Fact SheetState of Ohio Environmental Protection Agency

January 2005 Euclid Creek Watershed TMDL

The WatershedEuclid Creek is a small Lake Erie

tributary flowing through CuyahogaCounty and a small part of LakeCounty. Approximately 43 miles ofstream are included in the 23 squaremile watershed. The watershed isdominated by urban and suburban landuse.

Within Euclid Creek’s watershedlive 68,000 people.

Originating in the communities ofBeachwood, Pepper Pike andWilloughby Hills, Euclid Creek changeselevation from 1,200 feet above sealevel to 570 feet above sea level atLake Erie. At a gradient of 55 feet permile, Euclid Creek is considered a veryhigh-gradient stream. Much of thestream flows over bedrock and hassteep valley walls.

Water QualityWater quality in Euclid Creek has

shown improvements during the timeOhio EPA has been monitoring thestream.

BacteriaDischarges from septic tanks,

wastewater treatment plants, combinedsewer overflows, and urban runoffcontribute bacteria to the watershed.Violations of the water quality standardwere common in the 1970s and intothe 1980s. Recently, detections offecal coliform violations havedecreased.

Phosphorus Current data indicate that

phosphorus in the stream is abovetarget goals. In Ohio EPA’s 2000watershed survey, 60 percent of thesamples were above the target level.

In 2002 and 2003, 30 percent of thesamples collected by the NortheastOhio Regional Sewer District wereabove the target.

Aquatic LifeOhio EPA also evaluates streams

based on the organisms living in them.By analyzing fish communities andmacroinvertebrates (bugs, crayfish andother creatures without backbones) wecan determine compliance with waterquality standards and identify potentialsources and causes of streamimpairment.

Euclid Creek currently does not meetOhio EPA’s standards for aquatic life.Fish populations appear to be moreimpacted than the macroinvertebrates.Fish found above the dam near East185th Street in our surveys were mostlypollution-tolerant minnows.

Below the dam additional fishspecies were found including rainbowtrout and bass.

The aquatic macroinvertebrates haveimproved to a point that they generallymeet Ohio EPA standards.

Restoring the WatershedSeveral methods are used to restore

a watershed to meet standards forbacteria, chemicals, and biologicalcommunities.

Control of industrial and sanitarywastewater discharges, including septictank elimination, will improve waterquality. Septic tank elimination is anongoing project. In the case of EuclidCreek, control and elimination of thesedischarges has not resulted incomplete restoration of water quality.Other human induced influences areimpacting the stream.

Development and loss of streamsidehabitat can be a major source andcause of problems. Runoff containedin storm water can contain many of thesame pollutants found in industrial andsanitary wastewater. Addressingissues such as habitat alteration andland use patterns requires localgovernment support.

Watershed Action Plans and theTotal Maximum Daily Load process areable to achieve restoration, whensupported and implemented at a locallevel.

Division of Surface Water, Northeast District Office, 2110 East Aurora Road, Twinsburg, Ohio 44087 (330)963-1200www.epa.state.oh.us