CUYAHOGA RIVER RESTORATION PROJECT:
BALANCING HISTORY AND ENVIRONMENT
By
Robert Brown, City of Kent,
Ted Johnson, P.E., Erin Ansell, P.E., CDM
The Kent Dam, built in 1836 as part of the Pennsylvania and Ohio Canal, is an integral part of
the City of Kent, Ohio, Industrial District. As one of the oldest arch stone masonry structures in
the country, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A total maximum daily load
(TMDL) study conducted in 1999 by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA)
identified water quality concerns in the pool behind the Dam. The Kent Dam lies within the
middle reach of the Cuyahoga River, an area considered by OEPA to be in non-attainment of its
Warm Water Habitat (WWH) classification due to substandard dissolved oxygen concentrations
in the backwater pool above the dam; lack of fish passage through the dam reach; and lack of
aquatic habitat upstream of the dam. To mitigate these impacts and achieve the WWH
classification, OEPA stipulated the complete removal of Kent Dam in its TMDL for the middle
reach of the Cuyahoga River.
As Kent Dam is an historic structure and a symbol of the City of Kent, the City of Kent and area
historic preservationists deemed the TMDL stipulation unacceptable. Other citizens, who
considered themselves environmentalists, supported the TMDL stipulation. The project team
thus had to work with a myriad of stakeholders to balance competing interests and develop a
solution that met OEPA regulatory requirements while preserving a regional landmark. After
conducting an exhaustive feasibility study, the team submitted a design to the OEPA on behalf of
the City of Kent that both preserved historic features of the dam while mitigating WWH nonattainment conditions. The proposed improvements included the removal of a previously
damaged lock structure and creation of an open water bypass channel in its place. Upstream of
the dam a park is proposed with educational signage along the dam crest, allowing the citizens to
celebrate their City’s heritage and reuniting them with the Cuyahoga River. The installation of a
pumping station downstream of the dam will preserve the waterfall over the dam, a much
beloved feature. Further upstream, proposed improvements include stabilization of riverbanks
and adjacent riparian areas using bio-engineered techniques and quarry stone that provide aquatic
habitat diversity and protective cover for aquatic wildlife.
In February 2003, the City of Kent received a letter from OEPA commending them for their
commitment to improving water quality in the river and accepting the design as complying with
both the middle Cuyahoga River TMDL recommendations and the City of Kent’s NPDES
discharge permit. The Cuyahoga River Restoration project is a success story for TMDLs,
highlights the benefits of public involvement, and is an example of how creative engineering can
result in a design that meets the needs of regulators and citizens alike. Construction of the
Cuyahoga River Restoration Project is expected to commence in early summer 2003.
Author Information:
Ted Johnson, P.E.; Erin Ansell, P.E.
CDM
1331 17th Street, Suite 1200
Denver, CO 80202
Phone: (303) 298-1311
Fax:
(303) 293-8236
Email: anselles@cdm.com