Stony Creek Dam Removal and Creek Restoration
Stony Creek is a groundwater-fed coldwater stream located in Oceana County, Michigan and is regarded as one of the highest quality trout streams in lower Michigan. The creek has a 57-square-mile watershed that is contained entirely in Oceana County, where the creek drains into Stony Lake and eventually into Lake Michigan.
With funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Great Lakes Fishery Trust, GEI was jointly contracted by the West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission and Conservation Resource Alliance to develop plans to remove the historic Marshville Dam and restore Stony Creek at Marshville Dam County Park. The park is a county park, owned and managed by Oceana County.
After the dam fell into a state of disrepair, the dam provided a blockage to fish passage and was also a safety concern. To develop project designs, GEI worked with project partners to assess existing conditions at the site, which included a depth to refusal study, assessment of woody debris in the channel and nearby reference reach, mapping of existing vegetation, topographic and bathymetric surveys, sediment sampling, and hydrologic/hydraulic modeling.
Project designs include the removal of the dam and restoration of the stream channel, using natural channel design principles and the Michigan Stream Quantification Tool (SQT) to establish restoration metrics. The design includes active sediment management and bioengineering along the riverbanks, as well as the installation of large woody debris. Plans also included the installation of a new ADA accessible path and viewing platform near the creek. The plans were developed jointly with the Oceana County Road Commission, who replaced existing stream culverts with a clear span timber bridge as part of the restoration effort.
Construction was completed May through July 2024. Construction included removal of approximately 3,800 cubic yards of soil to create a pilot channel and new floodplain in areas impacted by the dam. 139 woody habitat structures and 230’ of toewood were installed to provide both habitat and erosion control. The project was constructed on schedule, in coordination with the bridge replacement by the Oceana County Road Commission and was completed without issuing any change orders or contract amendments.