Dugway Brook Watershed facts for kids

The Dugway Brook Watershed is a special area of land, about nine square miles big, located in Cleveland, Ohio and its nearby eastern suburbs. This area collects rainwater and directs it into a stream called Dugway Brook. From there, the water flows directly into Lake Erie.

Dugway Brook is one of six important "bluestone brooks" in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. These brooks, which also include Dean Brook, Euclid Creek, Nine-Mile Creek, Pepper Creek, Mill Creek, and Doan Brook, all feed into Lake Erie. All these bluestone brooks are found in a unique area called Bluestone Heights. This area is between the Appalachian Highlands and the Central Lowlands in Northeast Ohio. All six bluestone brooks actually start from a single point near Lyman Circle in Shaker Heights.

How Dugway Brook Was Formed

Dugway Brook and the other bluestone brooks were created a very long time ago, about 14,000 years ago. This happened near the end of the last glacial period, when huge glaciers shaped the land.

Dugway Brook has two main parts: an east branch and a west branch. Both branches began near John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio. They then flowed in a winding path, generally northwest, through Cleveland Heights, Ohio, East Cleveland, Ohio, and the City of Cleveland. The two branches meet just south of what is now Interstate 90. After they join, Dugway Brook flows north through Bratenahl, Ohio and finally empties into Lake Erie.

Dugway Brook Today

Today, most of Dugway Brook flows underground in large pipes called culverts. It runs beneath streets and city parks that were built around it. The brook was put into these culverts early in the 1900s. One reason was to stop pollution from making nearby residents sick. In 1914, the Ohio State Board of Health even ordered Cleveland to fix its sewer system to prevent more pollution.

Putting the brook underground also allowed more buildings to be constructed in the area. Now, about 94% of the watershed is developed, mostly with homes. About 45% of the watershed is in Cleveland Heights, and 13% is in University Heights. Smaller parts are in Bratenahl, Shaker Heights, Ohio, and South Euclid, Ohio. Sometimes, unwanted water or waste from sewer lines still flows into Dugway Brook. The City of Cleveland Heights is working hard to keep the watershed's pipes clean and reduce this unwanted flow.

The West Branch of Dugway Brook

The upper part of the west branch of Dugway Brook follows the path of Meadowbrook Boulevard in University Heights and Cleveland Heights. The road was built on top of the underground culvert.

You can see parts of the west branch flowing openly in Lake View Cemetery, which was founded in 1869. The cemetery used to dig up a special type of stone called Euclid bluestone from the brook's area in Cleveland Heights. This bluestone was strong, fine-grained, and easy to cut. It was used to build structures in the cemetery, including a large wall, steps, and other buildings. Workers used hand tools and even dynamite to get the stone. Not much stone was wasted; leftover pieces were crushed and used for monument foundations. The quarry here was active until the mid-1930s.

In 1975, the people in charge of Lake View Cemetery worried about flooding. They sued the cities of University Heights and Cleveland Heights because sewer expansions upstream were making the west branch flood more often during heavy rains. To help solve this, the Cleveland Regional Sewer District (now called the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District) was created. With land donated by the cemetery, the District built the huge Lake View Cemetery Flood Control Dam in 1978. It cost $6.3 million. Even though some people thought it was too big and expensive, it was the largest concrete dam east of the Mississippi River when it was finished.

The East Branch of Dugway Brook

The east branch of Dugway Brook can be seen from Cedar Road in University Heights. It flows as a short open channel before going under Cain Park and Cumberland Park. It also flows under and openly through Forest Hill Park. This park was once the summer home of John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller also dug up Euclid bluestone from parts of Dugway Brook on his property. He used this stone to build small bridges and other structures in Forest Hill.

Images for kids

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  The Lakeview Cemetery Dam helps control flooding.