Extreme Stream Makeover

Oldtown Creek runs from Chesterfield County, through Colonial Heights where it meets up with the Appomattox River. Historically, the creek has been susceptible to flooding due to an excessive amount of stormwater runoff. Extreme Stream Makeover is a series of demonstration projects that addresses the runoff issue by reducing the amount of rain water that collects within the banks of Oldtown Creek and its tributaries, as well as water quality.

Oldtown Creek was selected through a complex process involving geographic information systems (GIS) modeling and on-the-ground assessments of activities occurring within the creek as well as what was occurring in the surrounding watershed. After many days of exploring the Oldtown Creek watershed, the James River Association developed a list of 69 potential restoration projects. Extreme Stream Makeover projects were evaluated for feasibility, cost, community interest, land ownership, & influence on water quality improvement. (See the Vulnerability Analysis for more information.)

The majority of the projects will take place within the City of Colonial Heights during the week of April 16 - 21, 2007. Individual projects range from trash clean-ups, constructing rain barrels to collect rooftop runoff, planting native grasses and shrubs along the banks of the creek and its tributaries, and constructing pollutant-reducing bayscapes and rain gardens.

Funding has been provided by the Virginia Department of Conservation, Philip Morris, Waste Management, and Home Depot. Our list of “on-the-ground” partners has been growing to include the City of Colonial Heights, Friends of the Lower Appomattox River, Crater Planning District Commission, Home Depot, Sam’s Club, and Philip Morris.