Stormwater Project To Help Chautauqua Lake Water Quality, Reduce Flooding To Get Underway in Lakewood

(Pictured left to right: PJ Wendel, Chautauqua County Executive, Randall Holcomb, Village of Lakewood Mayor, Randall Perry, Executive Director of the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance, John Jablonski III, Specials Project Coordinate Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, Taylor West, Project Manager with the Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance and Andy Johnson, an Environmental Engineer with EcoStrategies Engineering and Surveying.)

A stormwater management project to improve water quality on Chautauqua Lake and reduce downstream flooding problems in the Village of Lakewood will soon get underway.

Local officials unveiled the Grandview Stormwater Management Project on Tuesday. The project will transform a vacant parcel of Village-owned land on Mapleview Avenue into a series of engineered wetland complexes and a surface nature park.

EcoStrategies Engineering & Surveying Environmental Engineer Andy Johnson said there are four goals to the project, “The first is to improve water quality to Chautauqua Lake. The second is to reduce downstream flooding problems. The third is to create new wetland and wildlife habitat. And the fourth is to create a nature park for the village of Lakewood residents to enjoy.”

Chautauqua Lake and Watershed Management Alliance Project Manager Taylor West said the project would create about 100,000 cubic feet of stormwater detention through vernal pools, wetland complexes, and swales. Vegetation ranging from steep slope grass seed mixes to tree and shrub plantings are also anticipated to help improve water quality and site stability.

West said, once completed, this will reduce sediment and nutrient loading to Chautauqua Lake and help address flooding along Fairmount Avenue near the Save-A-Lot Plaza.

The project cost is $250,000 with the majority of that cost being funded by the Environmental Protection Fund administered by the State Department of Environmental Conservation through the Water Quality Improvement Project program.

The local match is expected to come from the Chautauqua Lake Watershed Management Alliance.

Construction is expected to get underway in the next few months, with the project completed at the end of the year.