Duck Creek tributaries in northwest Indiana often flood when it rains, swamping nearby roads.
Schleizer: “When the floods come, it can get very chaotic…so people, you know, are stuck and can't travel like they used to.”
Bill Schleizer is with the nonprofit Delta Institute.
He said pollution, road salt and sediment from farms also wash into creeks during storms. As climate change brings more intense rainfall, the risk of flooding also increases.
So Schleizer's team is working with local officials to restore the Duck Creek ecosystem.
Last year, they started at about 1,000 feet into the stream and turned a straight channel into a meandering creek surrounded by plants and filled with fish, birds and insects.
By restoring the creek to a more natural state, the project also helps the watershed absorb more rainwater.
Schleizer: “In this small area alone, we're adding over 150,000 gallons of stormwater storage per year. … So we're seeing a reduction in downstream flooding. The surface flow is now gone.
The team plans to eventually restore a half-mile of a Duck Creek tributary to help prevent more flooding even as the risk of severe storms increases.
Report source: Ethan Freedman / ChavoBart Digital Media
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