• WPC building Improvements
• Stormwater System Maintenance
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WPC Building Improvements↑

Click the photo to view gallery.

The Division of Water Pollution Control (WPC) is responsible for maintaining the local sanitary sewerage and stormwater drainage collection systems in the City of Cleveland. As the stormwater management agent for the City, WPC also is charged with managing and supervising matters relating to the elimination, control and regulation of water pollution within Cleveland city limits.What is Stormwater Management? Stormwater management practices are used to delay, capture, store, treat, or infiltrate stormwater runoff.Learn more in our FAQ The City of Cleveland is planning to implement a stormwater management demonstration project at WPC. Various elements of the project include bioswales, rain gardens, pervious pavement and rain harvesting for future re-use. The projects will incorporate low impact design (LID) principles.

WPC’s Kirby Avenue facility includes offices, an adjoining maintenance warehouse, parking lots, and a storage yard. The existing stormwater drainage system on the property is limited to an enclosed storm sewer and roof drainage collection system, which discharges into a combined sewage system.

Pervious Pavement

The first element of the project includes replacing 10,200 square feet of existing asphalt and and 4,200 square feet of concrete with pervious, or porous, pavement. The pervious pavement allow stormwater runoff to infiltrate underground. This reduces the chance of heavy rain overwhelming the sewer system and recharges the ground.

Rain Gardens

Under the second element of the project, 2 rain gardens will be constructed to cover 480 square feet of ground. The rain gardens would collect and retain rainwater drained from approximately 17,400 square feet of roof area covering the WPC building. The existing roof drainage collects into downspouts, which discharge directly into the combined sewer system. The downspouts would be diverted from the sewer system to the rain gardens located along the northeast side of WPC’s warehouse building and conveniently accessed through a garage area. The rain gardens will contain plants native to the Cleveland area, which will help to ensure that the plants are accustomed to local climate changes and therefore require less maintenance. The integration of the rain gardens will be done in a way that is both functional and aesthetically appealing, while also resulting in a reduction of stormwater discharged into the combined sewerage system.

Bioswale

The third element of the project is the construction of bioswales to collect drainage from the main entrance and east entrance driveways that would not be collected by the pervious pavement. Approximately 9,950 square feet of parking lot drainage flows across lawn area before flowing into the Kirby Avenue Street drainage system, which outlets into the combined sanitary sewer system. This drainage will be intercepted by the bioswales, where it will infiltrate into the ground. The bioswales will be similar to the rain gardens in that they will contain plants native to the Cleveland area.

Rain Harvesting

The fourth element of the project is the construction of storage tanks to store rain water for re-use. The roof which drains 17,400 square feet, will be intercepted and directed to the storage tanks. The harvested water will be used for irrigation and washing of vehicles. The tanks will carry a maximum of about 25,00 gallons of water and will be located inside the garage area for use in all seasons.

The project is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2011. WPC will conduct tours to showcase the benefits of using green in infrastructure. In addition to its environmental benefits, the project will be used as a demonstration to educate the community and spread the use of green solutions to stormwater issues.

Stormwater System Maintenance↑

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grants Cleveland a permit to operate a Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System Communities Address Non-Point Source Pollution
Deputy Commissioner Zoghaib talks about how the City of Cleveland handles the challenges of Stormwater Management in a large metropolitan area.Read the full article(MS4). MS4s are intended to carry stormwater runoff and sanitary sewage separately.The water carried by an MS4 is not processed at one of three water treatment plants located in the City of Cleveland, but flows back into local waterways where it eventually reaches Lake Erie. This means that pollutants that enter these storm drains and catch basins can be carried to local waterways and impact local drinking water.

Big Creek Watershed Stormwater Management Improvement Project – Phase 1
Project Brochure: PDF

Waterways can sometimes rise above the tops of culverts during severe storms, causing street closures and disrupting traffic. Basements in the area become inundated with flow from surcharges combined sewer systems. This project benefits area residents and drivers by reducing occurrences of these problems.

WPC replaced eight culverts, cleaned and restored 4,500 linear feet of stream. Click above photo for gallery.

Kerruish Park

This project improved the structure of the dam, the hydraulics during a major storm, the water quality and enhanced aquatic habitat. Click above photo for gallery.

Other Projects and Initiatives↑

Other Divisions and partner organizations around North East Ohio are engaged in the conservation of our soil and water.

A look at Cuyahoga Soil & Water

Cleveland Metroparks Dam Removal

Exploration of a local waterway