Compassion for our planet’s environment is arguably an instinctual human trait as well as a beneficial learned skill. The integrity of the natural world affects our mental health and stress levels. Healthy wild and natural areas are intricately related to our happiness as a society, and natural surroundings have been shown to reduce crime and depression and improve physiological health.

To begin repairing and restoring our ecosystems, efforts are underway in central Ohio to monitor the health of our streams. This article provides a brief history of water quality issues in central Ohio.

The 1950’s and 1960’s introduced major threats to central Ohio’s rivers and streams. Channelization of natural riverbeds, dams, siltation from development and agriculture, runoff from impermeable surfaces, raw sewage, and industrial and agricultural pollution all had significant impacts. Many species have become threatened, endangered or entirely extirpated from the waters of Ohio. Deformities, eroded fins, lesions, and tumors are now common in many fish populations. Some introduced species now dominate ecological niches in competition with native species.

Known as one of the best small mouth bass rivers of the eastern U.S. in the 1940’s, the Olentangy was significantly damaged by the installation of the Delaware dam and other earthworks projects. Today the Olentangy is threatened by rapid development in northern Columbus and Delaware County. South of Lane Avenue the Olentangy index of biotic integrity (IBI) is unnaturally low from altered habitat and effluents. In the past, several factories changed the color of the river through the lower Olentangy for long stretches, coating the entire substrate with a putrid orange slime. The artificial flow regime regulated by the Army Corps of Engineers at the Delaware Dam has led to higher water temperatures and lower flow levels during periods of drought, which is damaging to the life cycles of some fish.

The Olentangy has shown remarkable ability to withstand environmental carelessness. The Ohio EPA has much of the Olentangy between Delaware and Worthington rated in its highest category of water quality, called exceptional warmwater habitat (EWH). However, some of these designated scenic parts of the river have failed to meet this standard in recent surveys. The EPA states that specific reasons for this are unclear at this time.

Important efforts are underway locally to monitor freshwater ecosystems. The Ohio EPA Division of Surface Water (DSW), the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources, Division of Natural Areas and Preserves (DNAP), Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed (FLOW), and the Ohio State University have all been involved in freshwater ecosystem monitoring in central Ohio.

OEPA-DSW has completed detailed fish and macroinvertebrate population surveys in the streams and rivers all over Ohio. The DSW has set a precedent nationally and globally by using the resultant biological data in a court of law to prosecute and fine polluters and to demand changes and upgrades in technology to curtail negative effects. Charles Boucher of DSW now leads this important effort in Ohio. Only Britain shares a comparable detailed monitoring system of freshwater ecosystems.

OSU has several monitoring efforts underway. The Olentangy River Wetlands Research Park monitors water quality. Dr. Ted Cavender and Mark Kibbey of the OSU Museum of Biological Diversity have a monitoring database of fish and macroinvertebrates for the Olentangy River in the OSU area. Staff at OSU report that much diversity has been lost over the years due to chlorination by the wastewater treatment plant in Delaware. The channelizations of the river through the OSU campus and from building the SR 315 freeway destroyed valuable riparian habitat.

Recently, I joined the staff and students of OSU to monitor the combined sewer outfall at the Third Avenue Bridge on the Olentangy. Below the outfall, there was a paucity of fish diversity, with only one saugeye found that had several tumors and blackspot parasites. Above the sewer outfall, a diverse habitat was encountered including green-sided, banded, and johnny darters, and a black redhorse sucker fish. Dr. Ted Cavender maintains that an experienced leader can generate very valuable data from simple monitoring efforts involving only a few individuals, but also points out that even with standardization of this data, the data still is not relevant in a court of law.

The ODNR-DNAP Ohio Scenic Rivers Program Stream Quality Monitoring Project has spearheaded a volunteer effort to monitor Ohio’s scenic rivers. Started in 1983, the Project uses macroinvertebrate monitoring to compile biological and water quality data on the state’s scenic rivers and streams. From these efforts, significant impacts and/or changes in the health of ecosystems have been monitored. Michael Lee and Tim Peterkoski of DNAP lead excellent training sessions. (See Community Events for ODNR monitoring training sessions on July 16 and 24.)

FLOW is a local watershed organization that undertakes similar monitoring efforts. Dr. Bob Frey leads FLOW’s stream quality monitoring efforts with the volunteer group named Hellgrammites. They have assembled an excellent database to track the health of macroinvertebrates. (See Community Events for FLOW’s monitoring training session on July 19.)

Andy Reed worked in fisheries enforcement and marine conservation in Alaska for 5 years. He has done field biology work related to fisheries in Ohio and Washington State, working with the whale museum in the San Juan Islands of Puget Sound. His background is in plant biology.

COG Chair’s Note: Dr. Ted Cavender, ichthyology professor at OSU, will soon be retiring. OSU is not replacing him with another field biology ichthyologist. This will leave a tremendous gap in viewing the big picture of water quality in central Ohio.