COLUMBUS, Ohio – The water quality in Ohio continues to get a whole lot better.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Director Mary Mertz have announced plans for 25 new H2Ohio wetland projects to naturally improve water quality across Ohio. The H2Ohio initiative was created by DeWine in 2019 and the newly scheduled projects will bring the total number of water quality projects across the state to 113.

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.

 Wetlands have proven to be a key element to improving water quality.

 “We have been moving forward with project after project, putting boots on the ground, and investing time and money into what science shows is a long-term solution to Ohio’s water quality issues,” Mertz said. “Wetlands help solve many problems.”

In a press release, DeWine said, “Our water is such an incredibly valuable resource, and building and restoring wetlands brings us closer to having cleaner water throughout the state. We’re making great strides through the work of H2Ohio and we’ll see even more progress in the years to come.”

Also spearheading this effort is Eric Saas, H2Ohio Program Manager for ODNR. Haas monitored surface water and modeled water quality at Ohio EPA for more than a decade prior to joining ODNR.

“Our role here at ODNR is to restore wetland ecosystems and their natural capacity to reduce surface water pollution,” Saas said. “The H2Ohio initiative is a win-win situation as we’ll create not only wetlands but habitat for wildlife.

“We looked at the cost-effective ways to reduce excess nutrients into our surface water. We know that excess runoff from farm fields and into our waterways can lead to harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie and our inland lakes as well. The benefits with this H2Ohio program is long term and cost-effective. The H2Ohio program is at the intersection of nutrient management and habitat restoration. Every project we fund must have a nutrient management function to it and an ecosystem component to it.”

According to Saas, there are more than 99,000 acres of watershed filtered by wetland projects in the state. In addition to improving the state’s water quality, he added that there are 90 threatened or endangered species that are dependent on wetlands, many which will benefit from this additional habitat.

“Wetlands help improve water quality by trapping, filtering and removing excess pollutants and nutrients like phosphorus from the water before the materials flow into waterways and contribute to harmful algal blooms,” Saas said.

Twenty five new wetland projects will soon launch in 22 counties: Allen, Athens, Butler, Clark, Clermont, Cuyahoga, Delaware, Franklin, Henry, Madison, Mahoning, Medina, Mercer, Montgomery, Ottawa, Pickaway, Putnam, Richland, Sandusky, Summit, Wayne and Wyandot. The majority of these counties are in the northern part of the state. The projects will be funded through ODNR’s $25 million H2Ohio allocation in the current state operating budget.

“Based on the interest in the water quality issue we could fund twice as many projects that are going on now, in all corners of the state,” Saas said.

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 these 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.