Summer-Fall 2008 Voice of the Mill Creek Newsletter, Mill Creek Watershed Council
-
Upload
mill-creek-watershed-council-of-communities -
Category
Documents
-
view
221 -
download
0
Transcript of Summer-Fall 2008 Voice of the Mill Creek Newsletter, Mill Creek Watershed Council
-
8/9/2019 Summer-Fall 2008 Voice of the Mill Creek Newsletter, Mill Creek Watershed Council
1/6
Thirteenth Year Summer/Fall 2008Page 1
N E W S L E T T E R E D I T O R : T A R A M A D D O C K , P H . D .
MILL CREEKAND AMBERLEY VILLAGEPARTNERON RAIN GARDEN
The Mill Creek Watershed Council and Amberley Village received a $5,000 mini-
grant from the Hamilton County Storm Water District (HCSWD) for partial funding of
the rain garden currently under construction at Ridge Road and Section Road in Amberley
Village. The rain garden is a storm water management demonstration project that will
improve water quality and reduce flooding potential from storm water runoff that flows
into Amberley Creek on the south side of Section
Road. The Village and Cincinnati Zoo and
Botanical Garden both received mini-grants from
the HCSWD program, which was created to
promote education about storm water
management and pollution prevention. This
initiative is part of a larger effort by the EPA to
protect waterways from contaminated storm water
runoff, a major source of pollution in 40% of the
water resources that failed to meet water quality
standards in the 2000 National Water Quality Inventory.
The rain garden concept was first proposed two years ago by the Beautification
Committee, chaired by Vice-Mayor Merrie Stillpass. In seeking the mini-grant, the Village
partnered with the non-profit Mill Creek Watershed Council of Communities, which
Stillpass said provided invaluable assistance with the application process, and JF New fordesign oversight. Steve Rasfeld, Amberleys Public Works Supervisor, worked closely with
Diantha Decker of the Council to choose plants and oversee construction of the rain
garden. Rain gardens are becoming an increasingly popular and effective technique in the
effort to control the quality and flow rate of runoff resulting from rainstorms and snow
melt. They combine the use of native plants with extensive root systems that permit water
to seep deeper into the ground, filtering out pollutants, slowing the water rate and reducing
flooding. We hope residents will visit the rain garden and read the signs and other
educational materials that explain its function. This is also an excellent opportunity for
students, landscapers, and people from other communities to learn the techniques and
principles of rain garden storm water management and apply them in problem areas
throughout Greater Cincinnati and beyond, Stillpass said.
(This article originally appeared in the Summer 2008 edition of Amberley Village NewsPhotos and story courtesy of Tracy McMullen.)
BOARDOFTRUSTEES
OFFICERS
MaryLynn Lodor, Chair
Christine Thompson, Vice-Chair
Mark Policinski, Treasurer
TRUSTEES
Frank Birkenhauer
Melanie Brokaw
Jack Cameron
John Dowlin, Emeritus
Richard Ellison
Robert Harrison
John Hunter
Bruce Koehler
Bob Lentz
Anne Lyon
Melanie McNulty
Dr. Michael Miller
Cecil Osborn
Tony Parrott
Kevin Reynolds
Kimberley York
EXECUTIVE DIRECTORTara Maddock, Ph.D.
One North Commerce Park Drive
Suite 124
Cincinnati, Ohio 45215
513.563.8800 (phone)
513.563.8810 (fax)
(email)
www.millcreekwatershed.org
In This Issue:
2008 Carp Diem 5K, Page 2
Vote for a Clean Ohio, Page 2
Coney Island Rain Garden, Pg. 2
Celebrate the Creek, Page 3
Springdale Rain Gardens, Page 3
Water Resources Grant, Page 4
VOICEICEOFFTHEHE MMILLLL CCREEKEEK
-
8/9/2019 Summer-Fall 2008 Voice of the Mill Creek Newsletter, Mill Creek Watershed Council
2/6
Summer/Fall 2008P age 2
JOIN US FORTHE 4TH ANNUAL CARP DIEM
5K RUN/WALKON SUNDAY, SEPT. 28
Seize the day at the 4th annual Carp Diem 5K Run/Walk at the Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum. Walk or
run with your family and friends or simply enjoy the beautiful and historic grounds of Spring Grove, formed in 1845 by the
Cincinnati Horticultural Society. All proceeds go to our organization and help support our ongoing efforts to improve the Mill
Creek Watershed, its communities, and the more than 450,000 watershed residents.
This fun event takes place on Sunday, September 28. Registration to walk or run begins at 7:30 a.m. with the
race/walk starting at 9:00 a.m. Individuals and teams may register. For additional details and advance registration, visit
www.millcreekwatershed.org or call 513-563-8800.
The crowd of Carp Diem runners ready at the
start line last year.CDS Participants Gary Heitkamp, John Eisen-mann (President), and his wife, Pat, enjoy the
2007 Carp Diem.
VOTE TO PROTECTOHIOS RESOURCES
On November 4, voters in our community and all
across Ohio will have the opportunity to vote to protect
and preserve Ohio's quality of life through the renewal of
the existing Clean Ohio Fund by voting Yes on Issue 2. It
will ensure quality of life for all Ohioans by preserving
natural areas and farmland and protecting waterways. It
will also help clean up polluted industrial sites, helping to
stimulate economic development in urban areas creating
high-quality jobs and investment.
Clean Ohio won't raise taxes. It will be paid with state
bonds and existing state revenue. Passage of Clean Ohio
will allow Ohio to receive matching federal funds, which
may be used by communities like ours for projects to pro-tect and preserve the environment.
Please join us in supporting Clean Ohio on November
4. Vote for Clean Ohio! For more information visit
www.cleanohio.org.
US BANKSPONSORS CONEYISLAND RAIN GARDEN
Pictured at right: On April
8th, 20 employees of US
Banks development Net-
work Board, along with
the Council and Green
City Resources joined
forces to install Coney
Island's first rain garden.
Pictured at left: This
rain garden, whichis next to MoonlighGardens, was cre-ated as a functionaldemonstration forthe Spring FlowerShow. Roof runofffrom MoonlightGardens is directedto the garden andfiltered on site.
-
8/9/2019 Summer-Fall 2008 Voice of the Mill Creek Newsletter, Mill Creek Watershed Council
3/6
Summer/Fall 2008Page 3
720 East Pete Rose Way, Suite 420
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone: 513.621.6300
Fax: 513.621.9325
TDD: 513.621.7063
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.oki.org
CELEBRATETHE CREEK!
Mill Creek Watershed Council of Communities
Presents our Member Appreciation Event
Wednesday, September 105:30 8:30 p.m.
Cincinnati Zoo andBotanical Garden in the
Harold C. Schott
Education Center
MCWCC Members $10
Non-Members $25
Registration information available atwww.millcreekwatershed.org or contact
Amy Ostigny at 513.403.0301 [email protected].
Deadline to register is September 5!
SPRINGDALE CAPTURESSTORMWATERAND PROVIDES
BUTTERFLY HABITATBY LESLIE COHEN, PROGRAM MANAGER, MCWCC
Parking lots dont seem to go along with water quality,
beautiful flowers and butterflies. But that is exactly what tworain gardens installed by the City of Springdale are designedto docapture stormwater runoff and provide habitat for
beneficial wildlife including monarch butterflies, bees andhummingbirds.
Cecil Osborn, a Mill Creek Watershed Council board mem-ber and City Administrator for Springdale approached the Coun-cil last fall for technical assistance and to host a training work-shop in conjunction with the rain garden installation.
The Mill Creek Watershed Council and Springdale (withsponsorship from CDS & Associates) held two rain gardenworkshops. One on Friday, May 16 for a technical audienceand the second on Saturday, May 17 for master gardenersand residents. A total of thirty-two participants attended the
workshops at Springdales Municipal Building. The Fridayworkshop concluded with workshop participants planting oneof the rain gardens. (Saturdays workshop was unable toplant due to wet soil conditions).
The workshops included presentations by Steve Foltz(Cincinnati Zoo); Tara Maddock, Leslie Cohen and DianthaDecker (Mill Creek Watershed Council); Brian Bohl
(Hamilton CountySoil and Water Con-servation District);Michelle Iannicca(CDS Engineers) andLeland Reilich(Every Last Drop).This is exactly thetype of project andpublic education thatthe Watershed Coun-
cil was created to accomplish, improving the Mill Creek throughinnovative public and private partnerships said Tara Maddock,Executive Director of the Mill Creek Watershed Council.
The two rain gardens are located at Peach and ChurchStreets, just one block east of Springfield Pike/Route 4. ThePeach Street rain garden is 666 square feet and will filter andretain nearly 6500 gallons of stormwater runoff during a oneinch rainfall event. The Church Street rain garden measures894 square feet and will treat 9700 gallons of runoff. Jeff Agri-cola, Springdales Interim Public Works Superintendent, andhis staff were key to the success of the rain garden project .Jeff and his staff were great to work with. They oversaw theexcavation of the gardens, addition of the sand/soil/compostmix, and tilled the soil for planting said Diantha Decker,Program Assistant with the Mill Creek Watershed Councilwho managed the project.
While you may recognize many of the plants in the raingardens, you may not know that they are all local geno-type na-tive plants supplied from Keystone Flora, a local nursery special-izing in native plants of southwest Ohio. Design assistance wasprovided by Diana Boyd (also of Keystone Flora). The gardens have
been certified by the Monarch Waystation program for providingbutterfly habitat. Thats not too bad for a new parking lot.
-
8/9/2019 Summer-Fall 2008 Voice of the Mill Creek Newsletter, Mill Creek Watershed Council
4/6
One North Commerce Park Drive
Suite 124
Cincinnati, Ohio 45215www.millcreekwatershed.org
NON PROFIT ORG
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
CINCINNATI, OH
PERMIT NO. 5535
Our Mission: The MillCreek Watershed
Council of Communi-ties enables Mill Creek
communities to pro-tect and enhance the
value of the Mill Creek,its tributaries, and
watershed. Throughcollaborative action,the Council strives tomake the Mill Creek
area a more desirableplace to live, work
and play.
Ohios Water Resource Restoration Sponsor Program recently
awarded a $1.7 million grant to the Mill Creek Watershed Council
of Communities (MCWCC) to restore a part of the Upper Mill
Creek.
The 28-acre site, owned by the City of
Sharonville, has been identified as a critical
area for restoration and flood control, said
Sharonville Mayor Virgil Lovitt. The site is
located where the Main Stem and East
Forkof the Mill Creek come together. The
City is excited about the reality of this site
being used to reduce flooding along the
Mill Creek, added Lovitt.
According to Ohio EPA reports, the Mill
Creek currently does not meet water quality
standards. The straightening of the stream, orchannelization over time, has made it difficult
for desired aquatic life to live.
The MCWCC will use the $1.7 million
to naturally restore the area by decreasing
the waters velocity and changing the
stream into a meandering pattern.
As a result, the project will improve
water quality, reduce flooding, prevent
erosion, provide a recreational area with trails and provide a wild-
life habitat, said MCWCC Executive Director Dr. Tara Maddock.
Butler County Department of Environmental Services
(BCDES) and Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati
(MSD) are major sponsors of the project, with assistance from OKI
Regional Council of Governments and City of Sharonville. This
project is a result of years of planning and collaboration among
local governments and land owners to improve
the health of the Mill Creek, said MCWCC
Chair MaryLynn Lodor, also of Butler County
DES. Sharonville will be entering into a land
conservation easement to protect the project in
the future. The project is scheduled for design
and construction in 2009.
While the grant provides the funds for the
stream improvements, there are additional
plans to add a wetland and other beneficial,
natural features. The MCWCC is actively
seeking additional grantors who might be inter-
ested in providing moneys to reconstruct awetland that was once on the property.
There are several benefits a wetland could
provide to the site and we are actively seeking
additional partners to help make the wetland
possible, said Tara Maddock, of MCWCC.
The MCWCC enables Mill Creek commu-
nities to protect and enhance the value of the
Mill Creek, its tributaries, and watershed. The
MCWCC is a non-profit corporation representing all 36 political
jurisdictions in the Mill Creek watershed of which BCDES, the
City of Sharonville, the MSD of Greater Cincinnati and OKI are all
a part.
GRANT AWARDED TO IMPROVE MILL CREEKWATERCONCERNS
-
8/9/2019 Summer-Fall 2008 Voice of the Mill Creek Newsletter, Mill Creek Watershed Council
5/6
Mill Creek WatershedCouncil of Communities
Presents
~Celebrate the Creek~
Please join Mill Creek Watershed Council of Communities at the Cincinnati Zfor a happy hour highlighting the Mill Creeks potential to be an asset to ocommunities.
Networking and socializing with colleagues from local corporationsmunicipalities, county & city agencies, engineering/ architecture/landscape architecture firms, master gardeners, and nonprofitorganizations
Enjoy an evening in the garden (a rain garden of course!) withappetizers and refreshments at the Silver LEED certified SchottEducation Center
Learn about the Councils projects in flood reduction, streamrestoration, storm water management, and public outreach (includinwhats all the buzz about Green Infrastructure?)
Well show our appreciation for our fantastic members and gettogether with old friends and new
DATE Wednesday, September 10, 2008
TIME 5:30 pm 8:30 pm; 6:15 pm Awards & Recognition
LOCATION
Cincinnati Zoo Harold C. Schott Education Center (enter on Erkenbrecher Ave3400 Vine Street, Cincinnati, OH 45220 (513) 281-4700Ample on-site parking is available.
EVENT SPONSORS
COST ®ISTRATION LINKS MCWCC Members $10 Non-Members $25Deadline to register is September 5, 2008
CONTACT
INFORMATION
Questions? Please contact Amy Ostigny at (513) [email protected] note: Please honor your reservation thank you!
OFFICERSMaryLynn Lodor, Chair
http://www.mcgillsmithpunshon.com/index.html -
8/9/2019 Summer-Fall 2008 Voice of the Mill Creek Newsletter, Mill Creek Watershed Council
6/6
Your Membership Makes A Difference!
Join the Mill Creek Watershed Council of Communities
The Mill Creek Watershed Council of Communities is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Through collaborative actionand balancing environmental protection with economic development needs, the Council enables 36 Mill Creekcommunities to enhance the value of the Mill Creek, its tributaries and watershed. Our water quality and communityprograms are successful due to your continued support. With your help, we will continue to make even greater strides toimprove the Mill Creek and surrounding communities.
For more information about ongoing programs and resources, please visit our website www.millcreekwatershed.org orcontact Tara Maddock, Ph.D., Executive Director, of the Council at 513.563.8800 with any questions.
Thank you for your interest and support!
Annual Membership Categories
Suggested Levels (Please Circle Appropriate Level)
INDIVIDUAL/ ORGANIZATION SMALL GOVERNMENT CORPORATIONFAMILY (NON-PROFIT) BUSINESS
$35 $100 $200 $500 $500
TWO WAYS TO CONTRIBUTE:1. 2008MEMBERSHIPIF YOU HAVE NOT JOINED FOR 2008 PLEASE SEND YOUR CONTRIBUTION NOW.2008 Mill Creek Watershed Council of Communities membership of $__________ is included.
Check box if you would like a receipt for your tax-deductible contribution.
2. 2009COMMITMENT - PLEASE CONSIDER MCWCC IN YOUR 2009 BUDGET PLANNINGI/We would like to pledge $_________ in 2009 to the Mill Creek Watershed Council.
I/We would like to speak with someone further about a Corporate or Community SponsorshipOpportunity with the Mill Creek Watershed Council of Communities.Check box if you would like to receive an invoice for your 2009 pledge.
First Name Last Name
Title/Position
Organization Name
Address
City State Zip Code
Phone Fax
Email Website
Online Donations now available at:http://www.millcreekwatershed.org/donate
Pay by Check:Complete Form and return with your check payable to:
Mill Creek Watershed Council of CommunitiesOne North Commerce Park Drive, Suite 124
Cincinnati, OH 45215