26. Massachusetts Stream Crossing Standards
www.streamcontinuity.org/publications
Establish minimum criteria necessary to
facilitate fish and wildlife movement and
maintain stream continuity
Use of these standards alone will not
satisfy the need for proper engineering
and design.
27. • General Standards
– Open-bottom span preferred
– If culvert, then embedded:
• Min. 2ft (and at least 25% for round
pipe culverts)
• Include substrate >15 inches in
diameter, depths at least 2x D84 of
embed material
– Min. 1.2x bankfull width
– Matches stream substrate
– Openness: 0.25m
– Banks on both sides of stream,
match horizontal profile of
existing stream and banks
• Optimum Standards
– Bridge
– Min. 1.2x bankfull width
– Matches stream substrate
– Openness: 0.5-0.75m, Height:
6-8ft
– Banks on both sides of
stream, match horizontal
profile of existing stream and
banks, sufficient headroom
for wildlife
Massachusetts Stream Crossing Standards
28. These or similar standards are required to
be met under:
• U.S. Army Corp of Engineers'
Massachusetts General Permit
(July 2011)
• Massachusetts 401 Water Quality
Certification (314 CMR 9.00, June
2009)
• Further, the performance
standards in the Wetlands
Protection Act (310 CMR 10.00,
June 2009) require crossings to
maintain the carrying capacity of
the channel.
• DEP Regulatory Reform – include
permit streamlining for ecological
restoration, including culvert
replacements
29. • 2- 10 foot box culverts washed out in 2003. Road was closed to all traffic.2- 10 foot box culverts washed out in 2003. Road was closed to all traffic.
• Culvert had a history of clogging with debrisCulvert had a history of clogging with debris
Bronson Brook, WorthingtonBronson Brook, Worthington
Design with the river in mind!
31. Bronson Brook Post IreneBronson Brook Post Irene
• A channel spanning tree
located upstream of this culvert
prior to the storm was mobilized
and easily passed through this
crossing.
• Road remained open and
passable.
32. Green Mountain National Forest
FR17A/Jenny Coolidge Brook
Bottomless Arch Outlet
Competed Channel Construction
2010
Post TS Irene September 2011
Lost largest boulders near outlet and roughness along stem walls. Structure and road
undamaged.
33. Green Mountain National Forest
FR54/ Sparks Brook Bottomless Arch Inlet and Outlet
Pre-Irene July 2011 Post TS Irene September 2011
Flood Stage
34. “Being in the floodplain is like
sitting down in the bathtub”
~Robert Hunter
Take home messages:
•Use up-to-date data for
sizing culverts and locating
infrastructure
•Increase infiltration
wherever possible
•Design with the river in mind
•Minimize stream bank
hardening
•Protect floodplains from
development
Hinweis der Redaktion
View of Tropical Storm Irene as it hovers over Northeast
Note: Bolded flows are flow of record.
The Charlemont USGS Gage is approximately 11-12 miles downstream of the Fife Brook Dam, between the gage and the dam are several major tributaries including Pelham Brook, Cold River (Rte 2 – sustained all the damage), Chickley River, etc. The Power Company at the dam reported their peak water release was 58,329 (initiated Emergency Action Plan). So where did all the water go?
The floodplain…. Last minute photo along the Deerfield River just before evacuating to higher ground… note the HWM at the gazebo reached was above the railing, approx. 2 feet higher than pictured here.
Example of where river used its floodplain. Hawlemont School’s ballfields and playground covered in silt left behind by the flood. Water reached the building and cause some damage. In upper right-hand part of photo is the location of the sewage treatment plant which was also underwater and rendered un-operational post flood.
The before photo was captured a couple of years ago. Note the widening of the river channel and the loss of 3-4 acres of land on the outside bend. As the water recedes, deposition will occur on the inside bend where a new cobble bar has formed.
The star denotes where a structure stood approximately 65-70 feet from the river bank. The river eroded right up to the footings of this structure. The yellow area is the approximate area of land where the river eroded on the outside bend.
Cold River & Deerfield River Confluence 2005
Cold River & Deerfield River Confluence Sept. 18, 2011 Confluence of Cold and Deerfield Rivers. The Deerfield River splits around an island just upstream of here – the Deerfield’s channels are the ones in the upper left and lower left. The Cold River comes in on the lower right hand side of the photo. The confluence use to be further downstream and on river right. You can see the change in channel characteristics as the Cold now enters further upstream
View from the ground. 1 st photo is the before photo with the two channels of the Deerfield River meeting just to the right of the photo and Cold River channel on the left hand side of the photo. 2 nd photo post Irene.
Bank stablization structure installed in July 2011; notice bridge in background and vertical placement of the structure.
Same location looking from bridge. Note, according to Friends of South River, the river channel use to flow into the downtown, but was realigned to make this hard left-hand turn to go under the bridge. FOSR and local regional planning agency were conducting a geomorphic assessment prior to the floods to address known problem areas. This might rank as #1 now.
Gabion Baskets were installed in 1987 – a type of bank hardening protection. Failure occurred at upstream end where water got in and behind the gabion baskets and peeled them away from the bank.
Photo on left is of Zoar Gap on the Deerfield River. As you can see the channel is confined by the road and railroad. Large boulders the size of cars were placed on the slope going down to the river. It appears the river scoured out the toe of these boulders and the rest of the hillside and road slide down into the river.
Breach of Green River Water Supply Dam…. Note road leading to bridge downstream and water intake pipe were washed out.
Washed out in October 2005 Flood, Dimensions 4.5 foot round culvert and 6.5 foot x 4 foot elliptical culvert.
Photos of River Continuity Training – note each year volunteers found this crossing to be undersized when compared to bankfull width Replaced with three 4 foot round culverts in 2005 at cost of $60K+
Post Irene replaced with two 5 foot round culverts at a cost of $70K+ Estimated $300-$400k for clear bridge span
Bronson Brook in Worthington represented a good restoration opportunity, as the under-sized, perched double-box culvert, had washed out on several occasions. Bronson Brook is a high-quality cold-water tributary to the East Branch of the Westfield River. This culvert was selected for replacement.
Green Mountain National Forest Findings Crossings replaced to meet Aquatic Organism Passage (AOP) faired relatively well compared to other crossings USFS plan to: Capture post-geomorphic survey data Calculate and compare economic costs and impacts on communities Partner with Towns and Highway Departments to share and collect data