East Branch of Euclid Creek Restoration at Willoughby-Eastlake School of Innovation

Urban stream restoration improves water quality while providing STEM students with unique educational opportunities in a living, outdoor classroom

Fast-flowing stormwater from the impervious surfaces of the highly developed Euclid Creek watershed had degraded Euclid Creek, a headwater tributary to Lake Erie and part of the Cuyahoga River Area of Concern (AOC). AOCs are waters in the U.S. and Canada that are impaired in their ability to support aquatic life or beneficial uses based on the U.S.-Canada Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Biohabitats helped the Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District address Beneficial Use Impairments and improve water quality by restoring a degraded portion of the East Branch of Euclid Creek. Because the stream flowed through the grounds of the STEM-based Willoughby-Eastlake School of Innovation, which integrates engineering and real-world problem solving into its curriculum, the project presented an opportunity to immerse students in an actual stream restoration.

An undersized double culvert in the overhead utility right-of-way at the downstream end of the degraded reach had caused significant sediment deposition within the reach, as well as bank erosion. Because of the sediment deposition, the stream offered minimal aquatic habitat as riffles and pools were mostly absent. Biohabitats’ approach was to restore ecological systems and processes to regenerate stability, habitat, and function to the stream. The design involved removing the double culvert and replacing it with a riffle ford crossing. Eroding banks were graded to stable angles to increase floodplain connectivity or stabilized with boulder packing. Biohabitats helped the school integrate every phase of the restoration into the curriculum. In addition to its ecological function, the restored creek now provides a living laboratory full of hands-oon learning experiences.

TAGS

• Analysis+Planning
• Assessment+Monitoring
• Design
• Ecological Restoration