Governor DeWine's office is pleased to release the second annual H2Ohio report, which outlines what projects were undertaken in year two of the program. The work is performed through the Ohio Department of Agriculture in partnership with the Soil & Water Conservation Districts and the Ohio Agricultural Conservation Initiative to encourage producers to enroll in H2Ohio and implement conservation practices—Best Management Practices—on their fields. The first year of enrollees are wrapping up their growing seasons with the first round of those practices.
In this last year, the Department of Natural Resources began work on another 33 wetland projects totaling 5,052 acres. These projects are located throughout Ohio though the majority of them are based in the Western Lake Erie Basin, which means more the water from more land in the watershed will be slowed down and filtered through these additional wetlands. Fewer nutrients will end up in Lake Erie and other water bodies.
While ODA and ODNR have been focused on reducing excessive nutrients flowing into Lake Erie and Ohio’s waters, the Ohio EPA has been focused on ensuring clean and safe water for Ohioans. In this last year, H2Ohio invested in 13 critical water and sewer projects around Ohio that will directly benefit almost 6,000 people. Ohio EPA also provided assistance to remove roughly 130 lead service lines and replace fixtures in daycares throughout Cleveland because young children are most at risk from lead.
None of this work would have been possible without the many partners supporting H2Ohio. Thank you!