For Better or Worse: Summit Street Improvement Project to Reshape Kent Ecosystem

In Kent, Ohio, a multi-million dollar construction project boasts of improving the local stormwater quality but may end up harming the current ecosystem.

The Summit Street Improvement Project is well underway and plans to improve the flow of traffic along one of the busiest areas on campus. The project was designed to address safety concerns, related to the high number of motor vehicle accidents along Summit Street, as well as the lack of bicycle lanes.

The project is currently changing some of the stormwater retention basins located along Summit Street, which includes the construction of two new basins.

The basins are designed to divert the excess flow of water to prevent flooding in the area. They collect sediment, debris and chemicals—byproducts of stormwater runoff from roadside storm drains. The Kent State University’s Department of Water Sustainability quotes the following from the EPA:

“Stormwater wetlands (a.k.a. constructed wetlands) are structural practices similar to wet ponds that incorporate wetland plants into the design. As stormwater runoff flows through the wetland, pollutant removal is achieved through settling and biological uptake within the practice. Wetlands are among the most effective stormwater practices in terms of pollutant removal and they also offer aesthetic and habitat value. Although natural wetlands can sometimes be used to treat stormwater runoff that has been properly pretreated, stormwater wetlands are fundamentally different from natural wetland systems. Stormwater wetlands are designed specifically for the purpose of treating stormwater runoff, and typically have less biodiversity than natural wetlands in terms of both plant and animal life.”

“As part of the planning of this project, an environmental document was prepared and approved by ODOT. As part of this document, a Level 1 Ecological Survey was completed by ODOT,” says Kent Senior Engineer Jon P. Giaquinto.

These reports are used to gather information regarding the potential impact construction projects may have on local environments and ecosystems.

“West Campus Center Drive will be relocated to the west and will traverse through a portion of the existing retention basin. As part of the relocation of West Campus Center Drive, new extended detention/water quality basins will be constructed,” added Giaquinto.

The basin located on southwest corner of East Summit Street and Campus Center East, near the Kent State Recreation and Wellness Center, will also be affected.

According to the report, the Summit Street Improvement Project plans to reconstruct a portion of the unnamed storm sewer basin and install 22 cubic yards of new rock. The project will impact approximately 50 linear feet of this stream channel. The ‘storm water management facility,’ as it’s referred to in the report, is a part of the University Prairie Grass Reserve park. This stream is also a tributary to Brimfield Ditch—a canal which feeds into the Cuyahoga River and, eventually, Lake Erie.

“Right now it’s essentially just like, a depression in the ground that fills up really fast when it rains and drains really fast, which is not at all what a natural wetland would do,” says Kent State Biology Professor Lauren Kinsman-Costello.

Costello leads a team of student researchers who have been studying this wetland area for over a year. She and her team have recorded data on effectiveness of the retention basin in improving the water quality of the stormwater runoff. They also plan to record additional water quality data during the new construction and after construction of the new basins are completed. She hopes to create an ecosystem that maybe not only deals with flooding but also makes the water cleaner and provides a sort of habitat for plants and animals.

“Not only the University benefits but the whole region benefits from the improved water quality through wetlands. The other things the improved wetland will provide is, not only will it provide this research opportunity but it hopefully will be a really pleasant place to interact with. and it will provide this sort of natural space that students and any person in the community can enjoy. it will provide a lot of opportunities for education, for classes to go and learn about wetland ecology and water management and habitats and things like that. and hopefully, it’ll just look nice. and it will be nicer that what was essentially just like a little puddle filled with cattail. just like one kind of plant. so it will provide some aesthetic and cultural values as well,” she says.

The City of Kent Storm Water Management Plan provides the following passage to describe the dangers of stormwater pollution:

“Unlike pollution from industry or sewage treatment facilities, which is caused by a discrete number of sources, stormwater pollution is caused by the daily activities of people everywhere. Rainwater and snowmelt run off streets, lawns, farms, and construction and industrial sites and pick up fertilizers, dirt, pesticides, oil and grease, and many other pollutants on the way to our rivers, lakes, and coastal waters. Stormwater runoff is our most common cause of water pollution. Because stormwater pollution is caused by so many different activities, traditional regulatory controls will only go so far.”

“Ideally, wetlands would not only slow the water down, and prevent flooding from storm water, but would also clean some of that stuff up. So take some of the nitrogen out, take some of the phosphorous out. Slow it down enough that the sediments settle out and don’t move downstream. Ultimately, all of that water goes through this network of stormwater pipes and goes into the Cuyahoga River and the Cuyahoga River ends up in Lake Erie. So there’s all of these vulnerable ecosystems along the way that can be stressed out by this human pollution,” says Costello.

According to the EPA, “wetlands are areas where water covers the soil, or are present either at or near the surface of the soil all year or for varying periods of time during the year, including during the growing season. Non-tidal wetlands are most common on floodplains along rivers and streams (riparian wetlands), in isolated depressions surrounded by dry land (for example, playas, basins and “potholes”), along the margins of lakes and ponds, and in other low-lying areas where the groundwater intercepts the soil surface or where precipitation sufficiently saturates the soil (vernal pools and bogs).

This EPA definition appears to conflict with the 2014 ODOT report—which states that the East Campus Center Drive basin is, in fact, not a wetland.

“It’s not a natural wetland. It’s still considered a wetland. It’s not a high quality wetland, but it’s still considered a wetland area,” explains Baden.

The 2014 ODOT report states that, “based on the proposed construction limits, the proposed project will not impact this storm water management facility,” adding, “based on field investigations and review of available mapping, wetlands were not identified within the proposed project area. Therefore, the proposed project will not impact any known wetlands.”

The ODOT Ecological Survey includes a Habitat Evaluation Form, conducted in 2013 by the OhioEPA, which determined that, “no riparian habitat exists in the construction area.”

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service defines riparian habitats as, “lands that occur along watercourses and water bodies. Typical examples include flood plains and streambanks. They are distinctly different from surrounding lands because of unique soil and vegetation characteristics that are strongly influenced by the presence of water.”

This too seems to conflict with the ODOT report, which notes that the “riparian habitat around the stream shall be preserved to the maximum extent practicable.”

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In addition to the issues facing the redesigned stormwater basins, potential habitats for the Federally-listed endangered Indiana bat will be removed to clear space for the Summit Street Improvement Project.

According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Indiana bats have been listed as an endangered species since 1967.

The 2014 ODOT documents note that, “the Indiana bat life cycle requires suitable summer roosting and brood rearing habitat (i.e. living or standing dead trees or snags with exfoliating, peeling or loose bark, split trunks and/or branches or cavities) and suitable hibernacula during the winter months (typically caves, or abandoned mines that provide cool, humid, stable conditions for hibernation),” adding, “a survey of the project study area did not identify any portals, openings, cracks or crevices in rock outcrops that may be an entrance to a cave or mine that would be considered suitable winter hibernacula habitat for the bat.”

“Approximately 170 trees, mostly ornamental landscaping and residential streetscape trees, will be removed to gain access to construct the project. Eight trees with potential suitable roosting habitat will be removed by the project. The project is not located within 10 miles of a known or suspect hibernaculum or within 5 miles of a capture record for the species. The project may affect, but is not likely to adversely affect this species.”

In the ODOT document, the City of Kent promises that, “trees to be cleared within the project construction limits shall only be cut/removed after September 30 and before April 1.”

However, it’s also worth noting that four of the eight trees identified for removal surround the East Campus Drive basin.

 

“The renovated wetland would also help to purify the water and, hopefully, provide a habitat for plants and animals,” says Costello.