Our Village Lakes and Ravine

The lakes and ravine are a natural resource treasure for the Village of Minerva Park. They significantly add to property values and charm of our Village. In fact, the ravine drew my wife and me to our current home on Lakewood. This value is not just limited to properties in close proximity to the resources, but contributes towards all properties within the Village. However, as with assets such as a car or home, they can also be very demanding when it comes to care and maintenance. They form a very complex and interwoven environment that constantly changes, and as nature has a tendency to do, that change is always toward chaos and disorganization. As any gardener knows, planting the garden is only the first step. Constant care must follow with weeding and watering.

Unfortunately, the lakes and ravine have not received much care over the past years and this has led to the multitude of issues that the Village and its residents now face. If you spend time or live by the lakes, you surely are aware of the unhealthy condition of the north lake. The rock dam area is another poor and smelly area due to debris, silt, and trash that washes down the ravine with each heavy rain; and with each downpour, thousands of cubic feet of soil is stripped from the ravine’s banks. The earthen dam is another concern and has recently been a point of safety focus by State government authorities. Most of the storm water that cascades down the ravine and into the lakes, causing many of the problems above, comes from the surrounding area of the City of Columbus. This includes Northland Plaza, the Meijer parking lot and surrounding surfaces, and the Forest Park development streets. This water shed is extensive, yet the City of Columbus accepts no responsibility for the water.

In the 1970’s the Village and many of its residents took the surrounding commercial property owners and the City of Columbus to court concerning this issue, however due to a poor legal representation, the Village and residents lost on all counts. In addition, the City of Columbus received a stay from the courts against the Village suing over the same issue. The simple argument the City of Columbus won on: water had flown down the ravine for hundreds of years, so they are not responsible! Yet engineers know that creating large asphalt parking lots connected by storm drains significantly increases flow rates of rainwater since there is no absorption by grass and soil. However, the Village’s legal representatives did not present this challenge with engineering studies.

When viewed as a whole, these issues are certainly overwhelming, especially considering the costs involved to resolve them. Several times in the past a proposal to remove the dam, replacing the drained lakes with large pipe, and filling in the area with dirt to create a green space has been entertained. I cannot image anyone being serious about such a proposal. The effect this would have on lake property alone would be catastrophic. However, I believe these challenges can be undertaken, and over time, the restoration of the lakes and ravine can take place. There have been many successful ravine and lake reclamation projects in Ohio that can lead the way.

I am proposing to create a comprehensive plan that will outline the steps needed to begin reversing the negative environmental impacts that are affecting the ravine and lakes. This plan will also identify financial assistance from Federal, State, County, and local resources. I also propose to revisit the City of Columbus’ legal shared responsibility in the large quantities of water that transverse Village property. Much has changed since the 1970’s concerning environmental law, and soil and water conservation liabilities. In time, working together we can restore our valuable natural resources to their once healthy and grand beauty. Learn more at http://www.minervapark.net.