Development of watershed action plans for the Millcreek and Yellow Creek watersheds /

Abstract

The Mill Creek and Yellow Creek watersheds, located in northeast Ohio, cover an area of approximately 85,000 acres. Available monitoring data indicate that the lakes and streams within these watersheds have significant water quality and aquatic habitat problems. With the assistance of a Section 319 mini-grant from the Ohio EPA, A Guide to Developing Local Watershed Action Plans in Ohio (Ohio EPA, 1997) was pilot-tested on the two watersheds with two main objectives. First, comprehensive watershed action plans were written to identify and remediate the water quality problems. Second, the effectiveness of the OEPA guide was evaluated and useful changes identified. The process of evaluating the watershed using the EPA model consisted of researching existing land use, geology, topology, and lithology data as well as gathering existing water quality data on the watershed. Once the data were collected, they were analyzed and summarized in order to identify the major problems and their likely sources. This was done with the help of the AWARE (Alliance for Watershed Action and Riparian Easements) committee, a group of concerned citizens, environmental professionals and government representatives. Finally, with the help of the AWARE Goals and Objectives Committee, the initial goals and objectives for water quality were set. The results of this procedure were incorporated in Watershed Action Plans for the Mill Creek and Yellow Creek watersheds.