About Us

The Mission

The Chagrin River Watershed Partner's, Inc. (CRWP) Board of Trustees formally adopted the following mission statement in 1996:

The Chagrin River Watershed Partners will strive to preserve and enhance the scenic and environmental quality of the ecosystem of the Chagrin River and its watershed in a manner that assures a sustainable future for people, plants and animals.

The Problem

Land use changes and practices in the Chagrin River watershed are altering its water and natural resource base.  Increased imperviousness (due to construction of roads, parking lots, rooftops),  removal or alternation of natural vegetation, and changes in what activities occur on the land surface are the principal causes.   These activities disrupt the hydrologic and ecosystem processes of the watershed.  The symptoms are increased flooding frequency, more bank full events, increased stream bank erosion and sedimentation, degraded habitat, and increased pollution threats to surface and groundwater resources.  The alteration of the hydrologic and ecosystem processes poses potentially significant costs (monetary and ecological) to local, county, and state government units and citizens ranging from:

• Repairing damage and protecting property from flooding
• Replacing culverts to accommodate increased flows
• Dredging to remove sediments and fallen logs
• Conducting engineering studies to investigate solutions
• Replacing groundwater wells due to contamination or lowering of the water table
• Constructing remediation measures to prevent further damage
• Stabilizing stream banks to prevent further erosion
• Developing alternative sources to threatened groundwater sources
• Pursuing or defending litigation
• Remediating habitat degradation
• Maintaining existing waterway openings and ditches
• Reducing biological diversity, which results in less stable natural communities as well as the loss of native species and healthy natural systems
• Eliminating the most sensitive natural species from the watershed
• Decreasing property tax base of existing structures due to loss of open space, scenic beauty, and natural resource amenities
• Increasing taxes and fees to support land use changes and pay for watershed related problems.

Watershed Approach

To address the problems, a watershed approach is necessary.  Because problems such as flooding and erosion are the result of land and water dynamics that occur at the watershed level, they must be solved at that level.  The watershed approach fundamentally recognizes the importance of water and the natural resources base to the economic well being and quality of life of people.  Consequently, all land use activities within the watershed have the potential to impact this base.  The watershed, as defined by the hydrologic cycle (how water moves through the landscape) and the ecosystem processes it supports becomes the organizing unit for local governments and people to work cooperatively to ensure the resources base is managed for present and future generations.

The focus of the watershed approach is to promote land use practices and development which minimize or prevent water quantity and quality changes, promote the health of the ecosystem, and maintain  watershed hydrologic processes.  By taking a watershed approach, local governments can cost-effectively define and solve cross-political boundary problems that cannot be resolved by local government units  alone. The approach leverages limited local resources to provide access to technical resources which may not otherwise exist locally.  The watershed approach facilitates the development of comprehensive integrated solutions and focuses resources to solve priority Partner and watershed problems.
 
Consistent with the watershed approach, CRWP's organizational role is to support local governments within the watershed in making land use decisions for the long term benefit of the watershed and its water and natural resource base.  This will be accomplished  through direct technical support, education, and sound scientific information.

Who Are We?

The Chagrin River Watershed Partners, Inc. is a non-profit educational and technical organization formed in 1996 by 16 watershed communities to support their efforts to protect their natural resources as land uses continue to become more intense. Today CRWP represents 34 townships, counties, cities, and park districts or approximately 90% of the Chagrin River watershed.

Why Do Communities Join?

Communities join CRWP due to concerns over rising infrastructure costs and threats to public and private property created by the loss of natural resource functions and subsequent increases in flooding, erosion, and water quality problems. Through CRWP members share information and work together to address local and watershed concerns.

How Do We Work?

CRWP’s structure enables the organization to respond directly to the needs of elected officials and their engineers, planners, law directors, and other professional advisors by helping them to update comprehensive plans, zoning ordinances, and other programs guiding land development. CRWP has assisted communities by introducing innovative practices that maintain natural resource functions and prevent or minimize flooding, erosion, and water quality problems. These practices include CRWP’s recommended watershed management tools for riparian and wetland setbacks, improved erosion and sediment control, and storm water management.

Goals

• Build a strong and effective organization that produces high quality services to meet member needs.
• Identify watershed problems and assist local governments in solving these problems by identifying, coordinating, and providing necessary technical, financial, and legal resources.
• Provide a forum for members to discuss problems, share ideas, and develop innovative, cost-effective, comprehensive, and local solutions to watershed problems to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Chagrin River and its communities.
• Serve as a central source for technical, educational, and scientific information on the Chagrin River watershed.
• Develop educational programs for local decision makers on natural resource management and innovative approaches to development that minimize the impacts of land use change.
• Assist members in preserving the scenic and environmental qualities of the watershed.

Watershed Initiatives

Because CRWP spans the entire Chagrin River watershed, it is uniquely positioned to conduct watershed studies and planning efforts. These studies support local decision makers in their adoption of innovative land use practices by providing the necessary technical background and include a geographic information system (GIS) database of the natural resource information for the watershed and identification of remaining wetland resources.

In 2003 and 2004 CRWP’s watershed initiatives will include the implementation of a GIS natural resource database for the Chagrin River watershed; the installation of tree revetment demonstration projects; inventories of the headwater streams of the Chagrin; an impervious cover analysis of selected subwatersheds; and the completion of a Site Planning Forum to analyze alternative site development practices suitable for Northeast Ohio.