To reverse this trend, Waterways is engaged in a long-term effort to restore Trout Creek, a process that has included assessment and design of multiple project phases. The primary project objectives are to:

•         Restore natural geomorphic function to lower Trout Creek and reduce fine sediment loads into the channel,
•         Improve ecological function through riparian corridor restoration and enhancement of aquatic habitat,
•         Improve water quality by treating local runoff from surrounding urban land uses,
•         Provide 100-year flood protection through the project reach,
•         Improve the recreational and aesthetic value of Trout Creek.

The entire study reach includes approximately one mile of Trout Creek divided into six reaches. Since 2008, Waterways has designed and implemented two phases of the project including a portion of Reach 1, which included replacing a channelized, concrete channel with a natural-bed channel three times larger, and Reach 3, which consisted of replacing a earthen trapezoidal ditch with a natural, meandering channel and greatly expanded floodplain. We are currently in the process of designing Reach 4 and 5 which includes approximately 2800 feet of restored channel and wet meadow habitat interspersed with sections of channel constrained by adjacent land uses.

The entire project site has been highly modified and is constrained by adjacent developments, road crossings, and utilities. These challenges are being met through property acquisition and a reach-scale re-imagining of both the planform and profile alignment of each reach to maximize the creation of low gradient, wet meadow habitats that provide both ecological uplift and flood control and water quality benefits to this highly urbanized tributary to the Truckee River.