WESTERVILLE PARKS & RECREATION SPRING VALLEY GREENWAY FACTSMAEBELLE WAY

Spring Valley Greenway and Watershed

PARK AMENITIES ACREAGE: 5.107 Acres • Greenway ACQUIRED: 2009 • Paved Path System 720 LF • Stone Path System 1,087 LF PARKING: Street • Pedestrian Bridges FUNDING: Surface • Retention Basin Water Improvement • Stream Funds (SWIF) • Restored Stream Channel 1,148 LF Neighborhood • Natural Channel Design Association /Land • ADA Accessible Transfer DEVELOPED: 2015 Restoration

(614) 901-6500 • www.westerville.org facebook.com/cityofwesterville • twitter.com/westervillepark SPRING VALLEY GREENWAY RESTORATION

Willow Live-Stakes Installed to Protect Banks Volunteers Planting Native Species NATIVE V. INVASIVE SPECIES: Invasive species often displace native species due to their ability to grow rapidly, sequester nutrients and water, and sometimes omit chemicals that are destructive to neighboring plants (allelopathy). Honeysuckle and multiflora rose are well known to have a negative impact on native species, and are poor at maintaining stream banks due to their shallow, fibrous root systems. Once Spring Valley Greenway Before Project Intervention removed, these plants were replaced with native species that naturally occur in Ohio floodplains. Native species (planted) include: sycamore, willow, buckeye, BACKGROUND: elderberry, spicebush, and arrowwood. The City of Westerville received a grant from Ohio EPA to restore and enhance parts of this headwater tributary to Alum Creek. In the past, to combat erosion, artificial materials were used to “armor” and stabilize stream banks, but have since degraded and required removal. Within the project area, the stream was restored to a more natural state by removing most man-made materials, such as railroad ties, metal bracing, and concrete weirs, and adding rock structures to naturalize stream flow. The riparian buffer (vegetation along the stream) was also enhanced through the removal of invasive species and replacement with native species. These plantings will improve the natural buffers of the stream and stabilize the banks, resulting in a healthier and more attractive stream and greenway that will benefit wildlife, local residents and visitors alike.

PROTECTING OUR WATERWAYS: Although easily overlooked, small streams play a large role in the health of Newburry Riffle Rock Cross-Vane Bendway Barbs our major rivers, lakes, and even oceans. Acting as Earth’s veins, streams cover thousands of miles transporting whatever might enter them. Frequently, ROCK STRUCTURES: excess nutrients from surrounding landscapes are transported into headwater Large rock is used in streams to manipulate hydrology, restoring flow patterns streams and major water bodies causing unsightly and sometimes harmful and reducing stream bank erosion. Newberry riffles and rock cross-vanes are algal blooms. Many cities, including Westerville, rely on surface water (Alum the primary rock structures used during this enhancement. Both centralize Creek Reservoir) from local streams for drinking and other important needs. stream flow, concentrating the energy near the center and away from the banks, Established vegetated buffers, like this greenway, help filter out nutrients and where it could otherwise cause undercutting. These structures also cause some pollutants before they enter the intricate network of surface waterways. desirable aquatic habitat to develop within the stream like pools, runs, and oxygen-rich riffles.

This project was financed in part or totally through a grant from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, under the provisions of the Surface Water Improvement Fund.