Improving beach water quality, educating marina owners and boaters about environmental stewardship, and establishing maintenance protocols for storm water control measures are the key goals of projects being funded this fiscal year by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
“Coastal Management Assistance Grants allow groups to undertake projects that improve water quality, habitat, and increase understanding regarding the health of Ohio’s coastal resources,” said Scudder Mackey, chief of the ODNR Office of Coastal Management.
Fiscal Year 2015 grants were awarded to Chagrin River Watershed Partners Inc. for work in: Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake and Portage counties; the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments for work in Lucas County; and the Ohio Sea Grant College Program for work that will occur throughout the 35 counties that have territory within Ohio’s portion of the Lake Erie Watershed.
Together with their match, these three grant projects will create more than $277,000 in improvements to communities and resources in Ohio’s Lake Erie watershed.
The Chagrin River Watershed Partners will develop site-specific maintenance recommendations for stormwater control measures and provide training to the service departments and owners responsible for the maintenance. Properly maintained storm water control measures minimize nonpoint source pollution from stormwater, protect communities’ infrastructure investment and promote green infrastructure. The partners will also track the costs and time associated with inspection and maintenance to develop a model inspection and maintenance plan, which they will then share with other Lake Erie basin communities. [Grant amount: $10,816. Total project cost: $21,632.]
The Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments (TMACOG) is working with the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department and the Lucas Soil and Water Conservation District to conduct a comprehensive educational campaign for residences with home sewage treatment systems in the 16 square mile Wolf Creek Watershed, which drains into Lake Erie at Maumee Bay State Park. Sewage from failed or outdated home sewage treatment systems can enter the 2.5 mile long creek and impact the water quality at swimming beaches and the lake. The educational campaign will include one-on-one education visits with homeowners to teach them about proper home sewage treatment system maintenance, repair and replacement if needed. TMACOG will then share their educational materials with other coastal communities. [Grant amount: $51,765. Total project cost: $151,482.]
The Ohio Sea Grant College Program working in coordination with the ODNR Division of Watercraft and the ODNR Office of Coastal Management will continue implementation of Ohio Clean Marinas and Ohio Clean Boaters programs, including the Shrink-Wrap Recycling Program. The Ohio Clean Marinas Program is a voluntary, incentive-based program that encourages marina owners/operators to implement voluntary best management practices designed to protect the coastal environment. This project reduces nonpoint pollution in the Ohio Lake Erie watershed. The Ohio Clean Boaters Program provides education programs and guidance materials to boaters on how they can take simple steps to improve Lake Erie and its tributaries.
The Shrink-Wrap Recycling Program facilitates the collection and reuse of the plastic shrink-wrap commonly used to protect recreational boats over winter. To date, more than 2 million pounds of shrink-wrap have been kept out of landfills. [Grant amount: $51,133. Total project cost: $104,001.]
The ODNR Office of Coastal Management dedicates a portion of its annual funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to grant projects that will improve Ohio’s coastal resources.