Lily Pond to close for 45 days for parking lot project

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Lily Pond in Mill Creek Park will close for 45 days beginning Monday for a parking-lot rehabilitation project.

Mill Creek MetroParks received a Surface Water Improvement Fund grant through the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency that will cover 100 percent of the cost to rehabilitate the parking lot and construct biofiltration areas, according to a MetroParks release.

The purpose of the project is to reduce impervious pavement areas, add natural habitat and improve water quality before storm water reaches the Lily and Frog ponds.

“The project will introduce permeable pavers and a bioswale within the parking lot and a biofiltration area adjacent to the Frog Pond. Adding permeable pavers, swales and ponds, organic soil material, gravel areas and native plant species to this facility will enable the site to absorb and reduce the volume and velocity of stormwater. Sediments and pollutants will also be filtered from the stormwater. These new areas will improve water quality significantly, increase native species and wildlife habitat and create an appealing feature within a prominent areas of Mill Creek Park,” the MetroParks release stated.

For more information, contact the MetroParks office at 330-702-3000.