From erosion to restoration: Bandore Park project revitalizes Hill Ditch
Members of the Stormwater Action Group toured Toledo's Bandore Park to see how a stream restoration and wetland project is reducing flooding and erosion, improving water quality, and helping protect Lake Erie.
The Stormwater Action Group toured a newly completed stream realignment project at Bandore Park on Aug. 12, showcasing work aimed at reducing flooding, erosion and pollution in the area's waterway.
The West Toledo project targeted Hill Ditch, which had long suffered from flooding and severe erosion that sent sediment into the stream, making it difficult for macroinvertebrates — the small aquatic insects and other organisms known as "bugs" — to survive in the streambed. Stormwater runoff from a nearby neighborhood had also been flowing directly into the stream, quickly introducing pollutants such as pesticides, fertilizers, oil and grease into the water.
The project was first proposed in 2021 and was funded through a combination of grants, including Section 219 funding from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, H2Ohio funding and support from the Maumee Area of Concern Advisory Committee. Work included realigning the stream to restore a more natural stream and floodplain.
As a result, Hill Ditch is now better equipped to handle high flows and larger volumes of rain, slowing the water down, so it causes less erosion and bank-cutting. Officials say the reduced erosion is expected to improve water quality, cut nutrient loading into Lake Erie and enhance aquatic habitat.
The project also added a wetland to capture and hold urban stormwater runoff before it reaches the stream. Wetlands act as natural filters, removing contaminants that would otherwise pollute the waterway. Plants in the new wetland were selected specifically because they can withstand the area's shifting wet and dry conditions, significantly reducing the volume of water that leaves the wetland. By filtering contaminants before they reach the stream, the wetland is designed to keep pollutants from ultimately reaching Lake Erie.
The project was carried out through a partnership that included the city of Toledo, the Lucas Soil and Water Conservation District, Partners for Clean Streams, the Toledo-Lucas County Rain Garden Initiative, the Toledo-Lucas County Sustainability Commission, Lake Erie West Regional Council (formerly TMACOG), the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the Ohio EPA and H2Ohio.
More information on the Bandore Park Restoration Project is available at toledo.oh.gov.
