Plum Creek Restoration Earns Award

The city of Kent earned Ohio's first-ever statewide award recognizing innovative stormwater projects at a ceremony in Columbus this month.

Kent earned the award for "Government Projects: Successful and innovative projects to address one or more areas of stormwater management developed by a governmental entity" for the restoration of Plum Creek at .

The $1.4 million project to remove the dam and replace a culvert blocking the stream at Mogadore Road is meant to improve water quality and increase fish migration for what engineers expect will become a healthier body of water.

Removal of the 123-year-old dam sparked some controversy among residents adjacent to the park who didn't want to see the man-made ponds disappear.

But city officials say the project has accomplished its goals of improved water quality, creation of a biological habitat and restoration of historic sediment transport and fish passage in Plum Creek.

The project started in the spring of 2010 and finished this spring with final landscaping work.

According to the city, the project was nominated for the state award for the following reasons:

• As a result of the Plum Creek Park Stream Restoration Project, the city converted the necessity of replacing a culvert into an opportunity to remove a dam and restore Plum Creek.
• The city also was able to leverage dollars from the Federal Stimulus Bill (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) to pay for the work.
• The project eliminated the need to dredge the reservoir, restored 2,000 linear feet of stream and re-established the riparian floodplain.
• The project also included walking paths, stabilization of riparian stream banks, a deep off-line pond and increased floodplain storage.

The city received the award May 12 at a ceremony in Columbus attended by about 500 people from across the state.