WASHINGTON, D.C. – June 8, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Ohio EPA has begun a water quality study of select Maumee River basin tributaries in Defiance, Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Paulding, Putnam and Wood counties. The Maumee River basin is one of the largest watersheds in Ohio, with dozens of smaller streams draining thousands of square miles of land in northwest Ohio.
Ohio EPA is collecting water samples, fish and macroinvertebrate species through October. The physical, biological and chemical data will help determine water quality in the streams and identify any problem areas. Ohio EPA will share its results in a report with communities in the watershed. The study will help develop options for improving water quality in the impaired areas.
Communities in the study area include Antwerp, Bowling Green, Defiance, Delta, Deshler, Florida, Grand Rapids, Hamler, Hicksville, Holgate, Leipsic, Malinta, McClure, Napoleon, Sherwood, Wauseon and Weston.
Streams in the study area include Bad Creek, Beaver Creek, Benien Creek, Big Creek, Brubaker Creek, Brush Creek, Garrett Creek, Gordon Creek, Hammer Creek, Marie DeLarme Creek, Mill Creek, North Creek, Oberhaus Creek, Platter Creek, School Creek, South Creek, Sulphur Creek, Tontogany Creek, North Turkeyfoot and South Turkeyfoot creeks, West Creek, Yellow Creek and the Delta and Wauseon drinking water reservoirs.
Ohio EPA staff typically use public access points and public rights of way to access streams, and, if needed, will ask permission to access private property . All Ohio EPA staff carry photo identification.
For more information, contact Ohio EPA’s Public Interest Center at (614) 644-2160. More information about this and previous Maumee River watershed studies is available online.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1972 to consolidate efforts to protect and improve air quality, water quality and waste management in Ohio. Since then, air pollutants dropped by as much as 90 percent; large rivers meeting standards improved from 21 percent to 89 percent; and hundreds of polluting, open dumps were replaced with engineered landfills and an increased emphasis on waste reduction and recycling.
PUBLIC INTEREST CENTER, (614) 644-2160
MEDIA CONTACT: Dina Pierce
CITIZEN CONTACT: Darla Peelle
