COLUMBUS, OH - The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Soil & Water Conservation has awarded $800,000 in grants to watershed groups throughout the state to support local stream and river protection. The grants are the first in a total of more than $4 million to be awarded by ODNR over the next six years. Grant funding will come from ODNR’s Division of Soil and Water Conservation and Division of Mineral Resources Management and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA).

On Friday, ODNR announced the first round of grants to 21 watershed groups. Each will receive up to $40,000 over the next year to hire or retain a coordinator for developing and implementing surface water quality improvements on their local watershed.

"Ohioans tell us that a lack of professional watershed coordinators in the field is a major obstacle in developing effective watershed management plans and sustaining long-term local efforts aimed at improving surface water quality," said ODNR Director Sam Speck. "This first round of grants will allow local organizations to hire coordinators to sustain and direct work toward improving surface water quality."

Speck said the overall goal of the grant program is to create permanent positions in local governments, non-profit organizations or other non-governmental organizations to plan and implement watershed programs to restore or protect water sources. ODNR's Division of Soil & Water Conservation recently hired a watershed coordinator to work with these new programs and to help existing programs expand into new areas.

The following is a list of the 21 watershed projects that received funds in the first round of grants:

The Mill Creek Watershed Council, located in Butler and Hamilton counties, is a non-profit partnership involving all 37 active government jurisdictions in the two counties, as well as private industry. Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments will provide office space and in-kind services to support the coordinator for this project.

The Clermont Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) received a grant to work in the East Fork-Little Miami watershed. Clermont SWCD is partnering with other soil and water conservation districts; federal, state and local entities; citizen groups and industries to focus planning and implementation on this four-county watershed.

The Little Miami River Partnership will receive a coordinator grant to work in the Little Miami River watershed in conjunction with the East Fork-Little Miami coordinator. Forty partners are involved with this project which covers a seven-county area in southwest Ohio. The partnership coordinator will be housed at the Miami Valley Resource Conservation & Development Office.

The Stillwater River Soil & Water Conservation District Joint Board of Supervisors will administer a watershed project in western Ohio. Advisory committee members include all applicable federal, state and local agencies - as well as local governments and agricultural organizations.

The Miami County Park District applied for a grant to cover the Honey Creek watershed. Application has support from the commissioners of Miami and Montgomery counties, the Miami Soil & Water Conservation District, as well as a few watershed cities. Dane Mutter is the current project consultant. A watershed resources inventory was recently completed which can aid in the planning process.

The White Oak Creek watershed project is sponsored by the Brown Soil & Water Conservation District. This project is currently developing a quality assurance plan for water quality monitoring with the help of other agencies and local landowners.

Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed, a grassroots non-profit with 160 members, will receive a coordinator grant to address the entire Olentangy River watershed. They will coordinate their efforts with the Olentangy Watershed Alliance, a watershed group based in the upper reaches of the river.

Darby Creek, one of the cleanest streams for its size in the Midwest, will receive a coordinator grant through the Franklin Soil & Water Conservation District, in conjunction with Madison, Union and Pickaway counties. This project has a urban storm water and land- use planning focus, but will address agricultural concerns as the group develops the community-supported plan.

Submitted by the non-profit Scioto River Valley Federation, with over 100 members in six counties, Steve Phillips wrote the grant application. Area to be covered includes the entire Upper Scioto watershed. This group will work in conjunction with the Union Soil & Water Conservation District on Bokes and Mill creeks since the federation has information on Bokes Creek.

Union Soil & Water Conservation District is leading the Bokes and Mill Creek watershed coordinator project. This project is focused on two adjacent watersheds with similar water quality concerns. Their partners include Daylay Egg Farm and the Scioto River Valley Federation. These watersheds are directly upstream from O’Shaughnessy Reservoir, a City of Columbus drinking water source.

The City of Oregon has received a coordinator grant for Duck and Otter creeks in Lucas County. Geographically the smallest area awarded a watershed coordinator grant, this highly industrialized watershed is next to last on the comparative ranking of biological integrity of Ohio rivers and streams by OEPA. The letters of intent for funding come from a coalition of communities and industries located along the creek – BP, Amoco, Pilkington, City of Oregon and Sunoco. University of Toledo Lake Erie Center will house the coordinator.

The two-year-old Grand Lake St. Marys Watershed Project, located in Mercer and Auglaize counties, has tremendous local support and is showing success under coordinator Mike Wiggins. More than 3.5 million animals inhabit the watershed.

The Wood-Sandusky-Ottawa-Seneca Community Action Commission, Inc., a non-profit organization, successfully applied for a watershed coordinator grant to lead a diverse partnership of farmers, landowners, industry and the Heidelberg Water Quality Lab. The project has laid a lot of groundwork with a half-time coordinator paid through a Lake Erie Protection Fund grant. With the right implementation partners on board, this project is expected to accomplish significant work.

The Huff Run Watershed Restoration Partnership recently completed an Acid Mine Drainage Abatement and Treatment (AMDAT) plan. Partners include all relevant federal and state agencies, with local support from the commissioners of Carroll and Tuscarawas counties. In-kind services and project administration will be under the Tuscarawas Soil & Water Conservation District.

Wayne Soil & Water Conservation District is facilitating a watershed coordinator grant with a vision of promoting the restoration and rehabilitation of Sugar Creek. This project is unique in that it will create a comprehensive community-supported watershed plan, starting in the headwater streams and moving downstream working one-on-one with streamside landowners.

Trumbull Soil & Water Conservation District has been awarded a coordinator grant to work in the Pymatuning/Shenango watersheds. This two-state project has the county farm bureaus, local township trustees, residents, and businesses as partners.

The Institute for Local Government and Rural Development at Ohio University received a grant to provide a watershed coordinator for the residents of Raccoon Creek. The Raccoon Creek Improvement Committee consists of applicable federal, state and local agencies. It currently administers two acid mine drainage (AMD) projects. A project manager will work with communities on the creation of the watershed plan. The watershed coordinator will become the AMD implementation overseer.

Mike Steinmaus applied for a coordinator’s position for the Monday Creek Watershed Partnership under Rural Action, an advocacy group in Southeast Ohio. Under Steinmaus’ leadership, this project has become one of the most successful acid mine drainage abatement projects in Ohio. The Monday Creek Watershed Partnership is full of innovative individuals who get things done, and keep an eye on the big picture.

Perry, Fairfield and Athens soil & water conservation districts are partnering to improve water quality in the mainstem Hocking River. This project will entail some acid mine drainage work in Rush and Kimberly creeks. The coordinator will also work on other issues such as riparian area protection.

Gallia Soil & Water Conservation District will offer leadership on watershed planning for the Kyger and Chickamauga watersheds. This project hopes to address acid mine drainage in the Kyger and facilitate a community-supported watershed plan. It also looks at establishing baseline water quality data on the Chickamauga.

Most of Ohio’s water quality degradation comes from non-point source pollution which is polluted runoff from land uses and physical alteration of streams. Dealing with non-point source pollution requires the development of local support and changes in local land-use management decisions.

"Having a local watershed coordinator will facilitate the development and implementation of non-point source water pollution programs to improve Ohio’s rivers, lakes and streams. These 21 watershed coordinators will be instrumental in improving Ohio’s water quality," concluded Speck.