City to study retention pond for Martin’s Run

Creating a wetlands area could prevent flooding and improve water quality of Martin’s Run, the stream that is a major stormwater drain for Lorain’s west side.

On Dec. 18, Lorain City Council approved a contract with ColdWater Consulting LLC for the Martin’s Run Ecological Restoration Project.

ColdWater Consulting will study whether land at 305 Cooper Foster Park Road could become a wetlands area that would act like a retention

basin for Martin’s Run during heavy rains.

“What this project is looking to do specifically is to help start to address or start to investigate the Martin’s Run issues that we have,” said Kathryn Golden, storm water manager in Lorain’s City Engineering Department.

“The ultimate goal is to build in some upstream retention at a location to improve water quality in Martin’s Run,” Golden said.

The project goal aims to reduce flooding in parts of Lorain when heavy rains dump water on the city and it drains in the channel.

“We’re looking to reduce the peak flow, that’s what we’re really looking to do, to take some of that storm surge out of Martin’s Run,” Golden said.

The city would like to do that in an environmentally friendly way, she said.

Instead of simply digging a large hole in the ground to serve as a retention basin, the city Engineering Department would like to build in more natural features in a drainage basin, Golden said.

The city will investigate a 17-acre parcel south of Cooper Foster Park Road and west of Broadway.

The land currently is owned by the Eschtruth family, Golden said, and city officials want to investigate its potential before possibly buying the land.

Relatively shallow bedrock may be a problem with the site, Golden said.

“In order for us to effectively reduce the peak flow, we need to have a certain amount of water storage in that area,” she said. “Some of that depends on how far down we can go with the storage, how deep this area can be.”

The city will spend $120,000 for the study. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources will provide $60,000 from the Ohio Coastal Management Program and the city will pay $60,000 through Lorain’s stormwater fund.

Lorain officials have pondered creating an upstream water detention area for decades, said Golden and Safety-Service Director Dan Given.

However, the city has a limited number of areas to create such a detention pond or wetland facility, Golden said.

This project grant will not cover costs of construction of such a facility, Golden said.

If built, the Martin’s Run stream channel would be rerouted through the center of the land, more or less.

During heavy rains, water would overflow the banks of the channel and flow into a natural flood plain environment, Golden said.

If created, the facility could be designed to benefit the public with amenities such as a walking trail and interpretive panels that explain how the wetlands work, Golden said.

She bristled when Given jokingly suggested it would be a swamp.

“It will not be a swamp,” Golden said. “If it’s a swamp, it’s not designed and maintained properly.”

SUBMITTED ILLUSTRATION - COLDWATER CONSULTING LLC/CITY OF LORAIN ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT This draft illustration shows how a new wetlands area south of Cooper Foster Park Road and west of Broadway could hold rain water during heavy storms to improve water quality and reduce flooding in Martin’s Run, the stream that drains much of Lorain’s west side. The city will study if it would be feasible to create the wetlands on land that now is privately owned, but could become part of the drainage project.