Stantec selected to restore urban creek and habitat corridor for City of Port Washington

Stantec, a global leader in sustainable design and engineering, has been selected by the City of Port Washington, Wisconsin, to restore its Valley Creek corridor. The creek corridor is a 1.8-mile urban park—wholly owned and managed by the city—that suffers from erosion and habitat loss. It is a popular recreation area for hiking, biking, and wildlife watching.

Located 27 miles north of Milwaukee, the City of Port Washington chose Stantec to provide stream restoration design, permitting, construction oversight, and grant-coordination assistance. The Valley Creek project is funded by grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Wisconsin Coastal Management Program.

The project aims to stabilize Valley Creek and its outlet to Lake Michigan to reduce erosion and flooding; protect critical infrastructure; and restore riparian, floodplain, and estuary habitat. Valley Creek’s degraded condition contributes to increased flooding during severe storms, threatening water and sewer lines. The project seeks to improve habitat for fish and wildlife, particularly migratory birds, along the creek corridor.

“The Valley Creek corridor is a central attraction in Port Washington and requires a new lease on life,” said Melissa Curran, Stantec’s funding specialist for the Valley Creek project. “Restoring Valley Creek has multiple benefits to the community, not just reducing flood risks and protecting infrastructure but providing enhanced habitat for migratory birds, pollinators, and aquatic animals.”

Addressing flood and climate impacts
A key goal of the multiyear project is to make the Valley Creek corridor more resilient to extreme rainfall events brought on by climate change. Major flooding in 2018 resulted in severe channel deepening, damage to roads, homes, critical infrastructure, and park and road closures. The creek’s degraded condition contributes to soil and nutrient loading in Lake Michigan and loss of riparian habitat.

Existing trails, such as the paved Interurban Trail, are open to the public but access to the creek and surrounding corridor is limited and compromised due to unstable banks and erosion.

“Not only will this project meet the essential needs of our city, such as flood control, water quality, and asset protection, but there is tremendous value in offering to residents an opportunity to experience the natural environment without having to drive to a state park,” said Rob Vanden Noven, Port Washington’s director of public works. “We are very fortunate to be working with the people at Stantec to make the city’s vision a reality.”

Specific projects will include stream channel restoration, removal of fish passage barriers, green infrastructure planning, and wetland restoration. The project will include outreach through public meetings, surveys, social media, and field days. The outreach goal is to understand different user group needs so equitable access can be incorporated into the final design.

The project will take a whole-watershed approach in order to support long-term, sustainable benefits to infrastructure and ecosystems. Other key partners include Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership, Wisconsin Sea Grant, and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences.

Related restoration work
Stantec has performed stream and habitat restoration across North America. Similar projects include the Alamosa River restoration, Alamosa, Colorado; Filsinger Park Stream Naturalization, Kitchener, Ontario; Amsterdam Dunes, Holland, Wisconsin.

Learn more about Nature-based Solutions and Ecosystem Restoration at Stantec.

About Stantec
Stantec empowers clients, people, and communities to rise to the world’s greatest challenges at a time when the world faces more unprecedented concerns than ever before.   

We are a global leader in sustainable architecture, engineering, and environmental consulting. ​Our professionals deliver the expertise, technology, and innovation communities need to manage aging infrastructure, demographic and population changes, the energy transition, and more. ​

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Media Contact 
Chris Niskanen
Stantec Media Relations
Ph: (612) 747-8613
chris.niskanen@stantec.com