Ann Arbor Sidewalks Highlight Past and Present Paths of Historic Allen Creek
Water needs somewhere to go when it rains, and in Ann Arbor, state-of-the-art infrastructure and natural elements work together to control, retain and reduce that flow. The City of Ann Arbor has strategically placed new sidewalk decals to shed some light on — and mark the path of — a particular, historic part of the stormwater system. The Allen Creek has been doing its part to help mitigate flooding and protect the Huron River for centuries.
Though it winds through much of downtown Ann Arbor and parts of the Old West Side neighborhood, only a select few today have actually seen the “ghost creek,” and that’s because it now flows almost entirely underground. In 1926, when farmland occupied many parts of the city, city leaders decided to bury the historic Allen Creek in pipes to protect the waterway(s) for public health.
The new sidewalk decals throughout the Allen Creek Watershed now make it easy for community members to explore the route of Allen Creek and its enclosed current-day location. In addition, a detailed, online map is also available, outlining the watershed border, plotting the creek’s historic route as well as where it currently flows through pipes, and allows visitors to click on photo points to see what the creek area looked like prior to and during its enclosure in 1922–1926.
“The Huron River provides us with recreational opportunities but also is the source of our drinking water,” said Jennifer Lawson, City of Ann Arbor water quality manager. “We have to remember, surface and groundwater in our community eventually go into the Huron River, and we’re using Allen Creek’s particularly interesting history and present-day function as an opportunity to explain the stormwater system and the role we all have as residents and visitors to keep pollution and contaminants out.”
The Ann Arbor stormwater system consists of creeks, tributaries, trees, catch basins, almost 300 miles of pipes and more to help protect water quality and reduce the impact of stormwater on local water resources.
Learn more about the ghost creek, and the stormwater system as a whole, by visiting the Historic Allen Creek webpage. Lawson also invites community members to take a walk through the watershed to envision what the landscape of Ann Arbor looked like 200 years ago, when the beautiful creek flowed through the new settlement of Ann Arbor. She also suggests, during the next rainfall, to think of how the entire stormwater system — above and below ground — will be kicking into gear.
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Media Contact:
Jennifer Lawson, Water Quality Manager, jlawson@a2gov.org