A small Tennessee town’s riverbank is getting federal support for restoration

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers partnered with the town of Carthage this month to begin a streambank stabilization project on the Cumberland River. 

The project aims to prevent further erosion on the riverbank near the Carthage Wastewater Treatment Plant. 

“Erosion is currently eating away at about 400 feet of the eastern streambank at Cumberland River mile 308. It is jeopardizing critical infrastructure, including a 150,000-gallon final digester tank and access road within the wastewater treatment plant,” the Corps said in a press release. 

The city and the Corps entered into a cost-share partnership for design and construction. 

The Corps recently completed a $100,000 emergency bank stabilization study for the town’s treatment plant. Half of the project was covered by an appropriation in Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, according to the Corps. 

“The design and implementation of this project will effectively mitigate the erosion threat to the town’s treatment plant while avoiding impacts to potential environmental and cultural resources,” Chris Pickering, project manager for the Corps’ Nashville District, said in the press release. 

Streambanks typically become eroded as land use changes increase runoff, areas of natural vegetation along the riverbank that support biodiversity and control flooding become degraded, or agricultural operations with animals have uncontrolled access to waterways or grazing.

Development is a major threat: As construction covers soil and clears vegetation, rivers and streams have to absorb more stormwater runoff, translating to a stream velocity greater than the adhesive force of the soil and green life on the bank. 

The Corps has authority under the Flood Control Act of 1946 to study and construct streambank protection projects not authorized by Congress to prevent damages to public infrastructure. 

Courtesy Duke University

The U.S. Corps of Engineers Nashville District has 10 reservoirs.

Carthage is a familiar area for the Corps: In the 1930s, the Corps began constructing reservoirs along the Cumberland River to produce hydroelectric power and try to control flooding. Today, the Corps has 10 reservoirs, including one near Carthage, within the Nashville District.