Ohio’s Rivers, Streams, and Wetlands Face Many Challenges

Even though many of Ohio’s streams and lakes have improved since the enactment of the 1972 Clean Water Act, only half of Ohio’s waterways support healthy populations of fish and are clean enough for swimming, boating and fishing. Learn more (external link) about the field sampling by state scientists.

Pollution coming from the end of a pipe is still a problem in Ohio, such as sewage overflows. But we also face damaging “non-point sources” of pollution, such as the runoff from farm fields or storm water runoff in cities. Rivers are straightened, creeks are dredged, and trees are ripped from riverbanks in the name of “drainage”. Septic tanks fail and release untreated sewage. Small streams are put into pipes under parking lots. Mud runs off of construction sites. Parking lots and other hard surfaces speed the natural flows of rainwater.

Wetlands in Ohio are particularly under attack. We have lost over 90% of our wetlands, especially due to the draining of the Great Black Swamp in northwest Ohio. Today, poor land use decisions are being made by developers, filling and draining bogs, fens, and other wetlands without regard to their value to local water quality, habitat and flood control. Vernal pools—seasonal wetlands that are often in woodlots—are lost forever, and so are the salamanders, fairy shrimp and rare plant that inhabit them.

Other threats to Ohio’s rivers, streams and wetlands include acid mine drainage, concentrated in southern and southeastern Ohio, and factory farms, concentrated in western Ohio but spreading rapidly across the state. Obsolete small dams that once provided a water supply for a mill or factory remain, creating a stagnant pool of water and blocking the natural passage of fish. Even rainwater contributes some problems, with mercury from coal burning power plants falling into our rivers and building up in the flesh of fish. And toxic sediments remain from past abuses.

At the OEC, we are working hard to bring science and the law to bear on these problems. Through lobbying at the Statehouse, building coalitions, educating the media, filing lawsuits, and building the capacity of local watershed groups, we are rising up to these challenges in the name of public health and quality of life.