TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - Even though the algal bloom season has passed, a new project was unveiled Thursday that has already begun to protect our water.
A new green infrastructure was unveiled at Cullen Park that will help the area deal with storm water and flooding.
New ponds were created to hold up to 650,000 gallons of water. They will allow water to run off and slowly drain into Lake Erie and the Maumee River.
"It won't immediately alleviate the flooding in the basements of homeowners, but what it will do is provide a place for water to essentially filter out before it ends up in Lake Erie," said Lindsay Webb, Toledo City Councilwoman. "So it's not taking the runoff of the oils on the road or the fertilizer that's used on the grass, and instead, it's sitting in these ponds and allowing it to be metered out overtime into Lake Erie."
The process will also be helped by new natural grasses and vegetation.
Apart from helping to slow the flow of water, the park also has new walking paths leading to the Maumee River. There were also board walks built over the new ponds.
The project had been in the works for more than a year. It was funded by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. In all, the new infrastructure cost about $300,000.
