Woods Creek Reach 10 Restoration

The Woods Creek Reach 10 Restoration Project is located in Ken Carpenter Park between Algonquin and Randall Roads in Lake in the Hills, Illinois. Prior to restoration, a significant amount of eroded sediment from highly incised and eroded streambanks made its way to Woods Creek downstream, resulting in periodic and costly dredging by the Village. Water exiting Woods Creek Lake makes its way to the Fox River near downtown Algonquin.

In 2012, a group of inter-governmental partners, including the Village of Lake in the Hills, applied for and received a 319 Grant and hired RES to prepare the Woods Creek Watershed-Based Plan. The watershed plan identified an approximately 2,500 linear foot section of Woods Creek (Woods Creek Reach 10) as a “Critical Area” needing streambank stabilization and riparian area restoration.

In 2018, the Village of Lake in the Hills leveraged the watershed plan to apply for and receive IEPA Section 319 grant funding to design and implement a project to restore Woods Creek Reach 10 with the primary goals of improving water quality, improving wildlife habitat, and improving aesthetic for adjacent residents.

The RES-HR Green Team designed and permitted the restoration plan in 2018 and 2019. RES won the construction bid, with restoration work completed in the Fall of 2019. The work includes ecological restoration of the stream channel, streambanks, and the immediate riparian corridor. This was accomplished by creating a two-stage floodplain channel with appropriately spaced riffles. In addition, RES removed invasive vegetation along the streambanks and riparian corridor and then seeded with native prairie and wetland vegetation. The project also included three years of maintenance to ensure the project establishes.