EUCLID CREEK in the Cuyahoga River RAP Area of Concern

Euclid Creek gathers it waters from nine of Cleveland, Ohio's northeastern suburbs and empties into Lake Erie on the northeastern edge of the City of Cleveland.

Although it is not a tributary of the Cuyahoga River, Euclid Creek is within the RAP Area of Concern due to the existence of impairments to beneficial uses. Like many tributaries of the Cuyahoga River, its outer branches and headwaters lie in less urbanized areas than its main branch and lower portion. Euclid Creek does, however, have the benefit of benign hosts for much of its main branch: from Anderson Road in South Euclid north to Chardon Road in Richmond Heights, the creek is the centerpiece of the Cleveland Metroparks Euclid Creek Reservation. At its outflow to Lake Erie, it runs through Wildwood Park, where anglers fish for steelhead trout as they migrate to and from the lake.

Between the two parks, the creek runs through industrialized areas where dams, culverts and concrete streambeds impair the health and diversity of aquatic life. Combined sewer overflows and septic tanks along its branches contribute to pollution, while increased impervious surfaces, loss of riparian zones and habitat put stress on the system.

Euclid Creek has been a subject of much study and planning, with credit going to the Cuyahoga Soil and Water Conservation District (and Lynn Garrity as watershed coordinator) and the Cuyahoga County Planning Commission. The former's Watershed Action Plan has been approved by the OEPA, and the latter's Euclid Creek Watershed Planning Guide provides a comprehensive body of information and strategies for renewal. These documents can be accessed via the links at the left of this page.

FRIENDS OF EUCLID CREEK is the watershed's volunteer community organization. They meet the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00pm at the South Euclid Community Center at 1370 Victory Drive (off Mayfield Rd. one block west of Green Road) in South Euclid.

The group recently posted signs to let people know that they're in the Euclid Creek Watershed, and are raising funds to purchase a large piece of land in Highland Heights so as to preserve it and protect endangered wildflowers as well as conserve an important piece of the creek's watershed.

LOCATION:

Northeast Ohio, including the communities of
Beachwood, Lyndhurst, South Euclid, Euclid, Cleveland, Highland Heights, Richmond Heights, Mayfield Heights, Willoughby Hills and the Village of Mayfield.

CHARACTERISTICS

Drainage:	Approximately 24 square miles
Length:	Euclid Creek is comprised of 34 miles of stream segments that begin at headwater streams as far away as 8 miles from its outflow to Lake Erie.
Gradient:	The creek drops 600 feet in elevation from 1200 feet (above sea level) at its southernmost headwaters to 600 feet at Lake Erie.
Land Cover:	Urbanized/generally impervious - More than 26% (2004 NEORSD) Protected greenspace - Less than 10% (CCPC)

WATERSHED-SPECIFIC CHALLENGES TO HEALTH AND FUNCTION

• Increasing development creating impervious surfaces and resultant increased storm water volumes
• Construction creating hard-packed soil and erosion
• 9 dams and several culverts and concrete structures within the creek channel increase volume and velocity
• Decrease in natural habitat and biodiversity
• Loss of tree canopy in entire watershed, especially riparian zones,
• Loss of floodwater storage capacity (wetlands)
• Increase of roadway surface pollution.

GEOLOGY

Formed over 10,000 years ago as the last glaciers made their final retreat, the watershed includes beach and floodplain at its end, and higher ridges at its beginnings. Much of the bedrock is exposed along the main branch, especially along the Metroparks' Euclid Creek Reservation.

The creek was the site of extensive quarry operations for decades, yielding Euclid Bluestone that was valued for its density and structural uses.

AQUATIC LIFE AND HABITAT

The lower end of the creek, where it meets Lake Erie, is home to more fish, including visiting steelhead trout from the lake, than the upper reaches where only a few pollution-tolerant species can survive. The extensive damming and concrete structures along the main channels severly restrict aquatic habitats and populations.

WATERSHED HYDROLOGY

The level of urbanization -– that is, the amount of generally impervious surfaces such as pavement, roofs and hard-packed lawns – has increased significantly, even in the outermost edges of the watershed. At the same time, major wetlands have been filled and covered. The land on which Beachwood Place sits, at the corner of Richmond and Cedar Roads, was, until the mid-1970s, a major wetland. The conversion of many such areas into impervious surfaces has caused storm water to rush across the surface into streams instead of making its way down through soils to slowly filter into the water table.

WATER QUALITY

Water quality in Euclid Creek and its tributaries is impaired in terms of its ability to sustain aquatic life, primarily due to overload of nutrients and organic matter (such as comes from lawn fertilizers washing off the surface) ; siltation caused by high velocity flows causing and carrying eroded soils; and changes in habitat, especially along riparian zones, that would otherwise mitigate such problems.

The Cuyahoga River Community Planning Organization (CRCPO)
is host to the Cuyahoga River Remedial Action Plan (RAP) and
the Cuyahoga American Heritage River Initiative.

We work with partners, stakeholders and communities
in five Northeast Ohio counties to restore and revitalize the
Cuyahoga River Watershed and Areas Of Concern, and
to improve water quality in the watershed and Lake Erie.