Restored Ohio Creek Reduces Flooding
A restored creek will reduce flooding near a suburban Cleveland high school. Students at the school helped design and complete the project.
Description
An unnamed tributary of Tinker’s Creek that flows through Hudson High School, near Cleveland, had been severely altered in the past. Tinker’s Creek is a tributary of Lake Erie. Before the high school was built, the area was farmland and the tributary was channelized, disconnected from its floodplain and used as a drainage ditch. As farmland gave way to urbanization the area’s hydrology changed again, sending greater flows of stormwater down the tributary, increasing the danger of flooding downstream. Faster flows of water meant nutrients and pollution could not be filtered as effectively. The stream banks became increasingly eroded, which sent more sediment downstream and degraded river bottom habitat for macroinvertebrates and fish. After years of planning, a coalition restored the tributary. The project reconnected the stream to its floodplain, restored habitat, improved water quality, reduced the volume of stormwater that is discharged downstream, and enhanced the school’s environmental curriculum. The work transformed the stagnant ditch into a living laboratory for students at Hudson High School, who helped design the project. Students also planted 550 shrubs and 1,100 grass plugs on the banks of the creek, which added to the 250 trees that work crews planted.
Resource Challenges Addressed
Flooding
Polluted runoff
Loss of fish and wildlife habitat
Loss of wetlands
Ecosystem fragmentation
Location
Hudson, Ohio
Approximate Cost
$687,808
Key Partners
Tinker’s Creek Watershed Partners, City of Hudson, Hudson High School, Cuyahoga County Board of Health, and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
Types of Jobs Created
Biologists, ecologists, landscape architects, heavy equipment operators, general laborers
HUDSON HIGH SCHOOL STREAM RESTORATION AND LAND LAB
A view of the restored Tinker’s Creek as it flows near Hudson High School. Photo courtesy of Babette Oestreicher.
Results and Accomplishments
The project restored 2,000 linear feet of stream, along with an adjoining meadow and forested wetland. The project provides storage for about two million gallons of storm water without flooding nearby streets or properties. A 6.28-acre conservation easement will protect the site.
