Pike Creek Stabilization

The Pike Creek Stabilization Project addresses the significant erosion and channelization along two stretches of Pike Creek totaling approximately 1,000 linear feet of the DNR public waterway at the border of Plymouth and Maple Grove. Pike Creek discharges directly into Pike Lake and Pike Lake outlets into Eagle Lake. Both Pike Lake and Eagle Lake are impaired for nutrients. A TMDL was completed in 2010 identifying a nutrient waste load allocation (WLA) for both lakes. The improvements along Pike Creek are anticipated to remove 20 pounds of TP and 47,200 pounds of TSS a year from the current nutrient load to Pike and Eagle Lakes, helping to address the required WLA reductions identified in the TMDL.
Improvements along the streambank will include regrading and stabilization of the banks utilizing hard armoring and bioengineering, strategically placed along certain stretches of the creek. Additionally, to slow water down and dissipate energy, rock cross vanes and plunge pools will be installed at strategically chosen locations in the creek. Habitat improvements, such as buckthorn removal and native vegetation restoration, will coincide with the improvements within the creek to provide additional benefits to the area. Since the Pike and Eagle Lakes subwatersheds are both almost entirely developed, the Pike Creek Stabilization Project presents one of the best opportunities within the subwatersheds to reduce the external nutrient load and improve the water quality of both lakes.