Part of excavation work
being implemented to re-position Crooked
Creek to its original channel.
June 26 - Crooked Creek in Carroll County
will soon be crooked again.
In a joint effort, Carroll County
Watershed Authority (CCWSA) and West
Tennessee River Basin Authority (WTRBA) are
re-positioning a four-mile section of
Crooked Creek to its original channel. The
creek is located near mile marker 19 on the
Gordon Browning Highway and crosses under
State Route 22 between McKenzie and
Huntingdon.
Straightened in the 1920s, the
re-positioning project is part of work being
performed toward the construction phase of
the 1,000-acre Carroll County Lake in the
Leach Community. The CCWSA is required to
replace wetlands on a 1 to 3 ratio that will
be displaced by the proposed recreational
lake in Leach. The rechannelization of
Crooked Creek is a pilot project and one
that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will
monitor for its success. Many west Tennessee
streams and creeks were straightened in the
1920s.
Regarding the project, WTRBA Office Manager
Addis Taylor said, "The project is being
funded jointly between CCWSA and WTRBA via a
one-third / two-third cost share with our
share not to exceed $75,000."
He continued, "WTRBA is providing
engineering, surveying, draft permit
acquisition and site digging. The project
excavation is between one-third and one-half
completed, with about two miles of digging
to go."
Taylor explained, "The dirt we are digging
out has a lot of clay in it, and tends to
soak up a lot of water, causing banks to
cave in, causing our excavating crew to have
to re-work areas where dirt falls into the
channel. The closer we get to the river, the
wetter and less-stable the dirt becomes.
Regardless, we just have to deal with it and
continue to progress forward to job's
completion."
Regarding re-positioning of Crooked Creek,
he said, "Our goal is to create a wide,
meandering channel that will allow water to
drain in accordance with the natural
contours of the land. Water seeks the lowest
contours to drain, and widening the creek
will allow for natural geomorphic water flow
rather than a confined flow. In addition, we
want to create water volume flow sufficient
to pass around trees that may eventually
fall into the creek and to blow out any
debris that seeks to clog ditches along the
waterway."
Taylor noted, "Due to the re-positioning of
the creek occurring in a wetland area, we
are restoring the area by planting thousands
of cypress trees, switch grass and other
big-rooted grasses along with erosion
matting provided by CCWSA." |
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