A Plan for Ohio’s Watersheds
60,000
Existing Miles of
Rivers & Streams
430,000
Existing Acres of
Wetland Areas
125,000
Existing Lakes,
Reservoirs & Ponds
About H2OHIO
A collaborative approach to the issues facing Ohio’s water.
Launched by Governor Mike DeWine in 2019, H2Ohio is a comprehensive water quality initiative that is working to strategically address serious water issues that have been building in Ohio for decades. Such problems include harmful algal blooms on Lake Erie caused by phosphorus runoff from farm fertilizer, failing drinking water, wastewater, and home sewage treatment systems due to aging infrastructure, and lead contamination from old water pipes and fixtures.
H2Ohio was first funded by the Ohio General Assembly with an investment of $172 million in the 2020-2021 biennium. This funding has allowed H2Ohio to begin the long-term process to reduce phosphorus runoff from farms through the use of proven, science-based nutrient management best practices and the creation of phosphorus-filtering wetlands. H2Ohio also passes funding on to local communities that need help paying for important water infrastructure upgrades and aids in the development of other innovative water quality solutions.
Ohio’s water quality issues took time to develop, and it will take time to reverse course. Continued investment by the General Assembly will allow H2Ohio to continue building on its progress.
H2Ohio was created through unprecedented collaboration, using strategies that are long-term, sustainable, science-based and cost-effective. The Governor, the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the Lake Erie Commission, and many partners, including the Ohio Agriculture Conservation Initiative (OACI) have worked together to invest in projects across Ohio that will reduce nutrients and provide other long-term economic and water quality benefits to communities statewide.
H2Ohio Announcement, November 14, 2019
“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.”
About H2Ohio
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.
Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Ohio Department of Agriculture
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
What’s Happening
Latest Developments
ODA Now Accepting New Applications for H2Ohio Program
The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) is currently accepting new enrollments for the H2Ohio Program. Producers in the original 14-county targeted area of the Maumee River Watershed can sign up for the years 2022 and 2023. That area includes: Williams, Defiance,...
First Wetland in Central Ohio Now Complete
MILLERSPORT, Ohio – Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director Mary Mertz announced today that the H2Ohio wetland project to reduce harmful algal blooms on Buckeye Lake is now complete. The new Brooks Park Wetland Complex is the first...
ODNR to Host H2Ohio Grant Program Workshop on September 24
The Ohio Department of Natural Resource’s (ODNR) H2Ohio wetland grant program offers funding to municipalities, non-profits, and government entities for wetland restoration projects focused on water quality improvement. Projects can include, but are not limited...