Bird Creek Bank Stabilization

The west bank of Bird Creek where it converges with Mingo Creek is a large curve that runs next to a sewage lagoon at the City of Tulsa (COT) Northside Wastewater Treatment Plant (NSWWTP). The bank had been eroding for several years, and the COT wanted to stabilize the bank before a critical event occurred.

GUY worked with the COT to develop design plans for stabilizing the west bank of Bird Creek near the confluence of Mingo Creek. The goal was to re-establish a bank slope that did not encroach beyond the historic bank slope and that protected against future erosion. This project was challenging because the area was heavily treed, bank slopes were nearly vertical, and discharge from the NSWWTP was immediately upstream of the eroded bank area.

GUY analyzed several alternatives before choosing a fairly new protection method that uses longitudinal peaked stone toe protection (LPSTP) placed to mimic the stream bank as viewed in historic aerial photos. In this method, “sacrificial” riprap is placed in the toe area. As natural scouring occurs along the toe, stone in the peaked area replaces and stabilizes the scoured area, reducing the chances of riprap failure.

This project design included restoration of approximately 500LF of eroded creek bank on Bird Creek, adjacent to the lagoons inside the wastewater treatment plant. To provide further protection, 35 sycamore trees were planted in the area between the top of the riprap and the bottom of the protective berm along the sewage lagoon. GUY coordinated with the Corps of Engineers for the 404 permit.