DESCRIPTION
This in-stream restoration project will stabilize eroding slopes and reverse channel incision along one of the main tributaries to Clarks Creek. Wooden bed-control structures will be constructed to help slow peak stream velocities and halt downcutting of the channel. Timber frame structures will be used to stabilize banks, preventing further erosion and directing sediments to settle into a more stable stream profile. Native riparian vegetation will be installed along approximately 3,200 linear feet of the creek.
The Diru Creek ravine is a 0.6 mile reach of Diru Creek located between 72nd Avenue East and 80th Street East in unincorporated Pierce County. The ravine has experienced severe channel incision (down-cutting) and side-slope erosion over the past 75 years. This destabilized condition persists today. The creek continues to erode its side-slopes, delivering excess sediment to Clarks Creek and harming water quality.
Pierce County and the Puyallup Tribe of Indians (PTI) are collaborating to design and install a novel project solution. PTI acquired 17.7 acres of the project area and hired Natural Design Consultants (NSD) to develop alternative methods for bank and channel stabilization. Pierce County has taken a lead role in construction management. The County has budgeted $537,510 for project implementation, and secured an additional $500,000 in Section 319 grant funding through the Department of Ecology.
The Diru Creek project will utilize a combination of riparian plantings and bio-engineering techniques to stabilize the channel's side-slopes and reverse the down-cutting in the streambed. This project will lead to a controlled level of streambed aggradation (raising) over time.
