Sandy Creek Stream Restoration Project

West Tennessee Basin Authority funds research on the Memphis aquifer in an urban area.

The West Tennessee River Basin Authority (WTRBA) project is the last in a series of five funded projects to determine the rate of groundwater recharge to the Memphis aquifer in an urban area (Jackson, Tennessee) and evaluate the effects of stream restoration, which is part of the WTRBA’s mission, on groundwater recharge rates. These projects provide support for a graduate student and undergraduate student research assistants to collect fundamental hydrologic and meteorological data, determine a water budget and answer science questions. Previous projects have supported four graduate students in their MS research and numerous undergraduate and graduate student assistants. Each of the MS students has found government or private industry employment shortly after or even before finishing their degree.

The current project awarded through CAESER (Center for Applied Earth Science and Engineering Research) to Dr. Daniel Larsen, professor in Earth Sciences, is based in a small upstream sub-basin of Sandy Creek in Jackson, Tennessee, which includes residential and park land use. A stream restoration structure was constructed during summer 2023 to minimize flooding and erosion of the stream gully in the urban area. Past research has established the water budget and major influences on the water (mainly precipitation and stream flow).  The current project will determine how stream restoration affects the water budget. A similar study in a downstream basin showed minimal impact of stream restoration on the overall water budget and possibly an increase in recharge rate.

The results of the project will provide a report in the form of a thesis on the impact of stream restoration on the water budget and groundwater recharge in the selected stream reach. The student will also summarize and compare their work to past research in the area, providing a project summary. The student prepares quarterly status reports and follows quality control and data management guidelines to ensure data are available and understandable. The training provided in this project provides students a competitive advantage through real-world experience and project management.  The results will help guide WTRBAs mission and better inform regional managers of the impacts of stream restoration.

For more information on this project, contact Larsen at dlarsen@memphis.edu.