Fixin’ up the French Broad

RiverLink was recently the recipient of two grants from North Carolina’s Clean Water Management Trust Fund. The grant is for restoration and improvement of the water quality and habitat in several area streams. The banks along Hominy Creek in West Asheville and Robinson Creek in Arden will be stabilized with rocks and logs strategically placed to protect the stream, look natural and improve the habitat in the stream.

The water quality in Hominy Creek will be improved by work on two feeder streams in West Asheville. These include Buttermilk Creek in Malvern Hills Park and Rhododendron Creek in West Asheville Park. Buttermilk Creek was only recently named as part of RiverLink’s name-that-stream contest, and is now getting a face lift. Over time the stream banks have become so eroded that a safety fence was installed to prevent passersby from falling off the tall steep banks. Native plants will be planted to shade the stream and guarantee bank stability over time.

Robinson Creek in Arden will be planted with numerous river trees and shrubs. The creek runs through the former site of the Brookwood Golf Course and is now being developed for residential housing. With the help of this grant, part of the development will include a 20-acre conservation easement.

RiverLink recently completed the stream restoration on the Swannanoa River at Azalea Park. The improvements will prevent tons of pollution from entering the stream each year and provide for improved recreation and fishing. Riverkeeper Hartwell Carson said, “These projects help meet Riverlink’s mission of economic and environmental revitalization of the French Broad River as a place to live, work, and play.”

— Cecil Bothwell, staff writer