To help protect water quality in Cow Bridge Branch, the Center for the Inland Bays recently completed a project to enhance the stream channel along part of an unnamed, degraded tributary that runs through the Stockley Center and into Cow Bridge Branch.

The stream channel is an intermittent stream which flows during the winter and spring and during periods of heavy rainfall. Prior to the start of the project, the area had been mowed during dry periods and was almost entirely comprised of turf grass which was ineffective at slowing down and filtering storm-water that entered the channel.

To restore the channel, 5,000 native plants including trees, grasses, shrubs, and wildflowers, were planted to create a buffer along the channel banks to slow and filter runoff before it entered the stream. A large rain garden was created to capture and filter water during periods of high rainfall, and some minor grading was done along the edge of the stream channel to increase the stream’s floodplain area.

This restoration project is designed to improve water quality and address erosion and runoff problems to further protect one of the most pristine areas of the Inland Bays watershed. Natural buffers of vegetation along the shorelines of waterways are an important defense in protecting and improving water quality in the Inland Bays.