Life Depends on Water grand watershed

Rocky River

The Rocky River flows from the highlands of northern Medina and Summit counties to its mouth at Lake Erie between the cities of Lakewood and Rocky River. Its tributaries and drainage basin covers four counties and encompasses a little bit of everything from agricultural areas to golf courses, neighborhoods and yacht clubs.

The Rocky River Watershed consists of 664 stream miles and drains approximately 294 square miles of Northeast Ohio. In reality, the Rocky River Watershed is so much more than the land area it drains.

It contains Hinckley Lake, Wallace Lake, Baldwin Lake, Coe Lake, Lake Medina and Wildwood Lake. It is home to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, NASA Glenn Research Station, Baldwin Wallace College and the Western Campus of Cuyahoga Community College. Parks in the watershed include Cleveland Metroparks’ Rocky River Reservation, Mill Stream Run Reservation and Hinckley Reservation. In Medina County, parks include Plum Creek Park, Allardale Park, the Lester Rail Trail, and the Princess Ledges nature Preserve operated by the Medina County Metroparks. In Lorain County, parks within the watershed include the Columbia Reservation in the Lorain County Metroparks system. Numerous city parks are located within the watershed including Coe Lake, which is at the heart of Berea.

Like other rivers in Northeastern Ohio, the receding glaciers shaped the Rocky River 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. The river has eroded down and exposed shale cliffs. Fossil remains of prehistoric life have been uncovered in the shale of the Rocky River valley including the ferocious-looking 360-million-year-old armored fish, Dunkleosteus terrelli. This 16-foot-long fish is on display at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

More than 250,000 people reside in the watershed in four counties (Summit, Medina, Lorain and Cuyahoga).

Some areas of the watershed are urban and suburban while other are rural and agricultural. Sixteen cities and villages fall partly or entirely within the watershed. These include: Brunswick, Medina, Richfield, Strongsville, North Royalton, Parma, Broadview Heights, Middleburg Heights, Berea, North Olmsted, Olmsted Falls, Brook Park, Cleveland, Lakewood, Fairview Park, and Rocky River. Sixteen townships are located in the watershed: Montville, Granger, Medina, Sharon, York, Liverpool, Brunswick Hills, Hinckley, Columbia, Olmsted, Lafayette, Chatham, Litchfield, Bath, Richfield, and Eaton.

Water quality in the Rocky River is greatly influenced by the land use practices. Non-point source pollution is a threat to water quality.

Sedimentation is a continuing threat as cities continue to develop and grow. Protection of small, headwater streams and wetlands is critical for the health of the watershed.

Other watershed residents include the famous Hinckley buzzards, herds of whitetail deer, coyotes, wild turkey, flocks of ducks and geese, an occasional bald eagle visitor, and maybe someday soon, river otters. A pair of peregrine falcons nest under the Hilliard Road Bridge at the northern end of the watershed.

Main Stem

At the confluence of the West and East branches in North Olmsted, the mainstem of the Rocky River is formed. It flows 6 more miles north to its outlet into Lake Erie between the Cities of Rocky River and Lakewood. Along its way through, it is largely protected from disturbance, as its floodplains are part of Cleveland Metroparks’ Rocky River Reservation. Tributaries flow though more urbanized areas and are thus more impacted.

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East Branch

The East Branch of the Rocky River was named an Important Birding Area (IBA) by Audubon Ohio. IBAs target areas for active bird population monitoring and habitat restoration efforts. This IBA includes several public parks that provide riparian corridor elements for migrant birds. The large Turkey Vulture roost at Hinckley is a major media attraction and public attraction. Also important are the large tracts of deciduous woods, which provide nesting habitat for some of Ohio's rarest nesting passerines, including the Golden-crowned Kinglet, the Red-breasted Nuthatch, the Magnolia Warbler, and the Blackburnian Warbler.

Citizen action has formed the Rocky River Watershed Council with the mission of restoring and protecting the Rocky River. A yearly watershed festival is held in the fall and numerous stream clean-ups occur throughout the year with the support of the Council. For more information, their website is www.myrockyriver.org.

West Branch

The West Branch of Rocky River begins at the confluence of its north and south branches in Medina Township. It flows through the City of Medina, York, Liverpool, Columbia and Olmsted townships before its confluence with the East Branch on North Olmsted. This stretch of the river is in its natural state with access to its floodplains. Some of the West Branch’s tributaries have undergone channel modifications for agricultural purposes and urbanization.

Not as many acres of public lands are protected along the West Branch of the Rocky River and its tributaries. In Medina County, parks include Plum Creek Park, Allardale Park, the Lester Rail Trail, and the Princess Ledges Nature Preserve operated by the Medina County Metroparks. Lorain County Metroparks’ Columbia Reservation borders the West Branch of the Rocky River. This park boasts 285 acres of mitigated wetlands. The man-made wetlands are flourishing with adequate soils and vegetation present in the flood plain of the West Branch of the Rocky River.

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		(Excerpted from ODNR, Division of Natural Areas and Preserves)



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