the Christina Basin TMDL order set by the USEPA in April 2005 including: (1) Restore 1900 linear feet of stream in the White Clay Creek Wild and Scenic River watershed; (2) Provide a public demonstration and outreach project at a high visibility site on the UD campus; (3) Remove invasive species within the riparian buffer area; (4) Reforest the riparian area with native plants; (5) Prevent erosion of the stream channel thus reducing sediment loads and improving stream habitat.