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Channelization Issues

• Local plants and animals that are well adapted to short term habitat disruptions (such as flash floods) cannot survive in the long term turbidity created by ongoing channel constuction projects

• Unlined channels (streams that keep their natural banks/streambeds) are often subject to excessive illumination and increasing temperatures. This forces native species out of the area since they cannot survive in the warmer water and favor shaded, sheltered habitats

• Lined channels (natural material covered by manmade material such as concrete) are subject to prolonged turbidity, and the natural habitat cannot be recovered. Smooth concrete offers little to no shelter, and channels are often built with flat bottoms which creates a shallow stream water depth, increased pH, and increased temperatures

Potentail Solutions

• Long term turbidity/disruption can be minimized by allowing and encouraging revegetation of the stream channel banks, which would also help reduce erosion and provide additional stream habitat 

• Replanting bankside canopy vegetation (reeds, shrubs, and trees) will provide shade and covered habitat for stream organisms and will help encourage the recolonization of these habitats by native species

• Alternating lined stream sections with unlined, well vegetated channel sections will provide habitat for stream species, and create areas for water quality to improve. Notchs can be built into the center of the channels to create a deeper stream depth which will help decrease water temperatures