Fort Dupont Stream and Wetland Restoration

Project Description

Biohabitats is helping the District Department of Energy and Environment and the National Park Service restore 19,000 linear feet of stream and five acres of wetlands in Fort Dupont Park.

Fort Dupont Creek, a tributary to the Anacostia River that flows through the park, had become severely eroded, incised, and headcut by fast-flowing stormwater from surrounding development. Stormwater entering the creek through several outfalls was diminishing and threatening habitat, infrastructure, streamside trees, and downstream water quality. To make matters worse, invasive plant species were overtaking the area.

Drawing upon the firm’s deep knowledge of non-tidal and tidal wetlands throughout the Coastal Plain of the mid-Atlantic, and its long history of restoring of ecosystems in the freshwater tidal reaches of the Anacostia River, Biohabitats developed a regenerative design to restore the entire stream network, from headwaters to tidal confluence, using a variety of restoration techniques. The design incorporates regenerative stormwater conveyance, baseflow channel design, creation of a Stage 0 wetland complex, legacy sediment removal, stormwater pipe daylighting, sand seepage wetlands, tidal marsh creation, and low-tech process-based restoration. When complete, the restoration will maximize ecological function while minimizing disturbance to the park and its important natural and recreational resources.