Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper to host community meeting to discuss designs for living shoreline restoration project along Gill Creek

Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper press release

Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper and design consultants will host a community meeting from 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13, in Hyde Park Pavilion (JR's StoneRoom) to explore the proposed shoreline restoration designs for Hyde Park Lake and Gill Creek in Niagara Falls. The meeting will be an opportunity for residents to learn how these improvements will enhance water quality, restore habitat, and strengthen the shoreline – as well as share questions, feedback and ideas as the project moves into the next phase of design. Refreshments will be provided. 

Funding for the community meeting and full design development is being provided by the Niagara Greenway Commission’s host community funds.

Gill Creek is a historically impaired waterway, where decades of erosion, stormwater runoff, flow alterations and nutrient pollution have contributed to water quality impairments, degraded habitat, and limited public access. The project was identified through extensive community engagement and builds on Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper’s Gill Creek conceptual restoration plan. This effort will help advance progress being made in this creek system in recent years through a partnership with the City of Niagara Falls for the implementation of several other restoration efforts in Hyde Park Lake. Proposed designs are anticipated to include:

•Stabilization of nearly 3,000 linear feet of shoreline using native vegetation and green infrastructure

•Restoration of approximately 15 acres of riparian habitat

•Conversion of mowed lawn and degraded streambanks into resilient natural areas

•Improved informal access for fishing and passive recreation

•Reduced sediment and nutrient pollution entering Gill Creek and downstream waters

Construction is anticipated to begin in spring 2027, with planting completed by late-summer and an establishment and monitoring period extending through 2028. Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper’s $2 million Gill Creek living shoreline implementation project is a nature-based restoration effort that will stabilize eroding streambanks, improve water quality, restore native habitat, and increase climate resilience at three sites along Gill Creek in Hyde Park. Funding for implementation was secured through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s water quality improvement program to implement a large-scale living shoreline restoration project along Gill Creek in Niagara Falls’ Hyde Park.

Gill Creek is a main tributary to the Niagara River, and a key waterbody that influences the health and integrity within the federally designated Niagara River “Area of Concern.” The Gill Creek living shoreline project will support regional and state priorities to restore habitat within the Niagara River AOC and strengthen climate resilience through ecosystem-based solutions.

For more information about the project or to register for the community meeting, visit https://bnwaterkeeper.org/gill-creek-restoration/.

More about Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper: Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper is a community-based nonprofit organization that protects and restores waters and surrounding ecosystems for the benefit of current and future generations. For over 35 years, Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper has been the guardian of Western New York's fresh water, protecting clean water, restoring the health of ecosystems, connecting people to the water, and inspiring sustainable economic growth and community engagement. For more information, visit www.bnwaterkeeper.org.