The flooded greenway in Cleveland.An Army Corps of Engineers study has identified 39 potential projects to relieve Cleveland flooding.
Seven of those measures - estimated to cost a total of $4 million - qualify for partial federal funding and call for improvements along sections of Mouse Creek, Fillauer Branch and other streams.
Jonathan Jobe, director of Cleveland Development and Engineering Services, praised measures intended to increase stream capacity or slow stormwater flow.
"These [localized] projects can have a pretty good impact upon downstream flooding," Jobe said, citing the impact of retention ponds and channel modifications such as deepening and widening streams.
The preliminary plan also calls for the city to buy and remove some homes located in flood zones while raising the floor elevation of others.
Widening a downtown channel near Inman Street and the Village Green Shopping Center will require the removal of a building "that is centered right over" a stream, Jobe said.
The Army Corps of Engineers revealed the initial findings to city engineers in a preliminary report on May 16. The agency will present final draft recommendations to the Cleveland City Council on Sept. 12.
Jobe said the Army Corps of Engineers will offer a public comment period sometime this summer.
The agency made the recommendations as part of a flood risk management study launched three years ago. Cleveland paid $525,000 for the study, splitting the cost with the federal government.
In 2012, Councilman David May urged council members to go forward with the study only if they were willing to invest in the fixes as well.
If Cleveland reaches an agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers on the seven projects, it will shoulder one-third of the cost, which amounts to $1.4 million. According to a program time line, that decision is due by June 2017.
Cleveland stormwater fees will pay for the city's portion, said Jobe.
In the 2015-2016 budget proposal, City Manager Janice Casteel said the stormwater fee program is expected to generate $1.1 million annually.
Jobe said Cleveland Development and Engineering Services will pursue a number of the 32 projects that did not qualify for federal funding.
Contact staff writer Paul Leach at 423-757-6481 or pleach@times freepress.com. Follow on Twitter @pleach_tfp.