PROJECTS: Urban Agriculture project features will protect Lake Erie, plant seeds of knowledge

"Cleveland is known across the country for its re-purposing vacant and abandoned properties for urban agriculture."

Those are the words of our Deputy Director of Watershed Programs Kyle Dreyfuss-Wells. And now, as this home-grown movement gets a boost from our green infrastructure program, a new urban ag project will help manage stormwater, reduce pollution to Lake Erie, and offer a new site for environmental outreach and education.

Located in the Kinsman neighborhood on Cleveland’s east side, the Green Ambassador—Urban Agriculture project is designed to manage 7 million gallons of stormwater a year, reducing combined sewer overflow volumes to Lake Erie by 1.6 million gallons and improving water quality when complete in 2017.

PROJECTS: About the Fairhill/MLK Green Ambassador Project in Cleveland

Known as the Fairhill-MLK Green Infrastructure Ambassador Project on the northeast corner of Fairhill Road and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in Cleveland, this functional and aesthetic project will control stormwater and reduce the amount of water reaching the combined sewer system.

Green infrastructure includes a range of stormwater control measures—plant/soil systems, permeable pavement or other forms of stormwater harvest and reuse—to store, infiltrate, or evapotranspirate stormwater and reduce flows to the combined sewer system. It's an integral part of Project Clean Lake.

Existing conditions at Fairhill-MLK

The Project includes construction of a large basin and installation of new, separate storm sewers along E. 124 Street and portions of Fairhill Road, Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard, Britton Drive, Mt. Overlook Avenue and E. 126 Street. It will manage 17 million gallons of stormwater in a typical year.

Sewer District representatives have held three public meetings offering attendees the opportunity to not only provide their opinion on the project, but also choose many of the aesthetic features.

UPDATE: This pre-construction public-meeting slide deck was presented to the community March 25, 2015. Prior slides describe Project Clean Lake and related work; subsequent slides present greater detail on the design and function of this project.

Fairhill/MLK pre-construction public meeting 3-25-2015 from Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District

ANTICIPATED ROAD CLOSURES:
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RELATED STORIES:

• HISTORY: What is Project Clean Lake? / Video
• VIDEO: What is a combined sewer overflow?
• ABOUT: 7 reasons our Project Clean Lake plan was a groundbreaking agreement