Stream Mitigation

Client: Wal-Mart

Business Challenge:

Originally settled in 1849, Decorah, Iowa is a center for Norwegian-American culture and is home to Luther College as well as several parks and recreational sites including skiing attractions and an operating trout hatchery. Wal-Mart Stores proposed development in Decorah, Iowa and the proposed site of development was in a very sensitive area to the community as this area contained a small stream that was a tributary that led directly into the Iowa River, a highly important waterway in Northeast Iowa.

EGIS’s Response to its Client’s Needs:

EGIS coordinated with Wal-Mart, the city of Decorah and a civil engineer to re-route the stream and did so successfully in the middle of the winter season. EGIS worked in unison with a construction and development team to construct the new stream including riffle/pool complexes, transplanted stream substrate and riparian zones. The site was also further enhanced with a prairie grassland and EGIS continued with monitoring services. Since the construction of the new stream, EGIS has observed aquatic and other wildlife in association with the new wetland areas.