The goal of this project was to repair and reinforce the Poudre River bank near the Bellvue wastewater treatment plant’s raw ponds. The bank had been damaged from the heavy flooding in 2013, and spring thaw floods were threatening to breach the berm containing the raw ponds, spilling them into the waterway. WSRI maintained a very stringent schedule to beat the spring thaw and repair the riverbank in winter conditions. More than 1600 cubic yards of native soil and cobble material were utilized to reinforce the bank, as well as 70 boulders placed into barbs to direct water flow out and away from the bank. The bank materials were placed in lifts wrapped in koirmat, a heavy duty erosion control mat made of coconut fibers woven into rope-like netting.
Additional tasks included topsoil stripping, material hauling from locations throughout the site, cobble and soil mixing, shaping of the north point bar, and general excavation. WSRI plans to plant native trees, shrubs, and tublings along the bank in 2014 and 2015, and will then begin the 2 year maintenance phase of the project.
City of Greeley
Greeley, Colorado