Road/Stream Crossing (RSX) Restoration
Road/Stream Crossings (RSX) that are improperly designed or installed, structurally failing, or no longer accommodate current stream conditions affect stream health. They can affect stream hydrology, prevent fish and other aquatic organisms from reaching up-and downstream reaches, increase water temperatures, and are sources of nutrients, sediments, bacteria, heavy metals, and other nonpoint source pollutants. In Northern Michigan, sediments pose the greatest threat to rivers and streams. Sedimentation can adversely impact fish and aquatic organisms by degrading their habitat and reducing water quality.
Road/Stream Crossing Inventories
RSX inventories serve as a useful watershed management tool. They help identify sediment pollution entering surface waters from poorly designed, maintained, or aging stream crossing infrastructure. Inventories also reveal fish passage barriers due to perched culverts, as well as altered stream hydrology from inadequately designed or installed crossings.
After a RSX inventory is completed, the Watershed Council prepares a summary of the inventory results that will highlight the priority sites where attention is needed most due to their current conditions and subsequent threat to water quality. The report also allows us to look for funding to help road commissions offset the cost of RSX improvements.
Click here for a list of completed Road Stream Crossing Inventories
Road/Stream Crossing Projects
Holms Road Stream Restoration
The Bear River, the largest tributary to Little Traverse Bay, originates at Walloon Lake and flows 12 miles
Bay View Rain Garden Initiative
The Bay View Association (BVA) of The United Methodist Church is a National Historic Landmark community founded in
North Central Michigan College Stormwater Wetland Restoration
Campus stormwater was not being filtered properly causing excess nutrients and sediment from campus stormwater.
Click Road Stream Crossing
As part of a grant from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council
Maxwell Road Stream Crossing
The Maxwell Road Crossing of Minnehaha Creek is part of the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council’s ongoing
Lower Tannery Creek Stream Bank Restoration Project
The lower section of Tannery Creek was one of the most impaired systems in Northern Michigan. Improvements included
