Rep. Sykes Announces More Than $2.6 Million in Federal Funding for Clean Water in Akron
AKRON, OH — U.S. Representative Emilia Sykes (OH-13) announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded the City of Akron $2,613,468 in federal funding as part of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. The project will involve restoring approximately one mile of the Little Cuyahoga River.
“Clean water is vital for vibrant, thriving communities,” said Rep. Sykes, “I’m excited to announce this funding for the City of Akron, which will help restore one mile of the Little Cuyahoga River. This will not only help restore our beautiful environment in Northeast Ohio, but will also result in another beautiful public park for local residents to enjoy.”
“We are excited to receive this federal grant to fund the construction of river restoration and dam removals on the Little Cuyahoga River,” said Akron Mayor Shammas Malik. “These improvements will restore approximately 1 mile of the river with increased habitat connectivity, improved fish passage, reduction of river sedimentation, and improved fish habitat. I want to thank Congresswoman Sykes for her continued support of Akron's infrastructure and sustainability improvement efforts for our city.”
With this funding, the City of Akron will remove fish passage barriers and restore river habitat to address Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) and contribute to the delisting of the Cuyahoga River. BUIs are changes in the chemical, physical or biological integrity of the Great Lakes system sufficient to cause significant environmental degradation. The International Joint Commission, a partnership between the United States and Canada aimed to address lake and river issues at the border, has identified 14 BUIs. This project will address two of them: Degradation of Fish Populations and Degradation of Benthos.
This will involve removing or modifying three lowhead dams, and restoring these areas with riffle, rock toe bank protection, and pools to improve fish habitat quality. Part of the project also includes engaging with the local community to develop a design for a restored public park that will provide access to one of the restored sites. The project will result in the restoration of approximately one mile of river habitat, including increased habitat connectivity, improved fish passage, reduction of river sedimentation, and improvement of fish habitat and benthos.