A Community Gathers to Celebrate a Green Solution to Urban Flooding
September, 2025
A reconnected historical floodplain, designed to alleviate costly issues for a community that’s prone to flooding, was officially introduced to the public at the Springwater Wetlands grand opening. Members of the community gathered alongside local leaders for a celebration of the project’s completion, along with a birdwatching walk through the area that now serves as a public open space and a restored natural habitat for a variety of native species.
Discussions at the event focused on the project’s goals to both reduce insurance costs for the community and better connect its members with nature, while also improving urban wildlife habitat. The project’s proximity along the Springwater Corridor Trail makes it easily accessible to the public, encouraging greater community engagement. The restoration for this portion of the Johnson Creek Watershed follows earlier work at the adjacent Foster Floodplain Natural Area. Together, both projects add to continued improvements for the City of Portland’s green stormwater infrastructure.
About the Springwater Wetlands Restoration
Working closely with the City of Portland and Bureau of Environmental Services (BES), work on the Springwater Wetlands reconnects and restores the Johnson Creek floodplain to address persistent flooding with green stormwater infrastructure. The project relied on extensive hydraulic modeling to properly map the area in planning for 10-to-100-year flood events and to return the floodplain to its more natural state. A multiuse trail through the new natural habitat complements the existing trail network and opens it up further for public use and wildlife viewing.
