Urban Conservation & Restoration Projects
funded by: The Joyce Foundation
This grant was awarded to be used to implement three projects that would improve the quality
of the lower end of the Maumee River and of Lake Erie, in terms of both water quality and
ecosystem function. These projects - human health and ecological risk assessments for
Duck and Otter creeks; preparing a pipeline of mitigation projects for Swan Creek and the
Ottawa River; and decommissioning of the Highland Park Dam; would have direct impact, but
they also represent and demonstrate solutions to the problems of urban, industrial areas
within the Great Lakes basin. These projects can be summarized as follows:
Ecological and Human Health Risk Assessment for Duck and Otter Creeks
This project is to produce human health and
ecological risk assessments for Duck and Otter Creeks that could ultimately leverage significant
funding from the Great Lakes Legacy Act and incidentally would support the Act by
building the pipeline of actionable projects and demonstrating public demand for the
funds available. More
Wetland and Riparian Inventory and Restoration Plans for Swan Creek & Ottawa River
- This project is to identify and prioritize
up to fifteen potential wetland and/or riparian mitigation sites in both the Swan Creek
and Ottawa River watersheds. These lists will be used to capture mitigation or penalty
funds that become available.
More
Highland Park Dam Decommissioning and Riparian Enhancement Project for Swan Creek
- This low-head dam prevents fish from spawning,
traps sediments, degrades water quality, but cannot be removed. This project will
demonstrate a new technology in dam mitigation that will not remove the dam, but will
decrease its impact by building structures into the streambed to restore natural water movement,
allow spawning fish to swim passed the dam, and creating an overall more natural environment.
More
The Joyce Foundation funded this PCS project in conjuction with a total investment of $5 million in
Maumee River watershed. Projects are being conducted throughout the basin by four organizations.
For more information follow the link to The Joyce Foundation's
Great River - Great Lakes Initiative.
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Give Water a Hand Educational Campaigns
funded by: Ohio Environmental Education Fund, local jurisdications, and other project partners
Give Water a Hand was one of the most successful environmental awareness campaigns in northwest Ohio.
Its success can be attributed to the highly collaborative team of people that worked together to
achieve this success. Over 20 communities and organizations partnered together to create the
Give Water a Hand Residential Campaign. Many of those continued with the program as we created
the Business Campaign, and new partners joined the program with the Watershed Awareness
(stream signing) Campaign. This program has received requests and compliments from organization
in many states and was awarded an Honorable Mention in a national competition by the National
Association of Regional Councils in June 2006 and the Ohio Environmental Education Fund’s
2006 Outstanding Environmental Education Project. These projects can be summarized as follows:
Give Water a Hand Residential Campaign
- The Maumee RAP collaborated with
16 local jurisdictions and 6 organizations from January 2004 to April 2005 to educate residents
of the Northwest Ohio about storm water and other environmental issues, their impact on
water quality, and how the average citizen can help. This multi-media campaign included
the quarterly mailing of tip cards, newspaper, cinema,
and television ads, press releases, posters, and public service announcements (PSAs).
More
Give Water a Hand Business Campaign
- Based on the success of the residential
campaign, a Give Water a Hand Business Campaign was
created in 2006 to inform local business owners, managers, and employees of the proper
methods of storage, use, and disposal of a wide variety of materials that can help them
to save money and prevent pollution. Guidebooks were created focusing on four business sectors.
Many participating jurisdictions continue to utilize and promote the Business Campaign
More
Give Water a Hand Watershed Awareness Campaign
- The Give Water a Hand Watershed
Awareness Campaign was created to inform residents and visitors alike of what watershed
they are in. Signs have been posted at bridge crossings and/or other locations where high
public awareness and impact is needed, such as illegal dumping areas. Over 250 signs were
posted in 2005 and 2006 in 6 watersheds.
More
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Toussaint River Improvement Incentive Project
funded by: Ohio EPA 319 Nonpoint Source Pollution Prevention
The Toussaint River Improvement Incentive Program was developed to reduce sediment and nutrient
loadings into the Toussaint River and Lake Erie. As a part of Phase I (1997-2000) incentives were
available to landowners along the 36-mile mainstem of the Toussaint River. Landowners made a five-year
commitment to maintaining newly installed conservation practices. Twenty-seven miles of filter strips
and 233 acres of floodplain were set-aside under Phase I. Phase I activities and events
included the creation of two full-color booklets illustrating the success of the project,
media/information events, and conservation buffer area signage. Water quality assessments of
the river were made before practices were put into place and then again after they were established.
As a part of the Phase I program, a streambank stabilization project was also conducted.
Phase II began in 2000 and ran through 2004. This Phase provided financial
incentives to landowners to establish filter strips along streams and in concentrated flow areas,
set aside floodplain lands for all rivers, streams and ditches in the Toussaint River and
Packer Creek watersheds. Forty-seven miles of filter strips were installed in Phase II.
The project also included rebates for 106 homeowners who attended septic system education sessions and
then properly pumped their systems.
Financing for Phase I was through aOhio EPA 319 Grant with local match assistance from
the Ohio DNR Division of Soil and Water Conservation and many other partners.
Phase II was financed through a second Ohio EPA 319 Grant and many other partners.
The Wood County Commissioners provided a bonus incentive payment to
encourage landowner sign ups. This very successful program is highlighted as one of
US EPA's 319 success stories. Fact sheets on these projects are available on the
PCS Publications page.
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Fate of a River: Revisited
funded by: Ohio Environmental Education Fund
In 1965 a motivated, environmentally aware group of ladies from the Jr. League of Toledo produced a
film, Fate of a River: Apathy or Action, depicting foaming detergents, raw sewage, green and blue
industrial discharges, gasping fish, and algae-laden streams in the Maumee River Watershed.
It was shown to more than 70,000 people in the late 1960s. This film helped citizens throughout
Northwest Ohio recognize that their actions were negatively impacting local waterways and
that they could take actions to reduce or eliminate this impact to restore the health of their waterways.
After 30 years Fate of a River: Apathy or Action, was rediscovered in a University of Toledo
Library closet in the mid-1990s. In 2001, 3 local groups partnered with WGTE-TV to highlight the many
water quality improvements since 1965 by creating Fate of River: Revisited
(Clearwater, Inc., Maumee RAP, Ottawa River Coalition). This was the most collaborative project with
longest credit list of any show WGTE-TV had made at that time.
Fate of River: Revisited first aired on WGTE TV30 (Toledo) on Nov. 21, 2002; since then it has
been aired multiple times on 12 television stations in 3 states
and has been seen by over 100,000 people at presentations.
Fate of a River: Revisited, looks at the many water quality improvements over the
35 years since the first film was created. It demonstrates the need for continued actions by the
citizens living in this three state watershed. Particular attention is paid to impacts associated
with changes in land use and nonpoint sources as our population increases and shifts outside of the
urban centers. A goal of the Fate of a River: Revisited campaign was to generate an
increased understanding of water quality issues and motivate citizens to take actions to
improve the waterways.
The film was produced for public broadcast and mass distribution. Supplemental educational
materials were developed to recreate awareness and to renew the focus on the Maumee River
and its tributaries. More information about the program visit
WGTE's Fate of a River page. If you have any questions or would like
to purchase a copy contact
jcornell@hullinc.com.
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For information on PCS events visit our
Events Page.
If you are looking for other PCS projects not listed here,
check on our
Publications Page or contact us!
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