Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance
Chautauqua NY
Ball Creek
Ball Creek restoration is a multi-step collaboration between partners working to improve the local watershed. Following recommendations from the 2010 Chautauqua Lake Watershed Management Plan and other key guidance documents, a primary goal for the Alliance is the restoration of tributaries and streambanks. Located in the Town of North Harmony on the southwestern shore of Chautauqua Lake, the Ball Creek subwatershed accounts for 6% of the total Chautauqua Lake watershed land area. In addition to conveying significant amounts of water to the lake, tributaries are also important habitat areas for local fish, wildlife and plants. Issues in the subwatershed related to water quality impairment cited in the Watershed Management Plan include:
- Streambank erosion, which is responsible for ~10% of total sediment deposition by the creek
- Severe bank grades
- Nitrogen discharge from cropland, which accounts for 51% of the tributary’s conveyance
- All residential parcels in the subwatershed use private septic systems (public sewer district expansion is underway in the subwatershed)
- ~28% of the riparian soils in the subwatershed are highly erodible, and erosion from cropland is responsible for 61% of total sediment discharge
2023
Stow Road Bend (Phase 1) 
Tri James Bend (Phase 2)
Years of work on a heavily eroded section of Ball Creek came to fruition in 2023 with the completion of a two-part bank stabilization project. Work included the Phase 1 stabilization of the Stow Road Bend and Phase 2 stabilization of the Tri James bend.
- Phases 1 and 2 of the project included improvements to around 500 linear feet of highly eroded stream bank.
- Engineering and design work on both phases was performed by EcoStrategies Engineering and Surveying. Construction on Phase 1 was performed by the County of Chautauqua and Rock of Western New York and was completed in spring 2022. Construction on Phase 2 of the project was performed by Legend Excavating and was largely completed in fall 2023. Additional work may be performed in 2024 prior to grant closeout.
- State funding was provided by the Environmental Protection Fund as administered by NYSDEC via the Water Quality Improvement Project program. Local funding was provided by the Alliance/Foundation Match Fund supported by the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, The Lenna Foundation, and the Holmberg Foundation, and a portion of a 2021 Alliance Consolidated Foundation Grant with funding provided by The Lenna Foundation, the Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation, and the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation
- Key features include rip-rap bank stabilization, grade control structures, log veins, bank grading, and floodplain reconnection.
- New native plantings will act as biofilters, provide bank stabilization, shade the stream corridor, and provide wildlife habitat.
- Local project partners include the Town, Alliance, Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, EcoStrategies, and the County of Chautauqua.
Previous Work
In the fall of 2017 construction was completed to stabilize this 250-foot section of the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy’s Ball Creek property using heavy rock rip-rap and bank grading (seen above). These new features will help to reduce water velocity in key areas and limit future erosion, reducing sediment and nutrient conveyance to Chautauqua Lake where it can fuel plant and algae growth. Additional site work and native plantings were completed on the creek in 2019, including the addition of 40 native willow live stakes and 50 new native trees. This New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Round 12 Water Quality Improvement Project Grant awarded to Chautauqua County was closed out in 2020, and will work in perpetuity to improve water quality in the lake and watershed through nutrient reuptake and increased riparian forestation. This state grant used the Environmental Protection Fund as administered by the NYSDEC as a funding source.
Learning More
The success of lake and watershed projects depends upon the collaborative work done by engineers, researchers and administrators to gather new data about natural ecosystems and identify potential improvements. In 2020-2021, tributary sampling and lake monitoring led by Bowling Green State University identified Ball Creek as a potential source of elevated Nitrogen transfer to Chautauqua Lake. As new information about this vital subwatershed comes to light, we will be better positioned in the future to fund and pursue projects which will improve water quality. This research was assisted by the Chautauqua Lake Partnership, who secured funding for a share of the monitoring initiative through the Alliance Consolidated Local Funding Program.
Three sections of Ball Creek targeted for stabilization can be seen above labeled in blue, while Bowling Green State University’s tributary and lake monitoring area is labeled at the right side of the frame.
Acknowledgements
The Alliance would like to thank our Members and additional stakeholders for their hard work to improve Ball Creek, Chautauqua Lake, and the watershed. The Round 12 WQIP stabilization closed out in 2020 was made possible thanks to the efforts of Chautauqua County, the Town of North Harmony, CWC and their volunteer efforts, Western New York Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management, Chautauqua County Soil & Water Conservation District, Southern Tier Consulting, engineer EcoStrategies, and contractor Rock of WNY. EcoStrategies also provided engineering services in support of the 2021 NYSCFA submission. Additional funding for these projects was generously provided by the The Lenna Foundation, the Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation, the Holmberg Foundation, and the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation.