Location: Albemarle County, VA
Status: Completed 2020
Awards: 2021 VA ASLA Honor Award

Repairing the riparian connectivity of a perennial tributary of Mechums River, we began with the removal of a failing 70 year old dam. The design prioritized restoring the pre-dam streambed and ecology, creating multiple aquatic habitat types while minimizing downstream sedimentation and erosion through the formation of log riffle structures, pools and stone cascades, and floodplain meadow zones.  Within the series of intermittent pools, a larger swimhole was incorporated for cooling off during hot summer days.

Wolf Josey worked closely with Ecosystem Services to design the physical form to ensure all hydrologic needs and sustainable construction techniques were met. All woody debris from the pond clearing process were reused for the toe embankments and, aiding the regrading process, decades of trapped sediment from behind the dam was mixed with site soils and recycled to create new soils for adjacent reforestation and meadow areas.  The entire pond site was revegetated with a mix of native perennials, grasses, shrubs and riparian trees. 

 “This is the best stream restoration project I’ve ever seen.”
- Albemarle County Engineering Inspector