Penn State University - Duck Pond

The Duck Pond project involved the development of concept plans to identify options to stabilize the pond’s inlet channel and reduce sediment loads reaching Thompson Run. 

 Options included a combination of engineering controls and biological systems that ranged from lower to high degrees of construction cost and modification to the existing system and were compared with respect to sediment removal and floodwater storage capacity, thermal impact, maintenance requirements and aesthetic/recreational opportunities in addition to cost. 

• The channel stabilization and stormwater control components associated with the options included measures such as in-stream cross vanes, lined channel segments, engineered grit traps, trash racks, and floodwater bio-retention wetlands.
• The project eventually involved the design, permitting and construction management of the selected option of a gabion stabilized stormwater collection channel.
• The approval of a Section 404/Chapter 105 joint permit authorized the construction of the gabion stabilized 1,000-foot stormwater collection channel with a design capacity of 800 CFS. 
• The final design included gabion mattresses on the channel bed and wall gabions on the banks eliminating continual erosion of the channel and significantly reducing downstream sediment loads reaching Thompson Run, a high quality wild trout stream tributary to Slab Cabin Run and the Spring Creek watershed.