Rep. Kaptur, University of Toledo Officials Celebrate Completion of NW Ohio Wetland Restoration Project
Washington, D.C.—Today Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-9), University of Toledo (UT) InterimPresident Nagi Naganathan, UT Professor of Environmental Sciences Dr. Daryl Dwyer, as well as representatives from local governments and environmental groups, celebrated the successful completion of a wetland restoration project at Maumee Bay State Park in Oregon, Ohio.
“Today we celebrate a major victory in our shared fight to restore Lake Erie’s water quality,” said Rep. Kaptur. “The results we are seeing from these projects show the impact we can have when we put good science to work protecting the health and safety of our communities and our critical ecosystems. These investments in our precious Maumee watershed have brought partners from across Northwest Ohio together to make a difference. Thanks to this work, we are seeing clear positive results today that will help keep pollutants out of Lake Erie and limit the threat of harmful algal blooms. The successes and lessons learned through these projects will also help direct similar initiatives in the future.”
The project was undertaken through two Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grants totaling $1.8 million. The project titles were “Passive Treatment Wetland to Improve Nearshore Health and Reduce Nonpoint Source Pollution” and “Reduction of Sediment and Bacteria Loadings to Public Beaches at Maumee Bay State Park via Enhanced Riparian Habitat.” These projects included the addition of a sedimentation pond in Wolf Creek and a treatment wetland at Maumee State Park that will filter out Escherichia coli (E-coli) bacteria and phosphorus pollutants before runoff water enters Lake Erie.
Early results from UT show water quality improvement has been better than expected, with a 94% reduction in E. coli bacteria and a 50% reduction in total phosphorus at the site of the wetland improvements. UT researchers are investigating sites throughout the Maumee River watershed where they could replicate the project and help prevent nonpoint source pollutants from entering Lake Erie.
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