Wildhorse
Riverworks

Wildhorse Riverworks, Inc. (WRI) personnel surveyed, designed, and provided construction oversight for stabilization of 18,483 feet of eroding streambank along the Delaware River in Atchison, Brown, Jackson, and Jefferson Counties in Kansas. This project was initiated by the Delaware River Watershed Restoration and Protection Strategy (WRAPS) Group and was sponsored by the Glacial Hills Resource and Conservation District (RC&D). Subsequent projects have been funded by the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Division of Conservation, and the Kickapoo Tribal Nation. The site pictured is one of 23 projects which collectively span over 3.8 miles of the river and established over 28 acres of riparian habitat.  The projects purpose is to reduce the high streambank erosion rates, loss of valuable farmland, and achieve a reduction in sediment volumes entering Perry Federal Reservoir.

​

​

September of 2009, WRI staff began surveys of this and other sites. Based on information from detailed surveys and geomorphic assessment, WRI recommended installing combinations of Longitudinal Peaked Stone Toe Protection (LPSTP) and either rock vanes or bendway weirs on the various sites in order to reduce streambank erosion. Bendway weirs and rock vanes reduce streambank erosion by re-directing flows away from the bank and thereby reducing water velocities and shear stress in the near bank region. WRI has used these structures to reduce the stream’s width / depth ratio and move the thalweg (deepest part of channel) from the near bank region to the center of the channel. Rock vanes and bendway weirs work with the stream’s natural tendencies to move the stream toward a more naturally stable condition. All 15 sites were surveyed and designs were completed in 45 days from the date notice to proceed was received by WRI

​

​

Construct began in June 2010 and was completed in March 2017. Following installation of the rock structures, the vertical streambanks were reshaped to a minimum 2H: 1V slope.

The slope was seeded with a native grass mixture and mulched with straw. The sloped banks were also planted with a mixture of native tree and shrub species. A total of 18,675 bare-root seedlings and 3,368 live cuttings were planted on the streambanks.

The goal for this project was to reduce streambank erosion, while improving stream function and value by enhancing both aquatic and terrestrial habitats.