Stream Restoration of Euclid Creek at Willoughby-Eastlake School of Innovation Begins

We’ve broken ground on the Willoughby-Eastlake School of Innovation Stream Restoration Project! The project is in the City of Willoughby Hills in Lake County in the Euclid Creek Watershed at the headwaters of the East Branch of Euclid Creek. The Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District received a $156,462 grant through the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's Section 319 Grant Program to conduct the restoration project. The grant requires a local match of 40% which is committed by the City of Willoughby Hills through their Lake County Stormwater Management Program Funds, up to $104,000, and by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD), up to $50,000. The project will remove a culvert with maintenance issues (replacing it with a riffle ford), create instream habitat, and reconnect the stream to its floodplain. Biohabitats was awarded the project on June 7th, 2018 and 60% designs were submitted and approved September 27, 2018.

The restoration project provides an opportunity for students at the School of Innovation to be involved from the planning stage through to implementing the long-term monitoring and maintenance of the restored segment of Euclid Creek. This summer Biohabitats, Cuyahoga SWCD, Lake SWCD, and Lake Stormwater Management staff worked with School of Innovation Students and staff to educate them about erosion, invasive plants, and stream management. 5th graders will be helping with management of invasive woody plants, while 8th graders helped design some of the solutions that will be used in the restoration project. All grade levels will be helping to plant trees, shrubs, and wetland plugs as well as helping to design protection for the shrubs from deer. Keep an eye on our website for project updates! www.euclidcreekwatershed.org

Elizabeth Hiser

Euclid Creek Watershed Program Manager working out of Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District office.

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Volume 9, Issue 11, Posted 12:01 PM, 11.04.2018