Chaparral Stream & River Bank Stabilization

Stabilizing and Rehabilitating Streams and River Banks

Unstable river systems with bank erosion and over widening of the channel is an increasingly problematic occurrence, especially in urban areas as building projects encroach upon floodplains and water sources, as well as on ranches and range areas where livestock use streams/rivers as a primary water source, as the heavy hoof traffic breaks down the integrity of the banks.

Chaparral Construction specializes in working in conjunction with experts in natural channel design to stabilize and rehabilitate eroding and degrading stream banks to restore channel integrity, and health and full functionality of streams, using primarily readily available native materials. Our primary operators have taken levels 1, 2, and 3 of Wildland Hydrology’s short courses in natural channel rehabilitation.

Our aim is to optimize channel health and stability, and to achieve a natural- appearing finished project, while incorporating increased favorable fish habitat. In 2012, Chaparral completed a restoration project in USFS’s Happy Meadows campground on the South Platte River, near Lake George, Colorado, which received the “Rise To The Future” National Fish and Aquatic Strategy award from the Forest Service division of the USDA, which is the top annual recognition award that the Forest Service gives to any project around the nation related to aquatic fisheries.