Bill King Stream Restoration Project,
New Market, Virginia
The Challenge


Although agriculture has sustained Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley for centuries, it also has had the unfortunate side effect of polluting the valley’s waterways. Sedimentation, nutrient loading, and industrial discharges are all problems throughout the Potomac Watershed. Smith Creek, a meandering stream that empties into the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, itself a major tributary of the Potomac, is moderately degraded from previous agricultural activity.
The PWP Solution

Volunteers begin the process of planting trees and shrubs along Hawksbill Creek.Bill and Ginny King, who own land along Smith Creek, have elected to put 33 acres of the flood plain into the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). Repair of the stream banks and restoration to areas of the stream blocked by debris are planned before the 33 acres of floodplain are replanted. This project is a joint effort of the Virginia Department of Forestry and Ducks Unlimited, both members of the Potomac Watershed Partnership.

The Smith Creek watershed has a 92 square-mile drainage area at the point of the King Farm. Work will include the placement of rock vane structures to relieve sheer stress on the outside bends of the stream. Large piles of in-stream debris will be removed. Approximately 175 linear feet of bank will be graded to an appropriate slope to reclaim access to the floodplain for high water during flood events.

Looking Ahead

Benefits from the restoration activities include a reduction of bank erosion and prevention of sediment loads being transported further into the Shenandoah River watershed. Reducing bank erosion will also protect the CREP seedlings from being undercut and carried away during high flow events. As a result, clean, clear water will be a boon for fisheries and other in-stream aquatic species.
Close