Doan Brook Watershed Projects

Collaboration: East 105th Traffic Circle, ongoing

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 21:06:00 GMT

University Circle is the second largest center of employment in the City of Cleveland, with exciting plans for continued growth. As development takes place, which can impact the Doan Brook and our local watershed, the DBWP is working with partner organizations to address stormwater management. An example includes input to a redesign of the E. 105th/MLK Blvd traffic circle. With technical guidance from NEORSD's Rachel Webb, the DBWP provided stormwater management concepts to the Cuyahoga County Department of Public Works. Project designers were receptive and included the following green infrastructure elements into the new intersection:

A stormwater swale will receive road runoff from the entire surface of MLK Blvd., between E. 105th and Jeptha Drive. The road curb will be flush with the swale to guide flow to the swale, which will be installed with a special filtering medium and water-loving plants to slow and purify runoff before excess water reaches the underdrain. Overall, the roadway’s impervious foot print will be reduced by .6 acres.

Though the stormwater swale will be one of the last elements of the redesign to be completed, the project will begin in 2012 with funding from the City of Cleveland, Cuyahoga County and the State of Ohio.

Goals of E. 105th Traffic Circle redesign

Removal of the traffic circle, with improved safety and a less confusing roadway
Improved traffic flow.
Improved pedestrian and bicycle facilities: A bike and pedestrian boardwalk path will be built between the MLK Jr. Drive/Jeptha Drive and E. 105th Street/Mount Sinai Drive intersections on the south side of the Cancer Survivor Monument. This will give access to the museums and Case Western Reserve University east of E. 105th Street.
Additional greenspace next to the VA Hospital and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
Improved lighting
The 11 Liberty Row Pin Oak trees that are removed will be replanted and will get new plaques. Also, other Liberty Row Pin Oak trees within the project limits will be replanted if they have died and will get new plaques if their plaque is missing.
Repositioning of the monument to Slovenian General Stefanik to the new pedestrian walk on the north/east side of MLK Jr. Drive for better viewing.
No impact to the historic bridges on E. 105th Street and MLK Jr. Drive.

Stream Enhancement Project, ongoing

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 21:59:00 GMT

The Doan Brook Watershed Partnership is working with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) to enhance and restore portions of the lower Doan Brook in Rockefeller Park, between East 105th Street at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Wade Park Avenue.

Required by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Doan Brook Stream Enhancement Project will mitigate impacts to Abram Creek from the Cleveland Hopkins International Airport expansion project. The Sewer District has a long term interest in the ecological restoration of Doan Brook and is this project’s manager for design and implementation.

In late 2010, the District hired a consultant team to design the project. As stream restoration is a relatively new science, this team and the District worked together to design 30%, or the general outline of the hydrologic and habitat features. The remaining 60% of the design will be completed by Sewer District staff, with input from stakeholders. Because this project involves the use of federal funds, through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and potentially impacts historic properties (e.g., Rockefeller Park), Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) applies. The District has retained the services of Mannik & Smith for the Section 106 Consultation Process and Stakeholder Involvement for the project.

A second stakeholder meeting was held on May 24, 2011 to review the conceptual stream restoration design. At this meeting, the District detailed plans to focus the current enhancement project on the section of stream from E. 105th to the crossing under MLK near the lagoon.

Throughout the design process, NEORSD has been evaluating the size and shape of the stream channel to ensure a stable stream channel is created at the end of the project. A stable stream channel will reduce the amount of erosion along the stream banks, provide a low flow channel so water does not stagnate during dry months, and allow areas where the stream can safely access a floodplain. To create a stable stream channel, the design will address existing stream bank erosion, failing and deteriorating walls, and creation of stream features called pools and riffles that provide stability and habitat for aquatic bugs and fish— thus improving the ecology and life of this stream.

Construction will begin in the late spring of 2013 and is anticipated to be completed by end of that year. Visit the NEORSD website for further information. Check the DBWP Facebook page and calendar of events often to learn more about stakeholder involvement. Alternatively, feel free to call the Partnership with questions, concerns or ideas.

Shaker Parklands Bioswale, 2011

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 17:19:00 GMT

If you've walked, driven or bicycled along South Park Boulevard in Shaker Heights after a rainfall, you may have noticed standing water along the muddy edge of the road. The DBWP, with partners Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, Burning River Foundation and the City of Shaker Heights, chose this site as a demonstration for a new remedy to stormwater challenges.

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The goals of the Shaker Parklands Bioswale Demonstration were as follows:

Demonstrate a green infrastructure solution to a chronic source of sediment to Lower Shaker Lake
Install the green infrastructure, in this case a bioswale, in a publicly visible location
Provide education/outreach to accompany the bioswale
Create a long-term plan to maintain the form and function of the bioswale

After an RFP process, the DBWP hired landscape architect, Jim McKnight & Associates, to install a 100 foot bioswale to rectify sediment loading to Lower Lake from a faulty stormdrain. The site is located at the edge of South Park Boulevard and the Shaker Parklands (Doan’s riparian corridor), between Larchmere Blvd. and Coventry Rd., in Shaker Heights.

McKnight and Associates designed the bioswale to receive water from South Park Blvd, not only to address sediment loading but also to filter and purify runoff. The swale is a two-tiered trench, with a perforated pipe in the bottom trench. With perforation side down, the drainpipe was covered with a “sock,” which is the last stage of filtration. The water is first received by hydrophilic native plants, then a layer of specialized soil, a layer of mixed small stones and a layer of mixed large cobbles. The water that does reach the underlying drain, is cleaner and of a lesser volume. Only at this point does the stormwater enter the original storm drain on South Park. Because we were able to create a long-term maintenance partnership with student volunteers from Hawken School, the City of Shaker approved the use of a much more biodiverse plant scheme for the swale. This biodiversity will provide additional habitat benefits, such as pollination and healthy soil profiles.

A temporary sign was placed in October, 2011, at the bioswale during construction to educate the public about the disruption and, more importantly, about the green infrastructure demonstration. The sign will remain until the Partnership coordinates the design and installation of the permanent sign in early 2012. This permanent sign will explain the benefits of green infrastructure solutions to a known impairment to Lower Lake, Doan Brook, and Lower Lake water quality: sediment.

We are deeply thankful to Hawken School, whose upper students committed to maintain the bioswale on a monthly basis, now and in the future. Thus, instead of the monoculture of grass, the Shaker Parklands have been enriched with native Blue Wood Sedge, Variegated Sedge, Wide-leafed Sedge Grass, Toothed Wood Fern and Rose Mallow.

South Branch Corridor Expansion, 2011

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 20:18:00 GMT

In 2007, The Doan Brook Watershed Partnership completed a 400' stream restoration project on the south branch of the Doan. The project re-established the in-stream habitats that had been destroyed by channelization, entrenchment and culverting -- creating meanders, reconnecting the stream with its floodplain and establishing a narrow riparian corridor with native plants.

The fact that this project site is on a campus shared by three Shaker Heights public schools made it a priority for the Partnership. Not only did we achieve ecological improvement through the stream reconstruction, but a very important educational benefit was also realized.

2011 update: Thanks to a grant from the Native Plant Society and matching funds from the Shaker Schools Facilities Department, the Stream Corridor Project expanded the width of the corridor from 25' to 50' on either side of the Doan Brook as it traverses the Shaker School Campus, with native trees, shrubs and plants. The expanded riparian corridor will increase its ecosystem services, including filtering pollutants, diminishing erosion, increasing biodiversity and cooling in-stream water temperatures. Since the first phase of the stream restoration at this site, teachers from Shaker Heights High School, Woodbury and Onaway Elementary have utilized the stream and its corridor as a land-lab for science classes. By expanding the width and diversity of the site, the quality of the land lab is also increased.

With the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, DBWP hosted a bioblitz at the stream site in September, 2011. Over 120 high school students from five classes took an inventory of plants and animals in the stream and along its banks. This bioblitz created a baseline data set to compare with inventories in future years, which we hope will show more biodiverse results after the riparian corridor is expanded.

Despite cold and rainy conditions, over 60 Shaker student volunteers assisted with the expansion and planting on October 18, 2011.

Lake Erie Protection Fund, 2007

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 20:14:00 GMT

A successful stream restoration project at Woodbury School in Shaker Heights was completed in 2007, thanks to a grant of $7,700 from the Lake Erie Protection Fund. The stream was denuded of a riparian corridor, entrenched and channelized upstream from the South Woodland Road bridge. The absence of a stage-two stream channel created stagnation that exacerbated eutrophication, or excessive aquatic algal blooms.

The project stabilized stream banks with native trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants, removed concrete walls to allow the brook to access to its floodplain, replaced an older bridge with an ADA compliant pedestrian bridge, and engaged hundreds of parents, students, teachers and local non-profits to plant natives.

Ohio EPA 319 Grant, 2002-2006

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 20:51:00 GMT

From 2002 - 2006, the DBWP administered $457,625 with the general goal to improve water quality in the Doan Brook watershed. $252,923 was provided through Federal (319) funds and $204,702 was granted from local match funds. Specific goals included the reduction of non-point source pollution through pollution prevention education, volunteer participation and implementation of stream restoration.

Partial list of key outcomes:

a) Over 4,000 students participated in a Doan Brook watershed course, taught over three visits (once each season) to the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes and Doan Brook.
b) Volunteers stenciled thousands of storm drains within the watershed to raise awareness on pollution from stormwater runoff, and monitored the Brook for three years.
c) Several thousand residents partook in the Laudable Lawns and Home Habitats program that taught organic lawncare, wise water use, rain barrel construction, rain garden construction, composting, alternative ground covers, planting with natives and more.
d) Water quality monitoring conducted by John Carroll University resulted in the detection of pollution leaks into the sanitary sewers.
e) Three stream sites along the South Branch of the Doan Brook, totaling 1000’ in length, were restored to improve riffle, runs and pool habitats as well as streambank vegetation.

Collaboration: Green Lake De-Silting Project, 2006

Mon, 19 Mar 2012 21:14:00 GMT

In the fall of 2006, the City of Shaker Heights Public Works Department dredged the Green Lake catch basin to slow down the filling in process of the artificial lake, constructed in the 1950s. The DBWP negotiated a solution for dredge spoils with the Shaker Country Club. The club received the dredge material, reducing the cost to the city to $85,200. Oxygen levels in Green Lake have improved slightly since the de-silting. {module_photogallery,32455,2,,12,80,80}