Monroe County Soil & Water Conservation District
Water Quality Improvement Program
The Water Quality Improvement Program (WQIP) is a New York State grant program is designed to provide funding to help protect the water resources of the state. Projects funded under WQIP across the state have ranged from upgrading wastewater treatment plants to removing dams and restoring aquatic ecosystems. Below you can find the projects that the Monroe County Soil & Water District has completed or working on thanks to funding from WQIP.
Project Name: Black Creek Streambank Stabilization
Funding Round: 14
Year Began: 2017
Year Completed: 2024
Completed Project
Facing Downstream
Completed Project
Facing Upstream
Black Creek is a popular recreational creek and a major tributary of the Genesee River. The creek has a watershed of approximately 202 square miles, with its’ headwaters found in Wyoming County, and flows through Genesee, Orleans and Monroe Counties before joining with the Genesee in the Town of Chili. The section of Black Creek where the project is located is considered a reservoir with a very wide channel and slow moving water as it lies upstream of the Churchville dam in the Village of Churchville. Over the last 20+ years, landowners have reported losing 10-15 feet of their land along with a noticeable loss/lack of beneficial riparian vegetation resulting in the need to stabilize the banks. The erosion appears to be primarily a consequence of wind-driven wave erosion and consistently saturated soils.
In total, 1,075 feet of streambank stabilization was implemented along Black Creek shoreline using a combination of rock revetment bank stabilization and peaked stone toe protection. As there was no land access from the backyards, this project had to be constructed via a barge in the creek - definitely not your typical stream project! As part of the plan, a five foot wide floodplain bench was installed along approximately 400 feet of the creek. This created bench area and the remaining project banks were then planted with trees, shrubs, and herbaceous perennials creating a 5,375 square feet (0.12 acres) riparian buffer. District and Village of Churchville DPW staff installed a total of 170 conservation plantings. A riparian buffer is an important component of a stream project and once the plantings mature, it will help increase the shoreline’s natural resiliency to erosion, minimize sediments and nutrients from entering the creek and improve aquatic habitat, all due to the presence of the plants and their growing root structures.
Project Name: Nature Based Shoreline
Funding Round: 14
Year Began: 2017
Year Completed: 2021
Before
Irondequoit Bay before the shoreline was restored. Look at how little soil is left between the road and the shore.
After
The newly altered shoreline. The inlets will provide wildlife habitat and fishing access. Note how far the road is now from the shore.
The District collaborated with the Monroe County Parks Department to restore approximately 360 feet of eroded shoreline along Irondequoit Bay, with the aim to increase local flood resiliency and improve water quality. Bay Front South – a road that runs parallel to the bay and provides local residents with recreational access, has recently seen its shoreline erode significantly. If left unchecked, continued erosion along the road would eventually see it becoming submerged beneath the bay, prevent local boating and fishing access, and destroy the ecological habitat of the shore. We sought to correct this by stabilizing the shoreline through the implementation of bioengineering and nature-based stabilization techniques.
The shoreline project was completed in three sections, with each section altering the underwater shore bottom with a series of potholes, channels, and mounds. By creating a varied topography, we can help establish wetland vegetation, and as the wetland plants grow they will physically hold the soil in place, reduce the impact of waves, and provide new wildlife habitat. Then, densely packed coir logs and large stones were placed back on land to prevent soil from being moved by wind or water currents. Further, since the stones we are using are quite large, they can provide fishing access as well. Farther back, we removed invasive vegetation and replaced it with a series of native, water tolerant trees and shrubs. With a series of new vegetation and physical changes, the shoreline and Bay Front South are now more protected than they ever have been.
Project Name: East Shipbuilders Creek Riparian Enhancement at Webster Thomas High School
Funding Round: 12
Year Began: 2015
Year Completed: Ongoing
Stream restoration practices were successfully implemented along 425 feet of the East branch of Shipbuilders Creek in the Town of Webster. This project site is a rarity within the Shipbuilders Creek watershed as it is one of the few remaining open spaces along the creek which made this a priority project considering the stream's impaired best usage designation (fish/aquatic habitat and secondary contact recreation) from the NYS DEC - primarily due to stormwater impacts from development. In coordination with the Webster DPW (who completed required rock removal/placement and excavation), this project helped improve water quality, stream flow, aquatic habitat, and local aesthetics. Main project componenets included: removal of existing vertical concrete curbing downstream of road culvert (as this material should not be used along our creeks) and was replaced with sloped rock riprap, shaping of vertical eroded banks to more stable slopes, stabilization of gully erosion, installation of coir logs at specific eroded areas and planting of beneficial shrubs adjacent to the creek. The final practice to be installed will be the establishment of a robust, multi-row riparian tree and shrub buffer along each bank.
Project Name: Finn Park Stormwater Improvements
Funding Round: 12
Year Began: 2015
Year Completed: Ongoing
Monroe County, in partnership with the Stormwater Coalition & the SWCD, & with WQIP funding support from NYS DEC, is developing a county-wide Stormwater Master Plan to assess the condition of local waterways, prioritize retrofit projects, & model expected improvements to water quality. The project is comprised of three high priority retrofit/stream restoration projects from the plan that would significantly reduce pollutant loads to local impaired waterbodies. The project would also demonstrate the multiple benefits of stormwater retrofits & build support among decision makers & residents to further advance plan implementation.
This is one of two projects focusing on the Shipbuilders Creek Watershed. This project will construct a regional stormwater management facility at Finn Park, in the Town of Webster. At Finn Park, a large offline regional stormwater management facility would be constructed to infiltrate & treat flows associated with older upstream development. As of now the management facility is almost complete with district staff monitoring progress of its construction.
Project Name: Union Station Park Riparian Buffer Restoration
Funding Round: 12
Year Began: 2015
Year Completed: 2019
The goal of this project was to reduce nutrient and sediment inputs entering a tributary of Black Creek that passes through Union Station Park in the Town of Chili and to prevent town staff from mowing up to the edge of the stream through the implementation of a landscaped riparian buffer.
A1,200’ section of stream has been restored with a 30’ buffer of native vegetation.
Trees planted along Black Creek in Union Station Park in Chili. These trees will prevent pollutants and excessive nutrients from entering the creek, and in time they will prevent erosion!