5SSR Directors have been involved in the geomorphic assessment and design of habitat projects for more than 40 years.  This experience includes more than 250 projects spanning 8 provinces, 2 territories and 32 states. 

Dave Bidelspach, 5SSR’s lead designer, has brought many innovations to the field of stream restoration design. He started designing in 3D back in 2005, when many designers were still using paper or CorelDraw.  Designing in 3D allowed him to develop the “breakline program” which allows a designer to optimize a design to reduce the amount of earthwork, generally the costliest item for a stream project.  One of Dave’s collaborators made further refinements to the program and it is now available for purchase from Autodesk, the owner of AutoCAD.   In 2006, Dave worked with a well-known contractor that specializes in stream restoration, to use the 3D designs with GPS-guided construction to significantly reduce the construction time for stream projects.

The following project profiles outline some of the experience of 5SSR staff with geomorphic assessment and design.

• Qu’Appelle River Geomorphic Assessment, Tugaske, SK

• Riverby Ranch Mitigation Site, North Texas Municipal Water District, Telephone, TX

• End of Pit Lake Design and Permitting, Coalspur Mines (Operations) Ltd., Hinton, AB