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CRAS

The District developed the Creek Restoration Action Strategy (CRAS) to prioritize creek reaches, sub-reaches, or sites, in need of stabilization and/or restoration.

The District identified eight categories of importance for project prioritization:

Tier I (measurable variables)

  1. Infrastructure risk
  2. Erosion and channel stability
  3. Ecological benefits
  4. Water quality

Tier II (socio-economic variables)

  1. Project cost
  2. Partnership opportunities
  3. Watershed benefits
  4. Public education

These categories were scored using methods developed for each category based on a combination of published studies and reports, erosion inventories, field visits, and scoring sheets from specific methodologies. Final tallies of scores for each category, using a two-tiered ranking system, were used to prioritize sites for restoration/remediation.

Creek Assessment

Staff evaluate streams on a rotational basis or as needed in relation to a concern or proposed projects. Streams are assessed in sections called reaches. Each reach is further divided into subreaches. Open the files below to view the reaches and subreaches.

Map of creek reachesMap of creek subreaches

Map of Restoration Priorities

Each year staff reassess a portion of creek subreaches to updated their CRAS scores. The higher the score, the more severe the condition of the creek subreach. The map below shows subreaches color-coded by condition with black being the worst condition. A high CRAS score informs the District's decision to plan and implement an improvement project for that section of creek.

A map detailing the 2023 Riley Creek Restoration Action Strategy with prioritization for restoration.

Creek Sections of Highest Concern

The table below shows the creek subreaches with the highest CRAS scores. These sections of creek are in the worst condition based upon Tier I and Tier II variables.

CreekReachSubreachLocationTier I ScoreTier II ScoreOverall RankRestoration Status
RileyR4R4EPowers Blvd to Lake Susan22481Planning
PurgatoryP1P1E1,350 feet downstream of Wild Heron Point to Burr Ridge Lane22442--
RileyR4R4DRailroad Bridge to Powers Blvd22443Planning
RileyR4R4CPark Rd to Railroad Bridge22424Planning
BluffB1B1D475 feet upstream of Great Plains Blvd to Great Plains Blvd24405--
BluffB5B5CGalpin Blvd to West 78th Street22406Planning
RileyR2R2DUpper third between Dell Rd and Eden Prairie Rd24367--
RileyR2R2C720 feet upstream of Dell Trail to Dell Rd22368--
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