Baldwin Creek Dam Removal and Habitat Enhancement

Overview

Project Number #10GLRI-CUY-123
Est. Project Completion April 2012
SubGrantee Cuyahoga County Soil & Water Conservation District 6100 West Canal Road Valley View, Ohio 44125-3330
Project Contact: Jared Bartley, Rocky River
Watershed Coordinator Cuyahoga County SWCD
Amount Recommended: $147,270
Project Title: Baldwin Creek Dam Removal and Habitat Enhancement Project Location: City of Berea, Cuyahoga County Watershed: Baldwin Creek—Rocky River Project Summary: $147,270 in Surface Water Improvement Fund (SWIF) grant funding is recommended to remove three small lowhead dams on Baldwin Creek within the city of Berea. The project sites are located within property owned by the Cleveland Metroparks System and/or by the city of Berea. One intact lowhead dam and two smaller degraded structures impede fish passage and degrade habitat throughout the stream segment. Activities associated with this project are designed to restore habitat conditions within this segment of Baldwin Creek to its designated warmwater habitat aquatic life use and to restore nearly a mile of natural flow conditions within the stream (4,750 lineear feet). The TMDL for Rocky River approved by US EPA in 2001 identifies that ―habitat restoration the stream (Baldwin Creek) could have a high degree of success … if implemented in conjunction with stream channel barrier removal and enhancements‖. This project is being implemented consistent with those recommendations. Outreach activities will be conducted by the Cuyahoga County SWCD with assistance from the city of Berea and will include public meetings, newsletter articles, press releases and tours of the completed project sites. Rocky River, of which Baldwin Creek is a tributary has both a state endorsed watershed action plan and an approved Total Maximum Daily Load Study. Project Deliverables: Removal of three small lowhead dam structures and restoration of 4,750 linear feet of natural flow conditions in Baldwin Creek. Installation of 3 fish passage and in-stream structures including grade control structures such as a step/pool and/or cross vane at points downstream from the current dam structures.

Conduct education and outreach activities consisting of 1 project specific fact sheet, 3 public meetings, 2 press releases, 2 tours, 5 project specific newsletter articles, and the maintenance of 1 project specific webpage.

Environmental Results: Successful completion of this project will restore 4,750 linear feet of unimpeded natural flow conditions within the lower reaches of Baldwin Creek and will enhance in-stream habitat conditions and improve QHEI scores for the segment to attainment of WWH standards.

Northeast Ohio Green Map
updated 12/2011 by mborcherds