The restoration and enhancement of wetland, stream, and floodplain habitats at the South Midland Wetland Reserve will provide some important ecologic and community benefits. They include:

* Improving water quality in the creek
* Detaining stormwater
* Enhancing summer creek water levels
* Providing habitat for wildlife such as birds, cutthroat trout, and native frogs and salamanders
* Providing open space

The South Midland Wetland Reserve is ½ mile from the Larchmont Wetland Reserve site, which is located between 91st St. E. and 96th St. E., east of East McKinley Avenue. Wetland reserves and other open spaces in close proximity to one another allow birds and other small migratory animals to migrate to nearby areas for foraging and breeding without undo loss or hardship. This is essential for successful breeding and survival.

Protecting and enhancing networks of small sites throughout a stream reach helps Surface Water Management achieve our goals of efficiently addressing flood control and water quality while preserving natural drainage systems. In a naturally vegetated condition, these sites purify water and detain floods and cumulatively make a big difference in a watershed.

The 2002 Clover Creek Basin Plan identified a need for three off-channel detention ponds to address localized storm flooding from the North Fork of Clover Creek. Surface Water Management constructed two of these ponds (Pond E-1 and Pond W-1) in response to this need. Restoration work within the South Midland Wetland Reserve was done so as to maximize floodwater storage to the extent feasible. The site was designed to flood during 6-month storm events. This is expected to help alleviate and prevent flooding pressure on nearby properties.