Woodbury Council Tours Revamped Wilmes Ravine

The Woodbury City Council took a field trip on Sept. 21 to check out the storm water management project completed along a quarter-mile path near .

“We’re proud of this project,” City Engineer Klayton Eckles told the group, which also included city staffers and Commissioner Lisa Weik.

The area previously suffered from erosion and washouts, Eckles said, noting in particular an October 2005 storm. “That would be no problem for this system."

Work in the area, informally known as Wilmes Ravine, included a new pipe system; a gradual step down in the creek that runs along the path; grading to reduce the incline of the slopes; and tree and shrub plantings, among other improvements.

Work on the project began around the first of the year and was completed July 1. The cost came in at $740,000, with the South Washington Watershed District contributing a third of the funds, project manager Paul Kauppi said.

Trees along Wilmes Ravine were often falling down because of the erosion, which took up a lot of staff time, Parks and Recreation Director Bob Klatt said. The natural flora is already returning, he said, pointing to some brush that was growing near the path.

Councilman Paul Rebholz, who lives near the ravine, said residents were initially concerned that the area has become less wooded.

“People like it,” he said, “but it’s taken them a while to like it.”

The stream that runs along the path—which was improved and broadened at places—was full of water last week, providing a “babbling brook-type of sound,” Public Works Director David Jessup said.

Added Mayor Giuliani Stephens: “I’d love that sound in my backyard.”

The city also found boulders at the site and positioned them as makeshift sitting areas.

Rebholz called it the nicest trail in Woodbury, and also noted the improved sightlines along the path and the reduced likelihood of a tree falling down.

“At the end of the day, it’s a lot safer in here,” he said.