LANDSLIDE - A lesson in sedimentation and erosion!

Usually I associated gas stations with air, surface, and ground water pollution revolving around hydrocarbons. Today was a different story.

This shot demonstrates the shear ferocity of the flow, the depth and speed. Note the dirty / muddy appearance.



















This picture was taken at the east end of the parking lot for the strip mall that houses Wild Oats in Beachwood. The parking lot had such a torrent of rainwater flowing across it that it caused what appeared to be a mini landslide + some serious erosion. A roadway just off Chagrin was closed for some time as a result. Note the police cars, collapsing pavement, and toppling telephone poles.

Floods and destruction!

This footage was shot during the same storm as the whirlpool clip. The backing up storm drain about to blow its top shows just how much water we are forcing down our storm drain, into creeks, and ultimately into our great lake.

Note the color of the water and the apparent high amount of sediment loading from the areas around construction projects in the area. Appropriate erosion control measures, inlet protection, etc did not seem to be in place. Officials in charge of enforcement of related environmental laws could not be reached for comment.

A swirling whirlpool of sedimentation in Beachwood, Ohio

This video was shot by the BSI Field Team immediately after a huge downpour on the seventh day of August, 2007 in Beachwood, Ohio. Just off Chagrin Road and east of 271.

The clip shows the final draining of a puddle in a parking lot of a large office building. The drain finally catches up with the sheet flow of rainwater across the impervious surfaced lot.

The video was shot with the intent of highlighting sedimentation and its dramatic impacts. Sediment carried by stormwater from areas of exposed soil comprises one of the most significant pollutant issues facing our great lake.

National Polltant Discharge Elimination System Permits for construction projects LINK are the State of Ohio's attempts to curtail this growing issue.