>>ANNOUNCER: More than 800 people with one mission: promoting a healthy environment.
We are the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.
>>GREG ADOLFSON: It began following a blackwater spill by a coal company several years ago.
When the company offered to compensate a local canoeing outfitter, the owner instead
wanted something done for the river. Since 2007, the
DEP has partnered with the Coal River Group and other agencies on a multi-million dollar
restoration of the Little Coal River. As the DEP's Mike Huff found out, as the project
nears completion it's already showing results.
>>NARRATION: Sometimes, the problems with a river aren't always obvious from the surface...
Sometimes, you need to look deeper... >>RANDY HUFFMAN: Coal River
has been known for having high water quality for a long time. The problem with it is it's
loaded with sand and sediment from years of industrial activity -- mining, timbering,
other things like that. So as a result, the water quality is good enough to sustain a
very good aquatic life of fish and other things but the habitat doesn't exist.
>>NARRATION: Specifically, suitable habitat for the first link in the food chain.
>>ROGER WOLFE: The sediments are generally what chokes the cobble out of the
river and that's where the bugs build and live is in the cobble so what we wanted to
do is promote that cobble in the center channel and push the sand back out to the banks.
>>NARRATION: The Little Coal River Watershed covers more than 380 square miles. All those
man made disturbances over the last 100 years contributed to bank erosion which increased
the sediment load in the entire Coal River watershed.
>>ROGER WOLFE: and over time this river has down cut which means it has dug
in. The river was no longer able to reach its flood plain which caused scour along the
banks. The river is trying to widen out to carry all the flood flows which increases
sediment load even more.
>>NARRATION: Fixing that meant changing the flow of the river.
But that's easier said than done...
>>RANDY: So what we were able to do with the construction activity that you see behind us
is we're able to put resources into the river and build structures -- we
call them structures but there are a lot more technical names for them -- we're able
to build these structures, hundreds of them actually along a long stretch of Little Coal
River here and provide the habitat necessary for aquatic life to thrive.
>>NARRATION: and that calls for some heavy equipment and a surprisingly light touch. The work is being done by Appalachian Stream Restoration
The structures, with names like cross vanes, j-hooks and woody toes,
all serve to help speed up and direct the flow.
while stabilizing the banks and minimizing future erosion.
>>ROSS TUCKWILLER: These guys are using two to four ton boulders to build these
structures with and you've got to give a lot of credit to the operators who are in
the stream working. They've got guys out with leveling rods that are getting these
guys to place boulders on top of each other being within three-tenths of a foot accuracy
which is very tough to do.
>>NARRATION: Those changes have helped
return the river to a more natural state -- a series of pools, riffles, runs and glides
>>RANDY HUFFMAN: Prior to this project, this was just like a long, skinny lake.
and canoeing and paddling and using the river for recreational purposes
was just not any fun.
>>NARRATION: And with the project nearing completion, the effects are obvious.
>>ROGER WOLFE: We've got studies from both West Virginia University and Marshall
that show in some of the early stages
where these structures went in, it was
predominantly sand bed stream
within two years, that predominantly sand bed section of stream
has now become cobble.
Once it moves the sediment out, we're still staying cobble
and that's good for the bugs and the aquatic life
so, the project is working. It's doing a really good job
and the fish seem to love these structures.
>>NARRATION: Work is nearly complete on
roughly 17 miles of river. It's by far the largest stream restoration project in West
Virginia or anywhere else in the Appalachian Highlands for that matter, possibly even the
entire eastern United States... And it's come with some lessons.
>>RANDY HUFFMAN: We are better at this than we were 10 year ago. Ten years ago we'd
put a couple of rocks in a stream and think we had enhanced the stream. Now it's a science.
it's kind of a mix. The guys like to talk about
it being a mix between the science and an art form
in exactly how you place these structures
and how you make it work
so that the river doesn't
wash it out
but these structures work in order to enhance the river.
>>NARRATION: Along the Little Coal River in Boone County, I'm Mike Huff for Environment Matters.
>>GREG ADOLFSON: Secretary Huffman says it's been a collaborative
effort between several government agencies, businesses and volunteers to bring the project
to completion. The project complements several other restoration efforts throughout the Coal
River Watershed. Up next, a conference focused on recycling,
re-use and sustainability hears from a company that's spreading that message as it saves
and repurposes architectural salvage. Plus: The DEP awards thousands in grants to help
fund electronics recycling events like this one all across the state. We'll have the
details coming up after the break.