Creek Bank Clean Up
A creek is a scintillating element in a landscape that also creates a soothing and calming effect. Creek bank clean up is an important part of landscape maintenance. It is a much more complicated process and is best handled by professionals with specialized experience and skills. At Gibbs Excavating & Grading, we have the proper equipment required for safe and effective creak bank maintenance. We can provide complete waterway bank clean up and maintenance services while minimizing soil disturbance. Our certified and fully equipped crew will take all the measures to prevent the water quality and wetland standards from getting affected during the process.
Maintaining the Riparian Buffer
We expect that you already have a riparian buffer on the edge of your creek or stream. This vegetative zone is a buffer against pollutants from runoff, contributes nutrient and habitat input into the creek, and controls erosion. It should be well maintained and must be at a distance from roads, buildings, lawns, fields, and other features.We can not only help clean up your creek bank and prune the buffer to prevent overgrowth, but our experts can also ensure that your stream buffer stays healthy. This means we will keep the buffer growth in control, take care of weed growth, and enrich the buffer as and when required.
Removing Weeds & Invasive Species
There are many invasive species and weeds that need to be removed from creek banks and riparian areas. Most of these spies can be controlled through mowing, cutting, and pulling before their seeds set. Sometimes, effective control may be possible only with the use of herbicides. Removal involves pulling the entire plant and roots and disposing of where the seed and roots cannot grow. Some species can be mowed and covered with the help of weed barrier cloth. This includes:- Canada thistle
- Common teasel
- Bindweed
Buffer Enhancement
As already mentioned, creek bank maintenance also involves enhancing the buffer, no matter how well-defined it is. This can involve re-planting native grasses, shrubs, forbs, and trees to help the creek recover to a more natural condition.Whatever the size of your riparian buffer, it is important to inspect it regularly. Native shrubs and trees do not need pruning, but grasses and different weeds may need to be cut or pulled to minimize competition for sunlight and moisture.
Creek Bank Problems & Solutions
Some of the common creek and stream bank issues and their solutions are as follows:- Leaf Litter and Fallen Branches: They may be left on the ground for good insects.
- Disease: We will remove any diseased plants or parts and dispose them of to prevent spreading to healthy plants.
- Aggressive Weeds: We will use safe herbicides or hand-pick weeds depending on their stage of development.
- Erosion: If you have bare soil, we can seed the area with native or non-invasive grass seed to prevent erosion.
- Fallen Tree: If you have a fallen tree on the bank, we will consider whether it can cause flooding. Else, it may be left to provide cover to fish.