Mill Creek Stream Restoration Project

The CCBH has received a Section 319 grant from the Ohio EPA for a stream restoration project within the Mill Creek Watershed. This project is also being funded by the City of Cleveland, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, and the Cuyahoga County Board of Health. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2009.

The Mill Creek Watershed is a subwatershed of the Cuyahoga River Watershed. It has an area of 19 square miles, approximately 12,000 acres of land. It originates in the city of Beachwood, flows in a southwesterly direction and joins the Cuyahoga River approximately 11 miles later. There are nine communities that drain to Mill Creek including the cities of Beachwood, Cleveland, Garfield Heights, Maple Heights, Shaker Heights, and Warrensville Heights, plus the Villages of Cuyahoga Heights, Highland Hills, and North Randall.

The project is taking place at the Highland Park Golf Course located in the Village of Highland Hills. The golf course is owned by the City of Cleveland. It is a 36-hole course that covers approximately 330 acres. Chagrin Boulevard serves as the northern boundary of the course, Green Road runs along the east, Harvard Road along the south, and Northfield Road forms the western boundary. The headwaters of the Mill Creek Watershed are located just north of and adjacent to this course, with Mill Creek running through the center of this area. The main stem of the Mill Creek flowing through the golf course is approximately 5,000 feet in length, and the tributary stream located within the course is approximately 3,200 feet. Additionally, a number of small headwater streams feed the main stem and the tributary stream.

The project site is approximately 3,200 linear feet in length. This area includes the tributary stream, south of Chagrin Boulevard. The project site originally had severe stream bank erosion, stream channel degradation, and destroyed riparian areas. The stream bank erosion had caused restricted channels and continual bank degradation. The restoration project is scheduled to be completed in May 2009.