What's being done to help Lake Macbride?
Under the leadership of the Watershed Advisory Committee, consisting of 15 members, the Lake Macbride Watershed
Project is improving the quality of water before it reaches Lake Macbride. A few of the major conservation practices
the committee has started are buffer strips, grade stabilization structures, water and sediment control basins, grassed waterways and wetlands.
Vegetative conservation buffers slow sediment and filter runoff water before it reaches a stream. In addition,
buffers reduce erosion from wind, help stabilize streambanks and provide habitat for wildlife.
Gully erosion is one of the ways sediment is delivered to Lake Macbride, but countering this is the use of grade
stabilization structures. These structures are used to reduce water flow while protecting soil from
gully erosion.
Grassed waterways in the Lake Macbride watershed are an effective practice in reducing soil erosion. These
natural or constructed channels move surface water across the land without causing soil erosion. The vegetation in the
waterway slows the water, protecting the land from rill and gully erosion.
Lake Macbride is also creating wetlands, which trap sediment, preventing soil particles and attached
pollutants from reaching the lake. Wetlands can also reduce peak water flows, which can help to prevent streambank erosion
and flooding.
There are many educational opportunities citizens can get involved in with help from the Watershed Advisory
Committee. They provide educational workshops and technical assistance to homeowners, farmers and
Solon School District students. High school students labeled storm drains in the city because
many people do not realize that storm drains lead to streams and not to the sewer plant to be treated. Students also planted
rain gardens on the high school grounds to absorb water, reduce water, protect water quality and prevent flooding.
Rain gardens are a shallow depression in the ground that are strategically located and planted with native wetland or
wet prairie wildflowers and grasses.
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What can I do to help?
Landowners, as well as urban homeowners, in the Lake Macbride watershed can improve the lake by partnering with
the Lake Macbride Watershed Project.
Amy Bouska, watershed project coordinator, can work with you to evaluate your land and identify practices that can
help both the lake and your property. Bouska can also help find financial assistance to install those practices.
Landowners participating in the watershed project can generally get improved financial assistance opportunities.
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