Columbus is spending $80 million on a pilot project to control stormwater runoff in Clintonville that has built hundreds of rain gardens, relined leaky sewer lines, installed basement sump pumps, redirected downspouts — and left many residents unhappy.

They don't like the way the rain gardens look, especially those placed in the right-of-way along Glenmont Avenue, limiting parking. One person called them "unsightly toxic dumps." Some worry that they'll become breeding pools for mosquitoes.

And some wonder whether drivers on slick winter roads will slide downhill into seven "bump-out" gardens on Glenmont, low spots that stick out into the street. Others wonder how snowplows will navigate them.

The rain gardens are part of the city's Blueprint Columbus plan to reduce sanitary-sewer overflows into streams and rivers. It was proposed as an alternative to digging and building more sewer tunnels to divert stormwater. Instead, the rain gardens absorb and filter the stormwater.

But many in Clintonville, one of the city's most politically and civically engaged neighborhoods, haven't been pleased. They've jammed meetings to express their displeasure, or at least get some answers.

"How can they claim the value of your property will go up when you have a toxic waste collector in the front yard?" said Karl Meyer, who lives on Fallis Road.

"They've run these down the residents' throats without looking at the long-term effect," he said.

Clintonville resident Dawn Clark, a vocal critic, said, "It's just a horrible idea."

But city officials believe it is a novel way to improve water quality in Columbus. So far, the gardens have reduced water in basements by 64 percent, street flooding by 60 percent and the upflow of water through manholes because of overloaded sewers by 72 percent, said Leslie Westerfelt of the city's Office of Sustainability. The city came to that conclusion based on reports from residents or city crews.

Matthew Cull, a member of the Clintonville area commission, said the rain gardens on Glenmont seem to be draining rainwater well. The water had been collecting and pooling down the hill at High Street, he said. "They appear to be doing their job," he said.

He acknowledged that some residents complained about how the rain gardens look and take up parking spots. But some residents like that they slow down traffic, he said.

Bob Fletcher, who has lived on Glenmont for 18 years, said the rain garden curbs were installed before they were marked with reflective poles, making it hard for drivers to see the new curbs at night. He said the pits are 6 to 7 feet deep and filled with gravel.

He also wonders whether the rain gardens will become eyesores in the winter when the plants in them die and dry up.

Westerfelt said there was a "robust" outreach effort in Clintonville to talk to residents about the project. Jeff Buterbaugh, who lives on Glenmont, said the city told him that it was installing a bump-out rain garden in front of his house. "They didn't ask me whether I wanted it," he said.

Cull said there's always room for improvement. "I think the city's devoted a lot of time to this," he said.

While the Clintonville project is the first for the city, it will begin a similar project in North Linden next year, and in the Miller-Kelton area in 2019. After that, the Fifth by Northwest neighborhood, West Franklinton and the southern part of the Hilltop, all in 2020. In all, 17 areas throughout the city will be part of the Blueprint Columbus plan.

All of this is geared at reducing the cost by $1 billion of meeting the terms of a consent decree with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency approved in 2005 to reduce sanitary sewer overflows caused by stormwater runoff.

According to the city, 14 contractors are working on Blueprint Columbus projects, from design to construction to inspection. That includes $4.7 million in work for local engineering and planning firm EMH&T, $2.9 million for engineering consultants Brown & Caldwell and a little more than $1.9 million for DLZ, a local engineering and architectural company.

People associated with the companies are among the biggest contributors to Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther and Columbus City Council members. People associated with DLZ have contributed a total of $49,387 to Ginther and council members Zach Klein, Elizabeth Brown, Mike Stinziano, Jaiza Page and Shannon Hardin, and former council member Michelle Mills since Jan. 1, 2015.

Meanwhile, those connected with Brown & Caldwell contributed $34,900 to city candidates during that time, mostly to Ginther, while those associated with EMH&T contributed $16,100 during the same time period, mostly to Ginther and Klein.

mferench@dispatch.com

@MarkFerenchik