Wallaceville Park Restoration

In 2023 the Alliance of Rouge Communities (ARC) received grant funding from the USEPA GLRI to design habitat restoration at Merriman Hollow Park and Wallaceville Park within the Rouge River Watershed. The Rouge River watershed is a designated Area of Concern (AOC) under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) and has three Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) associated with fish and wildlife habitat: Degraded Fish and Wildlife Populations, Degradation of Benthos, and Loss of Fish and Wildlife Habitat. The Rouge River Advisory Council (RRAC), the Public Advisory Council (PAC) for the Rouge AOC, in March 2016 approved a list of projects that need to be completed to remove the Rouge AOC habitat BUIs. As part of that list, habitat restoration at Wayne County’s Merriman Hollow Park and Wallaceville Park were considered as having a significant impact on the removal of the BUIs.

As water quality in the Rouge River continues to improve, this project will build on past efforts to restore some of the damage done during the last century. Tributaries of the Rouge River have suffered from loss and impairment of aquatic habitat and increased frequency and magnitude of flood flows, primarily due to increasing urbanization within the watershed. The flat river slope and the meandering channel cannot pass the large flows associated with rain events. Upstream urbanization continues to exacerbate this problem as runoff from increased flooding within the river system,bank erosion, and continued habitat degradation.

Funding and Parnters
This project was funded by the U. S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office as part of an approximately $365,000 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grant to the Alliance of Rouge Communities for design at Merriman Hollow Park and Wallaceville Park in 2023 (Grant # GL-00E03452-0). Partners in this project include the U.S. EPA, GLRI, ARC, and Wayne County Parks

Where and When
Wallaceville Park, part of the Wayne County Parks system, is located in the City of Dearborn Heights along Hines Drive and the Middle Rouge River. Project design began in 2023.

Anticipated Outcomes
Coverting mowed lawn to wetland/wet prairie. Installing boardwalk/bridge with box culvert to connect sections of the wetland while maintaining access to the exiting foot bridge that provides access to an active recreation area. Grading adjacent areas of the river to provide storm water storage capacity while creating riparian/wetland habitats..

Reports and More Information
Merriman & Wallaceville Public Education Flyer Wallaceville Draft Conceptual Design

Photo History of Project:

Conditions Before Restoration

existing wetland adjacent to the gravel parking
currently covered with turf.

Large open mowed area facing south from the parking lot.

existing open mowed area with soccer goals that is to the east of the parking lot.