Mission Statement

The Doan Brook Watershed Partnership is a multi-stakeholder non-profit organization protecting and restoring Doan Brook and its watershed through collaboration and sharing of resources.

Vision Statement

The Doan Brook Watershed Partnership is a non-profit organization with broad participation from the cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights, Shaker Heights, and various other stakeholder organizations and interested citizens. Through collaboration and sharing of resources, the Partnership will develop and implement a watershed management plan for the preservation and improvement of Doan Brook. The Plan will include recommendations of the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District's Doan Brook Study.

The Doan Brook Watershed Partnership will secure and coordinate funding to sustain the organization and to further the stewardship of Doan Brook.

The Partnership will also:

• Provide a forum for oversight and review of watershed issues
• Promote environmentally friendly land use practices and ordinances
• Promote the education of the community regarding watershed issues
• Serve as a repository of current information and cutting edge urban best management practices
• Encourage the enjoyment and greater use of Doan Brook.

Goals of the Partnership

(Derived from the “Goals and Expectations” exercise of the Board of Trustees of the DBWP, April/May 2002, and subsequent discussion/input.)

Coordination and Communication Goal - Facilitate communication, cooperation and sharing of resources between all Doan Brook watershed partners including governments, citizens, institutions, businesses and other non-profits. Promote the brook as an asset shared by the three (3) watershed cities of Cleveland, Cleveland Heights and Shaker Heights. Articulate research needs and benefits of doing research on Doan Brook. Articulate long-term goals and strategies to fundamentally restore the integrity of the brook.

Involvement and Advocacy Goal - Encourage broad involvement, provide opportunities for people to be involved, and promote increased use and enjoyment of the brook, lakes and surrounding parklands. Provide a forum for advocacy and strive to be the conscience for the cities and others on watershed issues. Outreach to businesses to promote pollution prevention practices and community support for Doan Brook activities and consider recognition of businesses that adopt brook protection guidelines and principles.

Financial Goal - Secure resources for improvements and long-term management of the watershed, as well as for sustaining the Partnership. Work to secure financial resources for conducting research.

Education Goal - Offer and promote watershed-wide education on Doan Brook to people of all ages. Assist community decision makers in understanding the value of the brook and how their actions play a key role in brook restoration.

Technical Goal - Develop an Action Plan for the Doan Brook Watershed to guide the work of the Partnership in addressing problems affecting the brook. Consider the brook's place in the larger ecological landscape of the region. Provide guidance and leadership for city watershed management activities and capital improvement projects to restore the ecology of the watershed. Serve as a technical resource and assist cities. Further the scientific understanding of the ecology of the Doan Brook and issues affecting the brook. Promote and take management actions to establish Doan Brook as a recognized site for long-term evaluation of urban stream restoration practice. Develop appropriate water quality standards that express reasonable goals and milestones to further restoration.

Specific technical goals* include:

1) Enlarging and diversifying the biotic community (Employ direct manipulation of selected plant and animal populations to increase their types and numbers, and to remove those whose presence limit biotic health).

2) Increasing and diversifying habitat (Create a diverse in-stream habitat and riparian corridor to improve the environment for fish, amphibians and macroinvertebrates. Create or upgrade environments that indirectly provide quality habitat for aquatic life; increase stability of habitat through such means as providing refuge from the high-velocity surges during wet weather and supplementing low flows during dry weather).

3) Developing lake management plans for the Shaker Lakes.

4) Removing fish migration barriers (Improve ability for fish migration and re-connect the brook).

5) Stabilizing degrading channel banks (Stabilize degrading channel banks with a combination of technologies that improve conditions for aquatic organisms and respond to the aesthetic qualities and historic features of the brook and its surroundings through the watershed).

6) Reducing flooding (Reduce flood levels and safety concerns by increasing storage of flood waters in the channel and encourage infiltration of stormwater).

7) Controlling trash and debris in the channel and floodplain.

8) Reducing sources of pollutants carried in storm water runoff (Many pollutants are carried into Doan Brook by storm water. Minimizing these pollutants at their source is the best way to remove their impacts on the stream).

9) Reducing amounts and improving treatment of storm water runoff (Develop means to reduce runoff, to treat or filter pollutants from storm water, and to store runoff temporarily to delay its discharge into the collection system or stream).

10) Upgrading and maintain existing sanitary sewer system (Minimize opportunities for storm water to infiltrate the sanitary sewer system through deteriorated or poorly-configured pipes and other system elements. Add capacity as needed to prevent overflows. Monitor and repair to assure high performance of collection system).

11) Adding combined sewer system capacity (Reduce average, typical-year Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) into the Doan Brook by adding capacity to the wastewater conveyance system: a tunnel, tunnel spur and relief sewer).

* Specific technical goals were developed by the Doan Brook Study Committee (which concluded work in March 2002) in cooperation with the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District.

Implementation Goal - Strive toward implementation of the highest priority tasks of the Action Plan for the Doan Brook Watershed. Monitor and report progress through regular review of Action Plan priorities. Develop a technical plan and strategy for the long-term monitoring and health of Doan Brook. Consider historical and cultural values in project planning and implementation. Monitor and participate in other planning efforts (e.g. future plans for Dike 14, lakefront planning, innerbelt planning, and greenway planning) and advocate for the long-term restoration of Doan Brook in these efforts. Work toward more appealing parks and enhanced recreational opportunities.

Organization Goal - Build a strong and sustainable Doan Brook Watershed Partnership that includes sound policies and procedures; financial, legal and accounting systems; active committees; and appropriate staff.