Working Together: Citizens and Developers Help Protect Local Streams

Last Saturday, Bruce Anderson, a resident of Normal, Illinois and a member of Friends of Kickapoo Creek, a grassroots watershed group in Central Illinois, noticed something unusual near his home.  Construction workers building a new subdivision had graded a slope very close to the stream bank without using vegetative buffers or silt fencing.  The absence of vegetative buffers and silt fences left the stream exposed to the possibility that heavy loads of sediment would wash off during the next storm event, smothering the stream bottom and clouding the water column.

Anderson decided to act upon his curiosity.  He located and called a realtor's phone number listed on a sign that was posted at the construction site, not sure where the call would lead.  Eventually he reached the developer of the construction site, who worked for a local construction company in his community.  Although Anderson did not speak with the developer directly, he was able to leave a brief voice message asking if vegetation or silt fencing would be installed to protect the stream from sedimentation, and if the site had created a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan as required by the Clean Water Act.  Later that afternoon, the developer called back Anderson to notify him that vegetation and silt fencing protected by hay were being installed that afternoon.  The developer also discussed various forms of erosion and sediment control methods would be practiced during the construction of the site.

For Anderson, this whole experience was rewarding.  "It was a pleasant surprise to receive a phone call so quickly from the developer, informing me of the preventative measures they'd use to protect this local stream," said Anderson.  "By a simple call, I was able to see instant results."  It is a reminder to all that every small thing we do to take care of our local water bodies makes a difference.