City officials get update on flood control project

by Dan Holland

May 16 service and safety committee/regular city council meeting

Representatives of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District gave a short presentation and update to city officials on the Chippewa Creek Flood Reduction at Echo Lane Project during the May 16 Service and Safety Committee meeting.

The project, which is being conducted as part of NEORSD’s Regional Stormwater Management Program, is aimed at alleviating flooding conditions encountered along Echo Lane, Twin Oaks Drive, West Ridge Drive and surrounding areas in Broadview Heights. Plans call for modifications to a detention basin and an increase in the flow capacity of an upper tributary of Chippewa Creek that runs through the neighborhood.

Construction work on the project, estimated to cost $10 million, is expected to begin in April 2023.

Pre-design plans for the project, initiated in fall 2019, were completed by NEORSD in 2020, with the design stage currently at 60% completion. A select number of neighborhood lots, necessary to institute restoration of the open stream and new connections to culverts, were purchased by NEORSD, with the homes on them being demolished. The district expects to reach a 90% design threshold in July, according to Donna Friedman, NEORSD Watershed Team Leader for Broadview Heights.

Plans call for modification and enlargement of a stormwater detention basin in North Royalton located between Helen Drive and Valley Lane Drive, which feeds into the stream, and replacement and enlargement of a culvert along Echo Lane and Twin Oaks. Flow capacity will be increased by widening an open channel that runs behind homes on Twin Oaks and Briarwood Drive. Removal of, and stream daylighting of, a portion of the Briarwood Drive culvert is also included in the plan.

A local portion of the project, being funded by the city at a cost of $1.1 million, involves improvements to city-owned land near the dead-ended section of Echo Lane. The area, which contains a small stream, will be converted into a small detention basin by building a mound along the far rear of properties that stretch back from Sprague Road, according to City Engineer Gary Yelenosky.

“During heavy rain events, the water will be retained and released slowly to help reduce surcharging of the storm sewer system,” Yelenosky explained.

Storm sewers along Briarwood Drive that flow into the NEORSD portion of the project will also be replaced, he added. Both portions will be completed under NEORSD’s contract using the same contractor.

Information and updates on the project can be found at neorsd.org/chippewa-creek-flood-reduction-at-echo-lane-project.

During the regular city council meeting afterward, council members:

  • Passed a resolution to pay an invoice for $16,315 to Walter Haverfield LLP for legal services rendered through March 31, 2022.
  • Passed a resolution authorizing a $3,190 agreement with CompManagement Inc., for inclusion in the Ohio Association of Public Treasurers Compensation Group Retrospective Rating Program for 2023. 
  • Passed a resolution to enter into a $20,000 agreement with American Fireworks to provide fireworks displays at Broadview Heights Home Days 2022.
  • Passed a resolution amending an agreement with Fallsway Equipment Co., Inc., for police vehicle equipment.
  • for the 2022 Nights in the Heights Concert Series, Broadview Heights Home Days July 7-10, 2022 and the city’s Music Festival to be held September 17-18. ∞