The city of Southfield won the 2022 Project of the Year Award from the Michigan Chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA) for the Tamarack Creek Stream and Wetland Restoration Project. The award was presented at the APWA Annual Conference (Great Lakes Expo) on May 26. Southfield’s entry was also forwarded to the national APWA office for competition at that national level.

The city of Southfield partnered with the Alliance of Rouge Communities (ARC) and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) to restore Tamarack Creek Stream & Wetland. Grant funds totaling $2,718,183 were provided by GLRI through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for design and implementation of the project to rejuvenate the wetland and stream to manage invasive species, as well as to provide habitat for fish and wildlife.

“We are extremely pleased to be recognized for this important environmental restoration project,” commented Southfied’s Storm Water Manager Brandy Bakita Siedlaczek, CSM. “We are very appreciative of our project partners and grant funding that will greatly improve overall water quality of the stream and wetlands as well as wildlife habitat.”

The Rouge River watershed is considered a designated Area of Concern (AOC) under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA). It has three Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) associated with fish and wildlife habitat:

• Degraded Fish and Wildlife Populations;
• Degradation of Benthos; and
• Loss of Fish and Wildlife Habitat.

In March 2016, the Rouge River Advisory Council (RRAC) and the Public Advisory Council (PAC) for the Rouge AOC approved a list of projects to remove the Rouge AOC habitat BUIs and selected Tamarack Creek Stream & Wetland Restoration Project for completion.

As a tributary of Evans Creek and the main branch of the Rouge River, the Tamarack Creek Stream & Wetland Restoration Project will make a significant impact on the removal of three BUIs and will tackle these concerning habitat impairments by increasing fish and wildlife productivity.

Due to its large quantities of uncontrolled storm-water runoff drainage area that have resulted in bank erosion and sedimentation of instream habitat. Increased volume of drainage water in such an urbanized area destabilizes vital substrates that are important for fish and other habitat.

The restoration plans aim to help improve hydrology and in-stream flows by allowing water from the wetland to drain slower into Tamarack Creek. Native trees were planted for additional habitat value and woody debris structures were installed to stabilize the banks and stream bed.

The project will help construct habitat structures to allow for species diversity and improve water quality within the Rouge River watershed. Finalization of the Tamarack Creek Stream & Wetland Restoration Project will provide:

• 20 constructed habitat structures;
• 2 acres of restored wetland;
• 1,000 feet of restored floodplain; and
• 1,800 feet of restored stream.

The project won in the category of Environment $1 Million to $5 Million with the assistance of the contractor Anglin Civil and the consultants Environmental Consulting & Technology, Inc.

For more information regarding the Tamarack Creek Stream and Wetland Restoration Project, contact The Engineering Department at (248) 796-4810.