Ohio creating, fixing hundreds of wetlands

SANDUSKY — Ohio has carried out hundreds of projects to restore or create wetlands in Ohio as part of its H2Ohio clean water program, the head of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources says. Department director Mary Mertz described the wetlands program during a press conference occurring earlier this week to discuss the H2Ohio program. Wetlands restoration has emerged as a leading initiative in the Gov. Mike DeWine administration, as wetlands act as a natural filter for water flowing into Lake Erie and elsewhere, including removing nutrients blamed for feeding harmful algal blooms. DeWine won re-election earlier this month to another four-year term, apparently ensuring the program will continue. During the press conference, Mertz showed a map of 115 wetlands projects that have been started or completed across Ohio, including projects in Erie, Ottawa and Sandusky counties. Many of the projects are concentrated in northwest Ohio as part of the battle against harmful algal blooms. Mertz said there are 156 smaller wetland projects in Ohio in addition to the 115 larger projects she showed on her map. As more of the projects are completed, they are expected to make a difference in reducing phosphorus runoff into Lake Erie, she said. For the current 2022-23 fiscal year, the state department received $25 million for wetlands projects, Mertz said. "We have a sense of urgency about this," she said. State officials don't know yet how much money the agency will need to keep pushing the wetlands program, a department spokeswoman said. The department "is still working through its future budgetary needs for the H2Ohio initiative," spokeswoman Stephanie O'Grady said. "The governor's executive budget for fiscal years 2024-25 will be released in February. Then the legislative process will proceed through the spring. The new biennium begins on July 1." Locating the local projects Wetlands projects being carried out in Erie County include: • A 30-acre project being built by Sandusky on the Cedar Point Causeway • The 57-acre Moxley Wildlife Area project along the shore of Sandusky Bay being done by Erie Soil & Water Conservation District • The 3-acre Sanford Ditch project, also being done by the conservation district. Ten projects are listed for Ottawa County at the state's H2Ohio website, including a Cedar Point National Wildlife Refuge project which the website inaccurately lists as being located in Erie County. Mertz said the state also has been testing a machine that removed algae from Harsha Lake in Clermont County in southern Ohio, trying to figure out if it's an effective way to remove algae from water. And the department has launched an education program in partnership with schools, teaching kids about the importance of wetlands. Other projects Dorothy Pelanda, director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture, said the department continues to enroll farmers in voluntary programs in northwest Ohio to reduce fertilizer runoff from farm fields into Lake Erie. The efforts include improving the way that fertilizer is applied and encouraging farmers to plant cover crops that reduce runoff and erosion, she said. Pelanda said the state has begun spending money to create two-stage drainage ditches with an initial goal of creating 50,000 to 75,000 feet of ditches. A two-stage ditch means modifying the shape of a drainage ditch to create vegetation benches on each side of the ditch, which slow the water flow and reduce runoff. A $5 million grant program for the two-stage ditch program was announced in August. Laurie Stevenson, director of the Ohio EPA, said the state continues to make money available for water and sewer projects and for its ongoing program to fix septic tank systems. A new project provides money to communities to map the locations of water lines that contain lead, preparing them to seek funding to replace the water lines, she said.