Crystal Lake Project is Stewardship in Action
By Jody Miller
The word stewardship is bandied about frequently. It’s one of those
“buzzwords” that sounds good or looks good on paper, but too often the
reality leaves much to be desired.
Being a good steward means taking responsibility for the careful and
responsible management of something with which you have been entrusted. By
virtue of the Yellow Creek Watershed – one of the cleanest watersheds in the
Cuyahoga River/Lake Erie basin and the primary watershed in Bath – there are
residents in this community who have stepped to the plate to protect and
preserve an essential part of what makes Bath Bath.
The recent formation of the Yellow Creek Watershed Committee is one way
community members have chosen to take stewardship to a more hands-on level.
So, too, the on-going work around Crystal Lake is a testament to the
importance of stewardship on the part of residents, businesses and a local
developer.
Crystal Lake, located just east of Crystal Lake Road in south Bath, is the
largest body of water in the township. Constructed in 1935, the surface area
of the lake is 34 acres. The lake contains an estimated 67.5 million gallons
of water; is an average of 5-feet-3-inches in depth; and empties into Yellow
Creek.
In the past 10-15 years, the area around Crystal Lake has been developed,
with upscale homes and condominiums along part of its banks, while the
office park development at Embassy Parkway winds along still more of the
lake.
The beauty of the lake itself belies the problems that have developed over
the years. Periodic inspections by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources
(ODNR) have revealed a number of issues requiring attention. Among those
issues, the large drainage pipe of corrugated steel that drains Crystal Lake
is rusted out and unsafe; if it collapses, the dam could fail. Also, the
concrete spillway has decayed over the years and that also could fail;
erosion has become evident at the banks at the dam; there is no discharge
gate for drainage (required by ODNR) and, therefore, no way to drain the
water from the lake should that need arise; and water seepage from the lake,
which is not properly filtered, is affecting the quality of the water
flowing into Yellow Creek.
All of these issues require solutions as mandated by the state agency, and
those solutions – that stewardship – will cost $150,000.
“By law, we have to comply with ODNR,” said Bill Trommer, president of the
Crystal Lake Recreation Assoc., a member of the Yellow Creek Watershed
Committee and one of the people spearheading this project.
The work to be done – a new spillway and discharge gate; installation of
riprap to reinforce the banks; and addition of a drainage and filtration
system at the dam to improve the quality of water going into Yellow Creek –
is being hand- led by Rootstown Excavating, under the on-site monitoring of
Burgess & Niple, said Trommer.
The project has required lowering the water level of the lake by some two
feet, explained Trommer, so as to work unimpeded. Once that lower level is
achieved, the project is expected to take about eight weeks to complete.
After that, ODNR will inspect and approve the work.
“By fall, the lake level should be back to normal, and the entire area will
be restored to an even better than now appearance,” said Trommer.
While everyone in the Yellow Creek Watershed will benefit, the costs of this
project take stewardship to a more mundane, but essential level.
The Crystal Lake Recreation Association is a combination of the Crystal Lake
Condominium Assoc. (consisting of 105 condominiums) and the Crystal Shores
Homeowners Assoc. (85 lots/homeowners). This group will fund two-thirds of
the project – $100,000 – to make the needed repairs through an assessment of
$525 each.
“We have had great cooperation from the homeowners,” said Sharon Gilbert,
treasurer of CLRA, and another of the area residents working on this
project. “As homeowners, we are required to participate, but we have had
such a very positive response to doing this.”
The remainder of the project cost, some $50,000, will be paid for by John
Dellagnese, developer of
Embassy Parkway and a Bath resident, and the doctors at Crystal Clinic. Both
Trommer and Gilbert stressed appreciation for what they termed a “voluntary
payment” from the Crystal Clinic physicians and Dellagnese.
“John is very much a conservationist,” said Trommer. “Each year, he supports
us in keeping the water of Crystal Lake clean by contributing one-third of
the costs of that cleaning. He also has provided us with engineering support
on this project.”
“John has been very generous,” added Gilbert.
Beyond the temporary lowered water level and the costs to be incurred, the
bigger picture here is stewardship – by private residents, a developer and
Crystal Clinic doctors.
“We are ensuring the safety of the dam and the cleanliness of the water that
is moving out of the lake and into the Yellow Creek Watershed,” said
Trommer. “This is all upstream of Yellow Creek and restoring and improving
the integrity of that watershed is essential.”
According to Bath Trustee Don Jenkins, what is being done in this
collaborative effort is “a huge use being addressed.
“The big, broad perspective is a much cleaner feed into Yellow Creek,” said
Jenkins. “They are preserving the integrity of the lake and acting as good
stewards of Yellow Creek. They stepped up and are to be commended. When this
is done, it will have a big effect on the quality of Yellow Creek.”
This is stewardship in action, to benefit us all.
From the May 2006 issue of the Bath Country Journal.
Reprinted with permission of the Bath Country Journal.