Ohio EPA Updates Findings on Sources of Nutrients in Ohio Waters

The Ohio EPA has completed its second statewide study which identifies sources and estimates the annual amount of phosphorus and other nutrients flowing from the state’s watersheds into Lake Erie and the Ohio River. The study covers the Maumee, Portage, Sandusky, Vermilion, Cuyahoga, Great Miami, Scioto and Muskingum watersheds, and includes some direct tributaries to Lake Erie.

The results of this study show “no clear trend of an overall decrease in loading in most watersheds, especially in nonpoint source dominated watersheds like the Maumee where the loading in 2017 was the highest of the years reported.”

In the Maumee watershed, 88% of the phosphorous contributed to Lake Erie is from nonpoint sources including agriculture. 4/17/2018