The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
STREAM PROJECT GETS 2ND GRANT
Project will restore natural waterway running through Springbrook Gardens Park
They say it takes a village to raise a child and, apparently, a city to rebuild a stream.
Mentor has many partners in its efforts to restore a natural waterway running through Springbrook Gardens Park.
The project is re-establishing the ecological and natural function of about 1,700 linear feet of stream. The restoration work is being completed with the help of Chagrin River Watershed Partners and Lake County Soil & Water Conservation District, plus funding via the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
The 1,100-foot Phase 1 is complete thanks, in part, to a $264,136 grant and $176,091 from the city in cash and in-kind services.
The city recently learned that the Ohio EPA has recommended $258,450 toward the second phase.
“We used a series of cobble riffles and sand seepage berms to help stabilize the eroding channel, reduce flooding and improve water quality and
habitat,” said project manager Kevin Grieser, landscape ecologist for Biohabitats.
The use of a native plant palette and the treatment of invasive species also helped improve riparian habitat.
Lake County Soil & Water Conservation District and the Chagrin River Watershed Partners teamed up with the city to write the grant, and Biohabitats did the design with Meadville Land Service doing construction.
The Section 319(h) grant program was established to control nonpoint source pollution in Ohio waterways.
Together, the city and its partners will solicit bids and select a contractor to complete the restoration. The grant project period will begin on Aug. 1 and end July 31, 2023.
Phase 2 involves restoring the 600-foot stream section between Heisley Road and the start of Phase 1 (at the first bridge in the park).
Orange fencing will remain in place until the growing season is over, Grieser said.
In 2014, the city acquired the 50-acre former nursery at 6842 Heisley Road from the Schultz family for $2.5 million. The intent was to create a passive recreation park and restore a channelized ditch on the property.
The ditch is a tributary to Marsh Creek, which flows directly into Mentor Marsh State Nature Preserve.
During the years, as the watershed developed and stormwater runoff increased, the tributary became disconnected from its floodplain and suffered diminished water quality.
“The design not only improves the quality of water entering Mentor Marsh and Lake Erie, it also creates a biodiverse, ecologically functioning stream and wetland complex that enhances the park,” Grieser said.
There was talk last year of adding a year-round pavilion and restrooms onsite. Those ideas are on hold because of the coronavirus, said Mentor Parks & Recreation Director Kenn Kaminski.
“At this point, we do not know when we are going to revisit the idea,”he said.