It’s a cycle: Heavy storms uproot trees and vegetation that would normally slow the water flow into the streams; the next time a storm comes, there is less vegetation to slow the flow, which means more powerful currents, which means more soil erosion, which means even less vegetation to slow the flow of water and to support wildlife.
Mt Lebanon has seen substantial erosion in the areas around the stream at Bird Park, and is working to repair some of the long-term storm damage.
The $148,230.50 stream restoration project, funded through a 2019 bond issue, will involve installing about 15 structures in the stream, designed to slow the flow of water. The structures can include things like natural logs to be used to deflect the water, rock lining and planting along the stream’s banks. Dead trees around the stream’s banks also will be removed.
The project will stabilize about 700 feet of stream bank. As an added benefit, the project will count toward the reduction of sediment, which was mandated through Mt. Lebanon’s MS-4 (Municipal Separate Storm Sewer) permit, a federal permit required for the discharge of municipal storm sewers.
The stream restoration project is one of several included in Mt. Lebanon’s five-year capital improvement plan.