AMEC awarded major stream restoration project in Kentucky

17 March 2009

Plymouth Meeting, Pa. US (17 March 2009) AMEC, the international engineering and project management company, has been selected to help the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) manage a $3.2 million stream-restoration project, the largest such project in the state.  

AMEC’s project scope will include data collection and project design, construction inspection and oversight, coordination with the state’s Historic Preservation Office, federal water quality certification and dredged-material permitting, and post-construction monitoring.

The majority of the work will involve segments of Puncheon Creek, where numerous eroding banks are present and the channel is laterally migrating at many locations. The creek is cutting into the hillside at the upper end of the site, causing landslides. To correct these problems a new channel adding several thousand feet to the overall length of Puncheon Creek will be cut away from the hillside and at other locations to redirect and slow the stream’s flow.

Also, bankfull benches, step pools and other structures will be installed in various areas to slow erosion or create habitat. Additionally, to improve the riparian habitat where trees are sparse or absent, a 50-foot wide strip of trees will be established along both sides of Puncheon Creek and a 25-foot strip of trees will be established along the tributaries.

The project manager is Midwest Geotechnical/Water Unit Manager David Sawitzki from the Louisville, Ky. office. The lead design engineer is Lee Forbes from Houston, Texas. Also involved are Mark Everett, senior water resources engineer in Indianapolis, Ind., and Lance Rasnake, stream restoration and erosion prevention engineer in Knoxville, Tenn. All are from AMEC’s Earth and Environmental division.

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