Fayetteville Council passes resolution to protect stream banks

PLEASE CLICK ON PHOTOs To Enlarge.

The Fayetteville City Council approved a resolution to support improved protection of land immediately adjacent to streams flowing in the city without a dissenting vote Tuesday night.

The photos above show a portion of the Town Branch of the West Fork of the White River.

In the upper photo, the stream is flowing east at that point (to the left in the photo) and turns southeast about 30 yards downstream. Its riparian zone would be defined as slightly right of the row of trees at left in the background. Those trees hug the stream bank. In the far background is a street and bridge.

The photo illustrates the need to protect the overflow areas of streams as well as the immediate riparian zone. When heavy rain falls, the stream rises above its banks and all the grassy land in the background is immersed and water flows over the street.

Similar low land upstream has been filled for development, eliminating the possibility of the stream spreading across it and thus compressing and deepening flash floods from the north and resulting in the pictured area overflowing more frequently.

In the lower photo taken while standing in the street in the background of the lower photo, the stream is at right behind the row of riparian-zone trees. When sustained heavy rain occurs, the photographer would have to stand knee deep in a powerful current to make such a photo looking north (upstream).