The very beginnings of the East Branch of the Cuyahoga in some woods near Montville in Geauga County. [Mark Urycki / ideastream]

At mile 100 in the woods of Geauga County, northeast of Chardon, small rivulets of water trickle south, joining other rivulets to form the headwaters of the Cuyahoga River.

The source is rain and melting snow.

“We’re in the snow belt here and so that means not only more snow but more rain,” said naturalist Dan Best of the Geauga Park District. “A higher amount of precipitation, I think, than anywhere else in the state of Ohio.”

The glacial geology of this area helps filter this water as it seeps into the soil and percolates down.

Listen to ideastream's Mark Urycki report about keeping the headwaters clean.

“The sandstone has a lot of connected little space between sand grains,” Best explained. “So it’s not only porous it’s permeable. That means those little pores are connected and water is able to move down into aquifers, and it’s a water supply.”

The treed corridor helps filter the water and its shade provides an important cooling effect for fish and other wildlife. [Mark Urycki / ideastream]

Akron officials recognized that a century ago. The city established its first municipal water system around 1910 and looked to the Cuyahoga River for fresh, clean water.

Waterworks manager Wendell LaDue built the city’s reservoir, Lake Rockwell, in Kent. But then he did something unusual - buying up land along the river to protect it.

Akron’s Watershed Superintendent Jessica Glowczewski considers him a visionary, although he had to battle the doubters.

“Trying to convince Akron City Council, Akron residents that, ‘Yeah, we should buy land in Portage County and then way up in Geauga County, like, 50 miles away. This is in your best interest,’” Glowczewski explained.

During the Great Depression, LaDue was able to use public works money to put people to work. The city built two backup reservoirs in Geauga County and bought land along the river to buffer any runoff.

Workers dig water transmission main trench, circa 1912. [City of Akron]

“Wetlands along the main stem along any tributaries into the Cuyahoga River,” said Glowczewski. “Those are the kinds of properties LaDue was interested in and the city ultimately became interested in purchasing and protecting and preserving those lands.”

Today the largest landowner in Geauga County is the city of Akron.