SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio — A roughly $31 million project would remove a 170-year-old dam, restore waterways and transform Horseshoe Park into a new public green space.
The Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District is moving forward with the Doan Brook Horseshoe Restoration Project at Horseshoe Park in Shaker Heights, a roughly $31 million effort to remove a failing dam, restore waterways and create new public green space.
The project centers on the partial removal of a Class One high hazard dam built around 1852 by the North Union Shakers, originally used to power a woolen mill near Lee Road. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has classified the dam as out of compliance with state dam safety standards and in active failure mode, leading the agency to recommend the lake be partially drained in 2018 and fully drained in 2019 to reduce strain on the earthen dam.
Matt Scharver, the district's director of watershed programs, says the dam poses a serious and ongoing risk, adding that the consequences of inaction could be severe.
"If the dam were to fail, you would have a significant amount of sediment and flow moving down to Lee Road and beyond, generally in the direction heading towards the Nature Center Shaker Lakes, damaging that area, and then advancing on to Lower Lake and potentially beyond Lower Lake," Scharver said.
The cities of Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights have both agreed with the district's recommendation to remove the dam and restore the North Branch, the Middle Branch, and a portion of the main branch of Doan Brook through the valley.
Beyond dam removal, the project would reshape and stabilize waterways, address an estimated 180,000 cubic yards of legacy sediment in the lakebed, and create new wetlands and floodplains.
"We're going to create a whole new park environment that surrounds that restoration effort," Scharver said. "Maybe new wetlands, new floodplains, and this will make a much stabler, much more stable environment for the brook, and then ultimately address that public life safety issue of potential catastrophic failure of the Horseshoe Lake Dam."
Scharver described the effort as a broader opportunity for the area.
"It's an opportunity for a general ecological uplift of the entire stream valley," Scharver said. "So there'll be realignments of streams. Restoration of those streams will address the 180,000 cubic yards of legacy sediment in the lakebed."
The project also includes a new bridge that would reconnect North Park in Cleveland Heights to South Park in Shaker Heights, a pedestrian link that would be disrupted by the dam's removal.
Historic preservation is also part of the plan. Scharver said portions of the dam's stonework, some of it original Shaker construction, will be preserved and restored in place, with stonework refabricated to meet historic preservation standards.
The total project cost is approximately $32 million. The cities of Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights are contributing $7.1 million for public amenities, with the sewer district covering roughly $24 million for the restoration work.
Two permits are still required before construction can begin: a 404 permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a 401 permit from Ohio EPA, both under the Clean Water Act. The Army Corps completed its public comment period in June. Ohio EPA's public comment period runs through Sept. 29, and the agency held a public hearing on the project at Shaker Heights Middle School. The district expects both permits to be issued by the end of the year.
If permits are approved, construction is expected to begin in 2027 and last approximately two years.
"Our overall goal is to deliver a great product here," Scharver said. "So, stream restoration, water quality is very important under our regional stormwater management program, in addition to flooding, and then obviously here with the cities, they have the issue of the Class One high hazard dam that needs to be addressed, and so our project and our program will allow that to all take place."
The public can sign up for upcoming project tours through the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District's website. The next tour is scheduled for Oct. 7.
Nadeen Abusada is a Cuyahoga County and immigration reporter at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Instagram NadeenAbusada or email her at Nadeen.Abusada@wews.com.
