Army Corps of Engineers partners with City to restore streams

Streams in the City of Sheridan will soon look a little different thanks to a partnership between the City and the Army Corps of Engineers. 

An ongoing restoration project aims to reestablish the ecosystems in the streams of the City of Sheridan and improve the health and welfare of the local wildlife. 

While appearing on Sheridan Media’s Public Pulse program, Interim Director of Public Works Haan Mercer, told listeners the 1963 flood control project was designed to protect the city from Goose Creek and Little Goose Creek flood discharges, consisting of levees, drainage structures, concrete chutes and drop structures, and channel alterations but the ecosystem in the vicinity of the project has become severely degraded.

According to the Army Corps of Engineers, there are several objectives for the project including; restoring stream and hydraulic function (including sediment transport and health) in a physical and ecological manner throughout the entire project area, providing for fish passage and restoring in-stream habitat connectivity throughout the system, and (3) restoring wetland, riparian and floodplain habitats and connectivity with upstream and downstream reaches in the vicinity of the flood control system.

The project is scheduled to begin in June of 2022, at an estimated cost of $10.6 million. The cost to the City is an estimated $1.6 million.