Church Creek is considered one of the most polluted tributaries of the South River. No small part of this is due to land use of the surrounding area.

A watershed, or an area of land within which all water drains into one body, is normally made up of a combination of both natural and developed landscapes. Water from rain and melting snow can be absorbed by natural surfaces, like forest floors, gardens, or lawns. However, water that falls on harder, man-made surfaces, such as parking lots, asphalt, or roofing, will run off of these surfaces until it finds an area where it can be absorbed or reaches a water body. On its way, rainwater runoff picks up and carries with it many substances that can disrupt the aquatic ecosystem.

Some substances, such as pesticides, fertilizers, and oils are harmful even in small quantities. Others, such as sediment that has been washed away from bare soils on construction sites or farmland, pet waste, and grass clippings become harmful when a certain concentration is attained.

Believe it or not, sediment is actually the biggest and arguably the most harmful, pollutant for the South River. Not only can it directly impair the health of aquatic organisms, but it can also indirectly contribute to dead zones – areas unable to support significant aquatic life.

Most of Church Creek runs through Annapolis and a great deal of developed land. It is no surprise that Church Creek’s watershed is made up of around 55% man-made impervious surfaces. Scientists have determined that harmful effects on plants and wildlife populations occur when impervious surfaces make up 5% or more of the watershed. To see photos and learn more about the Church Creek Headwaters Site, click here.

While some environmental agencies identified this creek as a priority for restoration, others considered it too impaired for restoration efforts to be worthwhile.

South River Federation’s Role

Without intervention, the Federation would have been fighting to heal a river against insurmountable levels of pollution from the Church Creek watershed. This is comparable to attempting to provide physical therapy to someone who is still bleeding from an injury. One must first address the source of the problem before moving on to tend to any effects that the problem may have inflicted.

The South River Federation saw an opportunity to address a large source of pollution for the South River. By implementing a comprehensive restoration initiative along Church Creek that utilized cutting edge techniques to physically and biochemically filter runoff, aiming to reduce the pollutants gushing from the Creek into the South River.  Although Church Creek itself may never support wildlife the way it once did, the Federation is confident that basic biological functions can be restored and the majority of pollution trapped or treated before reaching the river.

Church Creek Restoration: The Headwaters

One of South River Federation’s largest projects is located near the top of Church Creek, just off of Rt.665, Aris T. Allen Blvd. Characterized by steep ravines and deep, narrow stream channels, this area was highly eroded from years of poor stormwater management. Surges of stormwater runoff, made worse by the high percentage of impervious surfaces from the surrounding area, repeatedly ripped sediment away from stream banks and washed it, along with other pollutants, into the South River.

To restore this area, the Federation completely terraformed the ffive-acre site. Ravines were leveled and multiple small channels were joined to create a shallower and wider wetland area. In the event of a large storm, this enables the stream to spread across the entire flood plain, dramatically reducing the speed and force of the water. In this manner, the reconnected flood plain works to prevent erosion, thereby, limiting sediment pollution.

Large step pools were built as a tool to slow and filter water before it entered the South River. Water in this system slows and cools, filling one pool before cascading down into the next. Filtration occurs with the help of sand and mulch, which partially constitutes the form and subsurface of the pools. By driving water under and through these substrates, the wetland pools work to treat the water, similarly to the way a carbon filter in your Brita water pitcher removes particles and chemicals from your water.

Research indicates that the ideal and most effective location to install a restoration project is at the upper source streams of a creek. The Church Creek Headwaters site is located at a point where four streams converge halfway down the creek basin. Unfortunately, at the time when the Federation was searching for a location to install a restoration project, none of the shopping centers or apartment complexes stationed at the top of the source streams were interested in terraforming their properties.

It wasn’t until Jerry Blackwell, owner of the large property located just above Church Creek tidal waters, partnered with the Federation in 2007, that an opportunity to do a large scale project on the main stem of Church Creek arose.  This site was to later become the aforementioned Church Creek Headwaters site (2014).

Blackwell spent an entire decade using tractors to pull cars, trailers, 55 gallon drums, trash bags and tires (lots of tires) out of the ravine.

Blackwell said that when he purchased the property and asked about the illegal dumping in the creek, the seller flipped his palms up and said, “Well, what’s done is done. Nobody cares about this creek anyway.”

In fact, after the formerly resistant commercial property owners at the headwaters of Church Creek saw a real-life, local example of the large scale in-stream restoration project, they changed their minds. The Federation just completed a project at Annapolis Harbour Center this past spring (2016) and is in the final stages of permitting for others near Allen Apartments and Bywater Mutual Homes.

Where Application Meets Policy

Despite receiving criticism concerning the mid-basin location of the Church Creek Headwaters project, the Federation pressed on with the initiative, knowing that the ideal conditions for a restoration project could take years to present themselves. Since the completion of this project, the Federation has installed numerous other large-scale projects.

With these multiple projects, the Federation has the unique opportunity to observe the effects of layered restoration. This allows stormwater runoff to be treated several times before reaching the South River. Current research indicates that this approach has the potential to exponentially improve the water quality and wildlife abundance.

Due to its size, location, as well as its concordance with other Church Creek projects, the Church Creek Headwaters restoration site is on the cutting edge of restoration projects. If the promising results that we have observed thus far progress into long term effects, this project could serve as a model for other streams with similar challenges throughout the country.

This Church Creek Headwaters Project is the center point for the Federation’s Church Creek restoration initiative, but the Federation has completed 13 other projects within this Creek’s watershed, including rain gardens, living shorelines, bioretention areas, and in-stream restoration. To see more Federation Restoration Projects, click here.