Streambank Stabilization Using Geomatrix Matting-Simpson Creek, Virginia

Highway construction necessitated relocating 0.8 kIn of Simpson Creek, a small Appalachian trout stream. Streambank stabilization was undertaken using a flexible soil reinforcement matting made of heavy nylon monofilaments fused into an 18-mm thick mat of open construction followed by grass seeding. The matting provided a matrix for vegetative root development and accelerated revegetation over untouched banks and banks only hydro- or hand-seeded. Loss of the project during a 100+ year flood is attributed primarily to soil type and channel configuration problems.