owen Brown street restoration Project
The City of Hudson was awarded a $185,194 OEPA Section 319 grant with matching funds from the City. Funds were used to enhance and permanently protect riparian habitat and wetlands along Tinker’s Creek. More than 3.0 acres of invasive species were treated/ removed, and more than 2.5 acres of native live stakes/ trees/ and shrubs were installed to add diversity, resilience, and stormwater function to this area.
The creek was impaired by sedimentation, organic enhancement, low in-stream dissolved oxygen, nutrient enrichment, toxicity, habitat alteration. The completed project restored 6,000 linear feet of stream channel, involved the installation of seven grade structures,
This funding increased our progress towards restoring habitats and water quality in the watershed. This site is an important water quality resource in Hudson which is protected from development and made accessible to the public. We are excited about the opportunity to complete this impactful project with great partners in the City, the EPA, and local agencies.
HUB district riparian enhancement Project
The City of Warrensville Heights was awarded a $34,000+ Clean Ohio grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission with matching funds of $11,000+ from the City. Funds will be used to enhance and permanently protect 5.6 acres of riparian habitat and wetlands along Bear Creek, a major tributary to Tinker’s Creek. Invasive species will be treated, and native species will be installed to add diversity, resilience, and stormwater function to this area.
The creek is impaired by sedimentation, organic enhancement, low in-stream dissolved oxygen, nutrient enrichment, toxicity, habitat alteration, as well as yet to be determined impairments. Habitat impairments reflect a historically dredged stream in various stages of recovery.
This funding will increase our progress towards restoring habitats and water quality in the watershed. This site is an important water quality resource in Warrensville Heights which will be protected from development and made accessible to the public. We are excited about the opportunity that putting this project on the ground with great partners in the City, the Ohio Public Works Commission, and local agencies has facilitated.
Brandywine Creek Tributary Stream Restoration Project
Tinker’s Creek Watershed Partners (TWCP) has been awarded a $185,194 Great Lakes Restoration grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Environmental Protection Agency to restore natural flow to 1,800 linear ft. of stream in the Brandywine Creek Watershed. TCWP is partnering with The City of Hudson, Hull & Associates, and Mark Haynes Construction on the project. The funds will be used to reconnect the stream to the on-site floodplains and improve the riparian corridor with enhanced natural habitats and stream stability improvements without diminishing the flow of the stream.
The project is located along the Brandywine Creek Tributary between Owen Brown Street and W. Prospect Street. The Brandywine Creek Watershed is comprised of 9 communities, drains 27 square miles of land, and is approximately 11 miles long. It is a tributary to the Cuyahoga River. Unknown toxicity, nutrients, organic enrichment/DO, flow alteration, direct habitat alterations, and total dissolved solids are considered the main water quality issues facing Brandywine Creek. The section of stream has become entrenched and disconnected from the natural floodplain which contributes to excess nutrient and sediment loading. This project will address nutrient and sediment loading and habitat alterations.
Cuyahoga AOC Habitat Restoration Project Planning grant
Bear Creek Continuation Project
This project was part of the AOC funding project within the Watershed Action Plan (WAP). A consultant from BioHabitats, Inc. was hired to restore part of Bear Creek. Bear Creek drains a watershed of about 450 acres and is comprised of developments that are residential and light commercial alongside woodlands and open spaces. Altered hydrology and damaged stormwater outfalls had changed the character of the creek, deepening the stream bed and leaving steep streambanks instead of a broad floodplain. Streams in this condition cannot store water and allow it to infiltrate into the soil, and they cannot support the rich diversity of invertebrates and animals that inhabit healthy streams. The first phase of this restoration was completed in 2012.
The second phase of the project would first repair a damaged stormwater outfall. The conceptual design also shows Bear Creek redirected from the existing overhead utilities, creating floodplain wetlands in the old channel, and creating a shallow “floodplain bench” to provide structural diversity, shallow habitat, and a place to slow and store water during storm events. In addition, the design re-establishes native riparian woody vegetation to create a natural vegetated buffer and to protect the stream.
Glenwillow Stream and Floodplain Wetland Restoration
This project was part of a subgroup of project designs funded from the AOC Grant that were not currently within the WAP and were investigated by Environmental Design Group (EDG). Tinker’s Creek, south of Pettibone Road, had been straightened to allow for a landfill. The straightening of this portion of the Creek significantly impacts the natural flow regimes and ecological habitat. Tinker’s Creek is naturally meandering, which allows for the dynamic scour and deposition of sediment. Straightening and channelizing the stream eliminated those natural stream dynamics, ultimately affecting aquatic life. Invasive plant species thrive throughout this stretch of stream. The lack of trees and native vegetation throughout this portion of the stream cause higher temperatures, which impairs native aquatic life and encourages algae growth.
EDG proposed a design to improve normal flows through the area by creating a two-stage channel which allows increased velocities without significantly compromising discharge capacity for larger flow events. EDG also proposed removing invasive species in the area and replacing them with trees and native shrubs to help provide shade for the stream. It was also proposed to increase floodplain storage at the downstream section along the west bank where development had encroached upon the natural floodplain.
Hudson Mainstem Project (Streetsboro WTTP Project)
The consultant hired for this project design was Davey Resource Group. During the site visit, Davey Resource Group biologists and restoration ecologists inspected the creek and riparian corridor to identify existing habitat and locate features to enhance its overall physical condition. The stream was characterized by calculating the Qualitative Habitat Evaluation Index (QHEI) at several locations along its 3,100-foot length. Davey also documented the bank condition along the creek to identify areas where the bank may need to be stabilized in order to minimize the amount of silt that is eroding into the stream channel.
In addition to evaluating the mainstem of Tinker’s Creek, Davey also identified those topographic features that may be inhibiting the stream from interacting with its floodplain. The mapped floodplain of Tinker’s Creek on the Streetsboro WWTP property was extensive. However, dredge spoil piles that exist along the east bank of the creek may have been inhibiting the stream’s ability to discharge onto the floodplain at lower flow elevations. Extensive wetlands also existed on portions of the property. Conceptual designs focus restoration efforts on 575 linear feet of Tinker’s Creek in an area where soil has been sidecast and habitat assessment scores were low. This design also included removing sidecast soil along the channel to provide a reconnection to the floodplain, installing grade control structures and partial weirs within the channel, planting of native woody vegetation in the riparian zone, and controlling invasive, non-native vegetation.
Streetsboro 303 Project
Streetsboro SR 14 Drainage Ditch Project
This project was part of the AOC funding that was already within the WAP and preselected for conceptual design. The consultant hired for the design was EnviroScience, Inc. Headwater streams are vital to the health and water quality of Tinker’s Creek. This restoration would contain two tributaries located on the south side of Route 14 behind the Home Depot in the City of Streetsboro. Both streams empty into a man-made retention pond. Each of the streams are functioning poorly, displaying bank erosion and down cutting.
EnviroScience, Inc. proposed conceptual designs that would remove the berms that separate the streams from their floodplains and add natural curves or meanders back to the streams. This would aid in stream functioning by restoring the streams’ ability to transport sediment. Controlling invasive species in the wetland would also help improve habitat.