Norton Estate Dam Removal _ Stream Restoration

The Norton Estate Dam Removal & Stream Restoration project is located on Newell Creek in the Town of Willoughby-Chagrin watershed, in the City of Mentor. Newell Creek flows into the Chagrin River which is a direct tributary to Lake Erie. Lake County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) was contacted by the Newell Creek Homeowners Association (HOA) in 2020 regarding to safety concerns for deep sediments in the dam pool and a failing dam structure. The HOA was concerned for the safety of the children that play in the creek. Lake SWCD found the dam to be failing and the streambanks eroding downstream of the dam. 

The City of Mentor partnered with Lake County SWCD, Chagrin River Watershed Partners, and the Newell Creek HOA to apply for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) Nonpoint Source Runoff & Nutrient Reduction Project funding, which was awarded in June of 2022. The project will remove an in-line dam and restore 300 linear feet of stream channel in the former dam pool area, create 6,000 square feet of wetlands in the former dam pool area and restore 450 feet of stream channel below the dam for a total of 750 feet of stream restored. The project will collect, slow, and filter nonpoint source runoff before it reaches the Chagrin River and Lake Erie. The project is planned to be completed by Spring of 2025.