Chagrin River Watershed Partners to Assess Streams in Pepper Pike and Hunting Valley
In partnership with the City of Pepper Pike and Village of Hunting Valley, Chagrin River Watershed Partners (CRWP) will assess streams in the Pepper/Luce Creek watershed this summer. All but the northwestern corner of Pepper Pike is in the Pepper/Luce Creek watershed. The western part of Hunting Valley, the eastern edge of Beachwood, the southern portion of Mayfield Heights, and the northwestern portion of Moreland Hills are also in the Pepper/Luce Creek watershed. The largest stream in the Pepper/Luce Creek watershed is known as Pepper Creek in Pepper Pike and Luce Creek in Hunting Valley.
CRWP will assess erosion hazard and habitat quality at forty 200-foot stretches of stream throughout the Pepper/Luce Creek watershed. This information will be used to determine appropriate goals for the watershed, to track changes over time, and to gather data that could support future federal or state grant applications for stream restoration or stormwater management projects. Landowners will not have any obligation to take any action based on the survey results. This data gathered by CRWP will supplement assessments recently conducted by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) of Pepper Creek and its larger tributaries in Pepper Pike. The assessments will take place from July through September of this year, with a summary report to be finalized in May 2023.
Tracking streambank erosion is useful for identifying infrastructure risk and for evaluating water quality. Sediment from eroding streambanks pollutes water and negatively impacts fish habitat. Understanding existing aquatic habitat is useful for establishing restoration goals and is required for some sources of stream restoration grant funding.
“The information gained through this study will be very helpful for determining if stream restoration or stormwater management projects in this area would be beneficial,” said Keely Davidson-Bennett, Senior Project Manager with CRWP.
CRWP (www.crwp.org) is a non-profit organization that assists landowners and communities with flooding and erosion problems. CRWP provides a wide range of services including natural resource planning, environmental education, grant writing, and planning and implementing stream and wetland restoration and stormwater management projects.
This project is funded by an Ohio Sea Grant Small Grant, the City of Pepper Pike, and the Village of Hunting Valley.
To view the official CRWP press release, click here: https://crwp.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/H2Ohio-News-Release_Jan.-2022_FINAL.pdf
For more information, contact:
Keely Davidson-Bennett, Senior Project Manager, Chagrin River Watershed Partners, 440-975-3870 ext. 1003