Restoration plan unveiled for portion of Ottawa River in UT's campus

WEST TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) – Work to clean up the Ottawa River in Toledo has entered a new chapter. On Tuesday, plans to restore the portion of the river that flows through the University of Toledo's campus were unveiled to the public.

Nearly three-quarters of a mile of the Ottawa River runs through the middle of UT's campus. For two years, a commission has been working to create a restoration plan using several grants.

"It's to create habitat in the river for fish and aquatic organisms, the critters and bugs that fish eat," said Patrick Lawrence, Ph.D.

Lawrence is the commission chairman and said restoration efforts will make the river cleaner. It has been home to contaminated sediments along with a lack of fish and wildlife for years.

The commission brought in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to design a plan of attack. Their plan includes building a number of structures in the river and along its banks.

"We're trying to recreate what nature would provide. Again, we're using all natural materials: stone and wood," explained Lawrence.

Hans Gottgens, an ecology professor at UT attended Tuesday's presentation. Gottgens said his students use the river as a lab and have found more than 40 species of fish in it.

"People were really surprised to see how much life and how much diversity exists in this river. It was always considered a dead ditch, but it's not," said Gottgens.

Gottgens even said one species was on a state list facing extinction.

The goal is to save more and Lawrence feels the Corps' plan will help.

"It looks interesting, a lot of unique ideas and I think we're well on the path to getting this work underway," said Lawrence.

The restoration plans are expected to be finalized in a couple of weeks. The first changes in the river could be notable by August.

Copyright 2012 WTOL. All Rights Reserved.

Read more:
Restoration plan unveiled for portion of Ottawa River in UT's campus