Chagrin River Watershed Facts & Figures

Watershed Land Area

265 square miles (169,330 acres)

Population

• 138,212 (year 1990)
• 162,500 (year 2000)
  
  

Counties in the Watershed

Cuyahoga     21%

Geauga        51%

Lake            20%

Portage         8%

Designated State Scenic River Sections

• 12 miles of the Aurora Branch
• 23 miles of the Main Branch
• 15 miles of the East Branch
• 22 miles of the Upper Main Branch

Use Designations

Beneficial use designations describe existing or potential uses of streams. They take into consideration the use and value of water for public water supplies, protection and propagation of aquatic life, recreation in and on the water, agricultural, industrial and other purposes. Ohio EPA assigns beneficial use designations to waterbodies in the state. There may be more than one use designation assigned to a waterbody. Examples of beneficial use designations include: public water supply, primary contact recreation, and aquatic life uses (warmwater habitat, exceptional warmwater habitat, etc.)

Warmwater Habitat

The Warmwater Habitat (WWH) use defines typical warmwater assemblage of aquatic organisms. This use represents the principal restoration target for the majority of water resource management efforts in Ohio and are waters considered to be in generally good health.

Approximately 61 miles of the Chagrin River and its tributaries are WWH designated streams.

Coldwater Habitat

The Coldwater Habitat (CWH) use is intended for waters which support assemblages of coldwater organisms. Approximately 20 miles of the Chagrin River and its tributaries are designated as CWH. These include the East Branch and all of its tributaries, small tributaries of the main stem Chagrin River and Aurora Branch, several of which support breeding populations of Ohio Brook Trout.

East Branch & all tributaries

Beaver Creek
Griswold Creek
Linton Creek
Silver Creek
Willey Creek
Unnamed tributary to Bass Lake (RM 47.65)
Unnamed tributary to Dewdale Creek (RM 0.31)
Unnamed tributary to Dewdale Creek (RM 0.50)
Unnamed tributary to Silver Creek (RM 3.5)
Unnamed tributary to Silver Creek (RM 4.54)
Unnamed tributary (RM 15.42)
Unnamed tributary (RM 48.3)

Exceptional Warm Water Habitat

Less than one percent of stream miles in the Chagrin River watershed is designated as Exceptional Warmwater Habitat (EWH) which is a designation reserved for waters with unusual or exceptional assemblages of aquatic organisms and may include threatened or endangered species.

McFarland Creek

Images By: Amy Brennan