Prior to being developed, the 28-acre Mazza property was covered with mature hardwood forest and contained significant floodplain wetlands bordering Little Paint Branch.  At first glance, the resources on the site seemed highly valuable.  Upon closer inspection however, it was found that the unnamed perennial tributary and an intermittent gully on the site were eroding at accelerated rates as a result of storm flows from the highly impervious watershed.  The perennial tributary was severely incised and had a highly unstable pattern that contributed to extremely high near bank stress in meander bends.  The intermittent channel which had formed on an 8 percent slope as a result of unmitigated runoff from off-site impervious areas was estimated to lose more than 25 tons of soil annually before construction.

Ecotone had completed the natural resources assessment of the property, and was contracted by the owner to develop a plan for the restoration of the two channels as part of their planning for the site.  The plan for the perennial channel included a series of crossvanes, boulder spurs and boulder toe protection hardscape measures along with willow and dogwood live stake bioengineering practices.  Because the pattern and morphology of the stream were in an irreparable state, a new channel was designed and the entire floodplain area was re-graded.  The invert of the new channel was raised to provide access to the active floodplain, thereby reducing shear stress and velocity within the channel.  The intermittent gully was partially filled, and a series of boulder step-pool structures were installed to stabilize the channel and reduce velocities.

Ecotone procured all State, Federal and County permits required to construct the project.  Construction began in January 2009 and was completed in April of the same year.  Live stakes were installed immediately after construction, and the floodplain was planted in May of 2009.  After construction activities were completed, heavy rains caused erosion around some of the structures and streambank areas.  Ecotone took additional steps to stabilize the site in August of 2009, including installation of riffle structures and filter media to prevent piping of water around structures.  Vegetation, both herbaceous and woody, has fully colonized the site, and a high percentage of the floodplain area is dominated by wetland vegetation, an unintended benefit of the project.  The stream channels have remained stable, and show signs of long term stability.