KCI provided comprehensive professional services for the restoration of Mill Dam Creek, located in the Yadkin River Basin in Yadkin County, North Carolina.
Our team performed site assessment, surveying, engineering design, construction oversight, and post-construction monitoring to restore more than 13,500 linear feet of Mill Dam Creek and its 14 tributaries. Years of channel relocation, stream straightening, livestock impacts, and the loss of riparian vegetation had altered the site’s natural hydrology, resulting in unstable stream channels, disconnected floodplains, and degraded habitat.
The restoration design reestablished stable stream channels, reconnected streams to their floodplains, restored riparian corridors, and improved long-term watershed function. Much of the project utilized a Priority 1 restoration approach to return streams to more natural alignments and enhance floodplain connectivity. KCI also designed regenerative stormwater conveyance systems and seep stabilization measures to reduce erosion, improve water quality, and protect downstream resources.
In addition to stream restoration, the project permanently protected wetlands through conservation easements, preserving important flood storage, water quality, and wildlife habitat. The completed restoration transformed a degraded agricultural landscape into a resilient headwater stream system that supports improved water quality, enhanced habitat, and long-term watershed health. Ongoing monitoring helps ensure the restoration continues to meet its ecological performance objectives.
