Stormwater, Sewer, Watershed

Summary

The Lorain County Community Development is home to three full-time staff members that work to ensure safe, responsible, and proactive management of water and sewage within the county. Their work includes managing and maintaining systems and infrastructure in place across the county to ensure that these essential functions and services are in a good state of repair and in proper working condition in accordance to local, state, and federal regulations.

Lorain County Stormwater Management District

The Stormwater Management District, is a separate but related management structure that partners with the Lorain County Commissioners, Lorain County Engineer, and the Lorain County Prosecutor as well as eighteen townships, the Village of South Amherst, and the City of Oberlin. The district 

Current Services

  • Monitor water quality of local waterways to control potential discharge of pollutants;
  • Identify and eliminate improper connections that illegally dump waste, instead of storm water, directly into our rivers and streams;
  • Develop plans to properly address storm water runoff throughout the existing storm water system;
  • Help with projects to maintain, upgrade, repair, and replace the existing storm water infrastructure to reduce flooding and pollution;
  • Removing storm water from the sanitary sewer system known as Inflow and Infiltration (I and I);
  • Develop meaningful partnerships to provide effective and cost efficient services to the District with local agencies and organizations;
  • Comply with federal/state unfunded regulations; and
  • Provide funds for local projects through the Community Grant Program and Mini Grant Program.

Watershed Management

The Community Development Department also plays a major role in maintaining, preserving, and protecting the natural waterways of the county from damaging natural and artificial threats. 

Black River Watershed Project

The principal river that flows through the heart of Lorain County is the Black River. The watershed of the Black River contains approximately 1,240 stream miles, drains 470 square miles into Lake Erie's Central Basin. Apart from small coastal tributaries near Lake Erie, all of the water that falls to and through the ground in Lorain County, ultimately ends up in the Black River which flows into Lake Erie at the Lorain Harbor.

As a part of the of the federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grant, Lorain County has been awarded funding in order to control invasive species throughout the Black River watershed. The removal of invasive species is a key component to the success of restoration activities and the recovery of natural habitat in the Black River.  The Project also seeks to address and remediate the effects of urban runoff and sprawl, sewage disposal, agriculture, and toxic industrial effluent that affects aquatic food chains, fish populations, and human health, recreational, and economic uses of the county's watershed.