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T
he upland areas of the watershed produce the stormwater that caused
flooding
and water quality problems in Butterfield Creek. Approaches to managing
these uplands areas include:
- Landscaping with native prairie, woodland, and wet meadow vegetation
to promote infiltration, decrease runoff rates, and improve water quality.
- Utilizing drainage designs such as swales and filter strips to control
stormwater funoff from paved areas.
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Designing new detention basins and retrofitting existing basins to provide
natural wetland and open water systems to provide both flood control and
water quality improvement
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S
everal undeveloped areas adjacent to the Creek provide important overflow
storage for floodwaters, which must be preserved to limit future flooding
problems. Preservation and enhancement of these areas offers a wide range
of opportunities through various techniques:
- Providing stream control structures or naturalized channel
modifications to make the storage areas more effective for a wider range
of flood events.
- Restoration of native wetlands habitat and aquatic habitat to provide
filtration and trapping of stormwater pollutants, and to provide areas for
recharge of the shallow groundwater system.
- Developing public access trails and interpretive facilities to take
advantage of the outdoor recreation and natural resources education
opportunities the projects will provide.
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T
he banks and channel of Butterfield Creek have been eroded and degraded
due to increased flood descharge and past channel modification and
straightening. Restoration can be accomplished through:
- Use of native vegetation and natural materials to stabilize eroding
banks.
- Improving in-stream habitat for aquatic plants and animals.
- Restoring the original meandering channel and low, vegetated
streambanks where possible.
- Protecting and restoring buffer strips of native vegetation along
stream channels, lakes, and wetlands.
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R
erstoration and enhancement of Butterfield Creek and adjacent wetlands
offers tremendous regional open space recreational potentials;
- Enhanced wetland storage areas can become major recreational
destinations.
- The restored streambed and banks can form the center of environmental
corridors for wildlife and recreational area linkage.
- The existing Forest Preserve and regional trail network can link
Butterfield Creek with the regional open space network.
- Stream greenways offer logical corridors for local trail systems.
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