Just like any natural area, our streams face many challenges as more land become urbanized. Urbanization means more hard surfaces like streets, roofs and sidewalks that cause water to move quicker than it would over natural surfaces.The faster the water moves the greater the chance it picks up litter, motor oil and other pollutants on
its way to the storm sewer system, and into our local rivers and streams. Fast moving water can also cause erosion and degrade important habitat for aquatic animals like fish, birds and insects. In an effort to curb these issues, our office discovered a novel technique for slowing the water down, reducing erosion, and improving habitat, for
about a tenth of the cost of a standard stream restoration project: Stream Inserts.
