Ohio’s plan for
clean water
60,000
Existing Miles of
Rivers & Streams
430,000
Existing Acres of
Wetland Areas
125,000
Existing Lakes,
Reservoirs & Ponds
A collaborative approach to the issues facing Ohio’s water
What’s Happening
Latest Developments
Governor DeWine Announces H2Ohio Support for Water Infrastructure Projects
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio EPA Director Laurie A. Stevenson today announced that $2.5 million in H2Ohio grants will go to four local communities to help improve drinking water quality and to repair or replace aging water and wastewater infrastructure....
Governor DeWine Announces H2Ohio Support to Improve Drinking Water Infrastructure in Lowell
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio EPA Director Laurie A. Stevenson today announced that the village of Lowell in Washington County will receive $200,000 in H2Ohio funding to improve drinking water quality. The village of Lowell will use the H2Ohio funding to purchase...
Final H2Ohio Technology Assessment Program Reports
As part of Governor Mike DeWine’s H2Ohio water quality initiative, Ohio EPA today released the final reports for 10 emerging technologies that could play an important role in the reduction of harmful algal blooms (HABs) in Lake Erie. The technologies were chosen for...
H2Ohio Accomplishments for Fiscal Year 2022
Through strong collaboration led by Governor Mike DeWine and among Ohio Department of Agriculture, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio EPA, and the Ohio Lake Erie Commission, H2Ohio has focused resources to provide clean and safe drinking water for all Ohioans....
“As a state, we are committed to helping farmers adopt the practices that can make a real difference. We will invest in creating more wetlands. And, we will help communities improve their water systems and remove decrepit septic systems.”
What’s Happening
Upcoming Events
“I wanted to be involved in H2Ohio. I mean, we participated in conservation practices through the Soil and Water in the past, it was a good fit for us. We’re always trying to learn to do something a little better.”
“Governor Mike Dewine, ODNR Director Mary Mertz, and the State Legislature should be commended for their efforts to improve the quality of water for all Ohio residents by investing not only in the creation of a large number of wetlands which can substantively reduce the primary cause of Harmful Algal Blooms, but also for their wisdom to include funding to evaluate the effectiveness of each of the wetlands.”
“While we know H2Ohio practices work at a field scale, support from Ohio Lake Erie Commission and HABRI for watershed modeling efforts is critical to determine impacts at larger scales, and the amount of practices needed to reach Lake Erie water quality targets.”
Click image above for full H2Ohio Annual Report
“It’s something that’s hard to relate to if you already have a public water utility. The ones that don’t have a public utility will buy a big flatbed truck or similar truck, put a 500-gallon tank in the back, drive down to the county seat in Caldwell, fill it up however many times a week or a month that they need to, and then they come and dump that tank into a holding tank at their house. Constantly budgeting showers and laundry, and that kind of thing, you know, it’s hard to put a price tag on. It’s life changing when someone goes from we don’t have water to thank you for the water.”
H2Ohio Story Map
H2Ohio is highly collaborative, including work from ODA, ODNR and Ohio EPA to achieve improved water quality. Wetland projects and water infrastructure projects are being constructed and completed statewide. Agricultural best management practices are being implemented on farmland across the Western Lake Erie Basin. A comprehensive look at H2Ohio efforts across the state can be viewed in one place here on the H2Ohio Story Map.
Click the map to view H2Ohio Story Map.
The Importance of Partnership
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Ohio Department of Agriculture and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency each has a significant role in H2Ohio through the creation of wetlands, the reduction in phosphorus runoff, and access to clean drinking water and quality sewer systems.