Streams

A stream is a body of water that flows on Earth’s surface. No matter the size and the flow of a stream, all streams have great value to the nature, wildlife, and people that depend on them. Small streams, including those that don’t flow all of the time, make up the majority of the country’s waters. They protect against floods, filter pollutants, recycle potentially-harmful nutrients, and provide food and habitat for many types of fish. These streams also play a critical role in maintaining the quality and supply of our drinking water, ensure a continual flow of water to surface waters, and help recharge underground aquifers.

If you see a spill or chemical dumping in a stream call the Ohio EPA Spill Hotline. Collect as much information as possible. Information HERE. 

Types of streams in Medina: 

  • Headwaters: These are the beginnings of rivers and are the uppermost streams in a river network or watershed. About 53 percent of the total stream miles in the continental U.S. are headwater streams. Since Medina has the continental divide through it, many of its streams are headwaters. 
  • Rain-dependent streams (ephemeral): These streams only flow after rain and are fed by runoff.
  • Seasonal streams (intermittent): These streams are fed by groundwater and can increase with rain runoff. 
  • Year-round streams (perennial): These are the streams that most people think of when you mention streams, where water is flowing most of the time throughout the year. These streams are usually larger and wider, but shorter in length as a whole when compared to headwater streams

Medina SWCD Stream Services

Medina SWCD supports protecting streams and the habitat around them. 

Some of the biggest threats to Medina’s streams are pollution and habitat modification. Runoff is water that flows over the land’s surface instead of soaking into the ground, and it is a huge source of pollution to streams. It either carries land pollution with it to a stream, or its added volume increases a stream’s velocity, deteriorating a stream’s own bank, turning it into sediment pollution. Streams are becoming increasingly inundated  with  runoff as climate changes and storm events increase in size and as land is developed. Medina SWCD offers services to help decrease or address runoff and protecting streams.

Services: 

  •  Site visits: Staff can come out to a landowner’s land and offer site specific tips to capture stormwater, slow it down, spread it out, and soak it in. Staff can also assess stream banks and recommend ways to protect them from erosion.  
  • Educational Presentations: Staff can present to HOA’s, townships, or groups about addressing stormwater and flooding. 
  • Educational Materials: Plant lists and booklets for native plants and trees to protect streams.
  • Tree Sale: Medina SWCD holds a yearly seedling sale. Trees are a great tool for absorbing water and protecting streams. 
  • Floodplain Information: Streams have an area around them called a floodplain, where floodwaters can overflow during high flow. If you are building, Medina SWCD can help with county maps with FEMA floodplains marked on them. 
  • Stream Water Quality Testing: Medina SWCD has some capacity for testing streams for nitrates, phosphorous, salinity, conductivity, pH, and dissolved solids. It can NOT test to see why a stream is foaming, an odd color, or smells odd. 

Respecting a Stream's Natural Wander and Flooding

Streams are dynamic systems, which constantly move and change in their pursuit to reach equilibrium. In their natural state, streams and their associated floodplains provide a variety of important functions including the movement of water and sediment, storage of flood waters, recharge of groundwater, treatment of pollutants, dynamic stability, and habitat diversity. 

Disturbances place stress on the system and has the potential to alter structure and/or impair the ability of the stream to perform ecological functions. If a stream has a good connection to its floodplain, it can perform more naturally and its wandering and flooding can have less of an impact on people. 

However, if floodplain encroachment happens, stress will be added to the stream and its fluctuating water levels now Channelizing a stream or building in floodplain is not only unwise but often is illegal. It is always better to respect a stream’s natural wander and its power to wander rather than to alter it.

Related Resources: Stream Management guides from ODNR

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