Photo Credit: Chagrin River Watershed Partners, Inc.
What was once an eyesore and a safety hazard is becoming an aesthetic amenity and a maintenance time-saver at the Lost Nation Municipal Golf Course in Willoughby, Ohio. Before restoration, Ward Creek’s streambanks were stable in the out-of-play forested areas of the golf course, but through the in-play areas the creek resembled a gully in many places, with exposed clay banks, a silt bottom, and broken concrete used in stabilizing bridge crossings. The shallow turf roots offered little protection against streambank erosion. At Hole 13, erosion had caused a steep, 8-foot drop-off that was dangerously close to a cart path. The city was losing revenue due to flooding of in-play areas, and the creek was becoming too silty to be used as a source of irrigation for the greens.
Partnering Up
Nearly one-third of Ward Creek’s watershed is covered with hard surfaces: rooftops, driveways, streets, and parking lots, many of which do not have any stormwater-control measures to slow and treat runoff before it enters the creek. When rain occurs, stormwater runoff flows rapidly to the stream, carrying pollutants and causing localized flooding and streambank erosion.
City officials shared their concerns about this problem with Chagrin River Watershed Partners Inc. (CRWP), a nonprofit organization that assists communities with flooding and erosion problems. CRWP received a $286,391 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to work with the city to restore over 2,900 feet of the creek within the course as part of a broader effort to reduce and manage stormwater runoff in the watershed. The project also includes installing infiltration areas in parking areas of an upstream shopping mall, free rain-garden kits, rain barrels and shade trees for homeowners, a demonstration residential rain-garden within a city park, and tree planting at a local school.