Furnace Run originates in Brecksville, Broadview Heights and Richfield in northern Summit and southern Cuyahoga counties in northeast Ohio. It flows approximately 10.4 miles southeast through Bath and Boston townships to meet the Cuyahoga River at river mile (RM) 33.08. It drains approximately 35 square miles of predominately suburban lands. A 2001 satellite land cover analysis determined that approximately 14 % of the watershed is considered urbanized with generally impervious surfaces. The remaining 86 % of the watershed is comprised primarily of wooded (47%), grass/agricultural (34%) shrub/scrub (7%) cover (Cuyahoga River RAP, 2004).
Furnace Run Metro Park, operated by Metroparks Serving Summit County, is located within the Furnace Run watershed. It currently consists of seven tracts of land totaling approximately 870 acres in Richfield. The tracts are fragmented east-west by Interstate 77, State Route (SR) 21, and Brecksville Road, and north-south by Brush Road and State Route 303; however, two of the southernmost tracts, approximating 43 acres along Wheatley Road, are disjunct from the remainder of the park and ecologically separated by Interstate 271. The Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP) also has property with in the Furnace Run Watershed. Furnace Run Metro Park is contiguous with Cuyahoga Valley National Park, which contains 30,000 acres of wetland and forest along the Cuyahoga River from Akron to Cleveland.

Furnace Run is one of healthiest, intact streams that flow into the Cuyahoga River. Previous work in Furnace Run (1991-1996) indicated that this watershed is in full attainment of biological and water quality standards- which means Furnace Run is meeting Ohio EPA standards. Some sites within Furnace Run exceeded Ohio EPA standards and were noted as “Exceptional Warm Water Habitat (EWH)”.

However, a study conducted in 2003 by Metroparks Serving Summit County found that Rock Creek, a tributary to Furnace Run, was in non-attainment. Although the stream habitat was in good enough condition to support higher level aquatic life communities and meet Ohio EPA standards, it was not in attainment. This was attributed to upstream runoff from slag leachate, during and immediately following, construction of the Interstate 80 interchange near this area in 2000-2001, along with some channelized stream conditions immediately downstream.

Significant bank erosion is occurring in lower Furnace Run based on visual observations of banks at sampling sites along with excessive amounts of silts/clays covering the stream bottom. The stream bottom at RM 4.8 was covered with gray silts which clearly appeared to have eroded from the stream banks. This can be attributed to recent heavy rains and runoff from new and old development that lack proper stormwater control.