Riverbank Stabilization
Restore. Protect. Enhance.
Stabilization projects are undertaken for two main reasons in Anoka County Parks: to protect park infrastructure and for ecological enhancement. Projects that protect infrastructure, such as park trails and roads, have been completed along the Rum River at Rum River Central Regional Park and along the Mississippi River at Coon Rapids Dam. These projects are done to ensure the safety of park users and to protect park infrastructure from damage, prolonging their lifespan.
Ecological driven projects have been completed in multiple locations along the Rum River, including Rum River North County Park, Rum River Central Regional Park, Rum River South County Park, and Cedar Creek Conservation Area. Other ecological restoration areas include the Mississippi River at Coon Rapids Dam where a storm water ditch flows into the Mississippi river and along the Rice Creek at Locke Park.
Ecological based projects focus on reducing the amount of sediment entering the rivers. Reducing sediment improves water quality and clarity, moderates water temperatures, improves spawning habitat for fish, and promotes conditions more suitable for the maintenance of native mussel populations. Stabilization projects also add ‘roughness’ to the river creating refuge areas for young fish to hide, invertebrates to grow, and to slow water velocity thus decreasing its erosive force.
