Rocky Branch
North Carolina Sea Grant was involved in the Rocky Branch Stream Restoration and Greenway Project. Photo by Barbara Doll.
North Carolina Sea Grant’s biggest urban stream restoration project is Rocky Branch. This creek runs more than a mile through the heart of the North Carolina State University campus. Once one of the state’s most polluted streams, Rocky Branch is now a national model for urban stream restoration.
A three-phased, multimillion-dollar endeavor, the Rocky Branch project was designed to stabilize the creek, improve water quality as well as aquatic and wildlife habitat, and integrate the creek into the campus environment through greenway trails.
Now that the final phase has been completed, the stream and greenways will function as a safe, accessible outdoor teaching laboratory and recreation area.
Useful Resources
- Final assessment
- Summary report of the Phase I construction
- Summary of the stream restoration project