Lake County, OH: Stormwater Management Department

16/09/2022

Getting 'Eriesponsible' about Lake Erie's future

A Northeast Ohio grassroots organization is doing its part in raising awareness and protecting the health of Lake Erie for generations to come.

16/09/2022

Want to see what is being done to remove the salt fill near the Mentor Marsh? Check it out tonight!

Have a couple minutes this evening to pop in the salt fill removal site? Ohio EPA is hosting an open house at the excavation site from 5-7 pm tonight. Access is at the construction entrance on Deer Ridge, just north of Lakeshore Blvd.
Pictured is in the heart of the salt fill area, in the old stream bed of the historic Blackbrook Creek, just before it empties into Mentor Marsh. Come see this in real life, ask questions and learn about this fantastic project to remove salt and other fill materials from leaching into the Marsh. We’ll be on site ourselves to check it out PLUS to answer questions about our parallel project, the restoration of Mentor Marsh, too.
Photo credit: OEPA, summer 2022

13/09/2022

Photos from Great Lakes Fishery Commission's post

13/09/2022

Plastic Bags - to Fee or not to Fee?

Plastic Bags - to Fee or not to Fee?

3:49 pm, Mon September 12, 2022 – Plastic in the waterways poses serious threats to human safety, and plastic bags are a major contributor to the problem

09/09/2022

Fall is the perfect time for planting! If you’ve been dreaming of planting some stream bank, pond margin or wetland shrubs AND add biodiversity to your property, check out Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District’s Backyard Restoration Plant Sale. Some of these shrubs do just fine in not-wet soil, too! If you need recommendations or have questions, ask us or Lake SWCD!
Lake SWCD says: Treat the banks of your backyard stream to some native tree and shrub live stakes!

We are accepting orders until October 21.

https://www.lakecountyohio.gov/swcd/wp-content/uploads/sites/18/2022/07/2022-Backyard-Restoration-Sale.pdf

Pictured is Ninebark in bloom in the Mentor Marsh Nature Center’s native landscaping blooming in early June.
Photo credit: Becky Donaldson

09/09/2022

Go native plants!!

The deep roots of native plants also help retain more storm water than non native species.

Did you know grasslands have superpowers?

The roots of native grasses grow very deep, some even reaching 6 feet down! This allows the storage of carbon deep underground which helps pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. This is known as carbon sequestration!

Along with carbon sequestration, grasslands reduce erosion, help clean water, protect biodiversity, and more.



Photo: Pronghorn in grasslands. Photo by Barbara Hayton/USFWS

09/09/2022

Remote-controlled robots will be used to clean up Edgewater Beach, Lake Erie

This is awesome!

New technology will be used to help clean Cleveland’s Lake Erie shoreline.

08/09/2022

Stormwater Fact! Leaves and other plant debris that become trapped in stormwater drains release nitrogen and phosphorus into the water, which contributes to eutrophication. Don't forget to clean your local storm drain!

08/09/2022

By taking care of your home sewage treatment system, you are taking care of our rivers and Lake Erie!

Does your home have a Home Sewage Treatment System (septic system)? Did you know that your own gut bacteria is doing the hard work of treating your household’s wastewater? For your system to work properly, it is important to keep these good bacteria healthy by monitoring the chemicals that enter your system. Many outdoor products, such as paint, paint thinner, oil, gasoline, and pesticides can kill off the good bacteria in your system leading to odors and ineffective treatment. Avoid flushing these chemicals down the drain to keep your system working in tip-top shape this summer. Check your city’s website to find your local hazardous waste disposal event dates. For questions, please call (440)-350-2543.

27/08/2022

It’s a beautiful day for Painesville Township Family Fun Day! Come and visit and grab some information on rain gardens, rain barrels and native plants.

26/08/2022

In honor of , meet the pups of the Lake County, OH: Stormwater Management Department. They want to remind you to always clean up after your pets when out for a walk! No one wants pet waste washing away with stormwater!

26/08/2022

Headlands Beach State Park is a great place to watch the sun settle over Lake Erie 🌊 It's even better when the sunset meets a storm 😍
Photo: Joe Bojc

26/08/2022

Save the date for Lake SWCD's Annual Meeting and Election!

This year's meeting will take place at Painesville Township park on October 6th.

More event and election details to come!

25/08/2022

Want to learn where you wastewater goes to be treated? Come to the Lake County Utilities open house and find out! Guess what. Stormwater does not flow to the plant to be cleaned, it flows right to rivers and Lake Erie!

PLEASE SHARE: Interested in learning more about where wastewater goes once it leaves your house? If so, please join us for a free tour of the Madison Wastewater Treatment Plant! Tell you neighbors, friends and family! See you there!

22/08/2022

What to do if you come across a spotted lanternfly

What to do if you come across a spotted lanternfly

The spotted lanternfly is an invasive species with eating habits that destroy plants and could ultimately threaten agriculture in the U.S. NBC’s Jesse Kirsch reports for TODAY on the risks they pose and what to do when you come across them.

20/08/2022

https://fb.watch/f0wMFMou5m/

19/08/2022

FREE canoe tour this Saturday! Check it out!

CRWP has partnered with the Ohio Scenic Rivers Program of ODNR to bring you this year's Annual Canoe Float at Erie Road Park in Eastlake! 🚣‍♀️🚣‍♂️

Learn about green infrastructure and streambank stabilization projects while paddling the Chagrin River. CRWP will lead you on a tour from Corporation Creek to the surrounding Goose Island area with canoes, paddles, and life jackets provided by ODNR.

Check out the event details and register using the link below!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/crwp-2022-annual-stormwater-paddle-tickets-381772550977

19/08/2022

Fairport Harbor Lakefront Park

17/08/2022

Let's all put our trash where it belongs, and not throw it on the ground! All stormwater flows right to Lake Erie, and takes all the litter and trash on the ground with it.

17/08/2022

Did you know that stormwater is not treated at a wastewater treatment plant? Anything that enters a storm drain or ditch at the side of the road flows directly to our rivers and Lake Erie, untreated! Today’s stormwater is tomorrow’s drinking water. We all need to do our part to prevent stormwater pollution. Love your Lake Erie! For more information visit www.lakecountyohio.gov/smd.

11/08/2022

It's a beautiful beach day!

The beach water quality prediction result for Fairport Harbor Lakefront Park for 8/11/22 is GOOD. Water temp: 80.2° F. Lake County General Health District

Lifeguards are not on duty today.
Concessions and rentals: 11 am to 7 pm
Beach info: http://bit.ly/3HkmiHd

11/08/2022

Algal toxins remain below dangerous levels this summer at Fairport Harbor beach

Excess nutrients feed a HAB and they can be found in stormwater runoff

Harmful algal toxins have remained below dangerous levels at Fairport Harbor Lakefront Park this summer despite a brief algal bloom in July, said representatives from Lake Metroparks. Seth Begeman,…

05/08/2022

A Guide to Ohio’s 13 Native Milkweed Species

A Guide to Ohio’s 13 Native Milkweed Species

There are 13 native species of milkweed that occur in Ohio. This guide will help you to identify them.

01/08/2022

CRWP has partnered with the Ohio Scenic Rivers Program of ODNR to bring you this year's Annual Canoe Float at Erie Road Park in Eastlake! 🚣‍♀️🚣‍♂️
Learn about green infrastructure and streambank stabilization projects while paddling the Chagrin River. CRWP will lead you on a tour from Corporation Creek to the surrounding Goose Island area with canoes, paddles, and life jackets provided by ODNR.
Check out the event details and register using the link below!
https://www.eventbrite.com/.../crwp-2022-annual...

CRWP has partnered with the Ohio Scenic Rivers Program of ODNR to bring you this year's Annual Canoe Float at Erie Road Park in Eastlake! 🚣‍♀️🚣‍♂️

Learn about green infrastructure and streambank stabilization projects while paddling the Chagrin River. CRWP will lead you on a tour from Corporation Creek to the surrounding Goose Island area with canoes, paddles, and life jackets provided by ODNR.

Check out the event details and register using the link below!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/crwp-2022-annual-stormwater-paddle-tickets-381772550977

28/07/2022

🐟 Did you know? 💦

Even though Lake Erie is the smallest Great Lake, it is the second most contaminated by plastic particles. Microplastics are very small pieces of plastic fragments that are almost impossible to filter out of water due to their size. They are ingested by fish and other animals and inevitably find their way into the food we eat. Microplastics are linked to many medical issues, including hormone imbalance, infertility, and even cancer.

To help combat this enormous issue, reduce your plastic use whenever possible, recycle what you can and properly dispose of the rest so it doesn’t end up in our waterways.

27/07/2022

Ohio Sea Grant, Stone Lab and Partners Host Lake Erie Awareness Day on August 11

Ohio Sea Grant, Stone Lab and Partners Host Lake Erie Awareness Day on August 11

8:00 am, Tue July 26, 2022 – The event on South Bass Island is free to attend

27/07/2022

These native plants are great at absorbing stormwater, too!

27/07/2022

Come visit us at the Lake County Fair in the Natural Resources building and enter for your chance to win this rain barrel!

A rain barrel can be connected to a downspout on your house to collect rain water for watering plants.

21/07/2022

Thinking about getting a rain barrel? Check this out!

https://www.facebook.com/106823566026494/posts/7932069556835150/?d=n&mibextid=kXE2uo

17/07/2022

https://www.facebook.com/100069061755083/posts/355991990046190/?d=n&mibextid=kXE2uo

Fairport Harbor Lakefront Park

15/07/2022

Remember, the toxins from a HAB can still be present after the visual bloom is gone. Check the beach sampling data at www.lcghd.org before you head to the beach. The nutrient phosphorus feeds the HAB, so let’s keep our yard waste, fertilizers, and sewage out of the storm sewers!

https://www.facebook.com/36912255747/posts/10159132032540748/?d=n&mibextid=kXE2uo

15/07/2022

Fairport Harbor Lakefront Park

14/07/2022

A Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) has been observed by Lake Metroparks along the shores of Lake County. This may be a large growth of naturally-occurring bacteria that can produce toxins that may be harmful to people and pets. The HAB may look like pea-soup, spilled green paint, or brown, black, or red in color. It may look like there is a film on the water, scum, or a mat of algae. Water spray contact or breathing/inhaling water droplets may cause skin rash, blisters, hives, and stomach upset. The bacteria in a HAB form in warm waters and are fed by nutrients, like phosphorus and nitrogen. Nutrients that feed the HAB originate from our yard waste, fertilizer, pet waste, and sewage. Remember stormwater flows to Lake Erie, untreated! Let's all do our part to keep nutrients out of Lake Erie!

Fairport Harbor Lakefront Park

11/07/2022

Home - NEO Master Rain Gardener

Rain gardens are a beautiful way to help manage standing water on your property! Filled with native plants, their deep root systems help water infiltrate into the soil, relieving ponding issues more efficiently and effectively than sod!

About Us The Northeast Ohio Master Rain Gardener Program is a 5-class course that teaches you how to design and install your own rain garden. ABOUT THE PROGRAM Events 2022…

29/06/2022

LAST CHANCE TO TAKE PUBLIC SURVEY!

Chagrin River Watershed Partners are currently exploring new ways to connect to the Chagrin River and need your input. As a Lake County resident or visitor, your perspective will help plan the future of Chagrin’s riverfront.

An online public survey and interactive mapping application are now available to collect your thoughts.

Take the survey before it closes 7/13/22 at lakeerieconnect.com/chagrinsurvey!

(To keep up-to-date on other ways to participate in the planning process, visit lakeerieconnect.com/chagrin)

27/06/2022

The Perpetual Problem of Plastic - ECO SPEAKS CLE

The Perpetual Problem of Plastic - ECO SPEAKS CLE

This is the first of an Eco Speaks CLE series on plastic. In this episode, we tackle the subject of plastic pollution with Jill Bartolotta, OSU Extension Educator with Ohio Sea Grant. Jill is a researcher focusing on plastic pollution in the Grea...

27/06/2022

Timeline photos

The beach water quality prediction result for Fairport Harbor Lakefront Park for 6/27/22 is GOOD. Water temp: 73.94° F. Lake County General Health District

Lifeguards on duty 11 am to 7 pm.
No rentals today due to high winds and waves.
Concessions: 11 am to 7 pm
Beach info: http://bit.ly/3HkmiHd

📸 Kristen Weissfuss

24/06/2022

Summer is here! Is your yard calling out for some care? Cutting your grass a bit higher means it will have deeper, healthier roots, so your lawn will be less thirsty even on hot days. For more tips to keep your grass green and your water bill low, check out our “Give Water A Hand” tip card: www.partnersforcleanstreams.org/GWAH_tip_card_2.pdf

21/06/2022

Water, uh, finds a way.

12/06/2022

https://www.facebook.com/100069061755083/posts/332131869098869/?d=n

Fairport Harbor Lakefront Park

10/06/2022

Saturday is the day! Get ready!!

https://www.facebook.com/958166017538187/posts/5413843665303711/?d=n

07/06/2022

Properly dispose of your yard waste and keep it out of our rivers, streams, and Lake Erie!

Keeping grass off the street protects our waterways AND our neighbors on bikes and motorcycles who can lose traction on piles of wet grass!

07/06/2022

Event Update! 📢 The Richmond Heights Community Park tree planting originally scheduled for 6/1 has been rescheduled for Friday, June 10th! Please join us & Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District as we plant trees as part of the US Forest Service Great Lakes Restoration Initiative!

Register here! https://www.cuyahogaswcd.org/events/2022/06/10/tree-planting-in-richmond-heights-community-park

06/06/2022

Timeline photos

The beach water quality prediction result for Fairport Harbor Lakefront Park for 6/6/22 is GOOD. Water temp: 66.38 F. Lake County General Health District

Lifeguards on duty today 11 am - 7 pm, weather permitting
Concessions and rentals: 11 am - 7 pm
Beach info: bit.ly/3iFfTfg

📸 Halle Mezzolesta

06/06/2022

The power of art to inform and inspire! The stunning art of Tess Felix does just that, as she uses plastic waste to create her stunning portraits. Her work is part of the World Ocean Day festivities of our member, SEGO Initiative. Learn more here: https://art.segoinitiative.org/

03/06/2022

City pushes electric mowers to improve air quality

"... the EPA estimates just the gas that spills on the ground each year (17 million gallons) from refueling lawn mowers is more than was spilled by the Exxon Valdez disaster (11 million gallons)."

Spilled gasoline can be a stormwater pollutant. More electric mowers means less fuel spills, and improved air quality!

When the city said it was giving away $100 to the first 200 residents who were willing to swap out their gas mower for a cleaner electric one, the spots were claimed quickly. Replacing lawn mowers won’t put us in the clear for improving air quality, but it’s a start.

02/06/2022

Swap those nonnative plants in your yard for native! They are already accustomed to the soils and growing conditions in the area. Their roots reach farther into the soil than nonnative plants, helping to absorb so much more stormwater!

02/06/2022

🛢️ Do you change the oil in your car at home? Do you have old cans of paint just hanging around in your garage? Remember that anything you rinse from the garage floor or driveway or dump down a storm drain will flow to Lake Erie and can be harmful to the aquatic life that lives there. Whatever enters a storm sewer in the street flows directly to Lake Erie without getting treated.

🚙 It only takes a quart of motor oil from your car to make an oil slick many acres in size. Always properly dispose of used motor oil, never dump oil into a storm drain, and fix any leaks on your car. Some of our area auto part stores will accept your used motor oil for disposal. Also, properly dispose of any left over solvents, pesticides, paints, and other chemicals.

🗑️ Take them to the 2022 Lake County Solid Waste District Special Collection Event at the Lake County Fairgrounds June 11th or September 24th from 8AM until 2PM each day.

02/06/2022

Here's some great fact sheets on the Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in the Great Lakes.

Today, the Great Lakes HABs Collaborative released two new fact sheets on the impacts of harmful algal blooms on human health. The GLC released the fact sheets in advance of HABs season in the Great Lakes basin; early season projections for the annual bloom in Lake Erie are scheduled to begin later this week. Learn more at http://ow.ly/1goS50Jnaxn