Sediment-laden snowmelt is filtered down a series of constructed channels at the Grandview Stormwater Management Project in Lakewood. Photo by Jay Young

After two years of relatively mild winters, the past four months felt like a return to long stretches of cold weather and large amounts of snow.

Come springtime all of that snow has to go somewhere, often ending up in the waters of Chautauqua Lake and carrying with it the ingredients for excess plant and algae growth. In a perfect world we would like snowmelt to make its way to the lake slowly, so that sediment and nutrients can be filtered out while also reducing flood risks. One way to help this process along is by building state-funded water quality improvement projects (WQIPs), like the new Grandview Stormwater Management Project seen above.

Located just downhill from the Grandview Estates in Lakewood, this project was first envisioned in 2019, with construction being largely completed by the fall of 2024. What was once a sheer slope is now a series of detention ponds designed to temporarily hold water from around 49 acres of surrounding land, providing around 100,000 cubic feet of storage. As the project team was able to see this spring, water now flows down a series of channels built into the slope, and is stored in several engineered wetland ponds before making its way off the site and into the lake. Just down the hill from the project area is a stretch of Fairmount Avenue, which has experienced flooding in years past. A goal of this project and others like it is to improve flood resilience during severe weather events. Even during a period of significant snowmelt, the new detention ponds were not close to exceeding their capacity to store and treat stormwater. Hopefully we will see similar conditions as springtime rains start to come.

The Grandview Project was built with wildlife and local residents in mind. The area is now peppered with houses built for different species of birds, bats, and ducks. Basking logs and other in-pond features were included in the design to provide habitat for turtles and other animals. The site already seems to be a favored spot for turkey, deer, and frogs. The paths installed to construct and maintain the stormwater project will also double as public nature trails. As a finishing touch the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy is designing signage that will explain goals and key features of the work. Several new trees and shrubs have been planted, which help to treat stormwater, and nutrient binding material has been installed in select spots. The project contractor and engineer worked carefully to keep as many of the site’s existing trees as possible, preserving the forest’s natural water quality benefits. In the next few months as new plants and trees start to grow in, the area should serve as an excellent place to enjoy the outdoors.

It takes the commitment of many different people and organizations to bring a project like this to fruition. Lakewood first envisioned the project alongside the CWC and EcoStrategies Engineering and Surveying six years ago after partnering with the Town of Busti on their 2018 Stormwater Management Study. The Alliance helped secure the WQIP grant for construction in 2021, while Chautauqua County provided matching funds via a 2% Occupancy Tax Grant. EcoStrategies completed the final design for the work, and Rock of WNY served as the contractor. Individual champions of this WQIP include Lakewood Mayor Randy Holcomb and former Deputy Mayor Ted McCague, DPW Supervisor Tom Pilling, CWC Special Projects Coordinator John Jablonski, Busti Councilman Jim Andrews, and the County’s Executive PJ Wendel and Watershed Coordinator Dave McCoy.

Watershed projects like this can take a long time to go from brainstorming, to design, to funding, to completion. However they also work on very long timeframes as well. With relatively simple maintenance the Grandview Project will provide water quality benefits to the lake for years to come, in addition to being enjoyed by local residents and wildlife. The same can be said for several other large watershed projects that Lakewood has undertaken in recent years to benefit the lake. For more information on this and other stormwater management projects, visit chautauquaalliance.org/stormwater-management/.

The majority of the project was funded by the Environmental Protection Fund administered by the NYSDEC through the WQIP program. Local match came from the Alliance/Foundation Match Fund supported by the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, The Lenna Foundation, and the Holmberg Foundation, a County Occupancy Tax 2% Lakes and Waterways Grant to the Village of Lakewood, and a portion of an Alliance Consolidated Foundation Grant with funding provided by The Lenna Foundation, the Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation, and the CRCF. Thanks to the Town of Busti and Ronald Davidson for aiding the Village with property acquisition.