Human Health Use (Fish Tissue)
The 2012 human health use (fish tissue) results are not appreciably different from the 2010 results. Fish tissue data have been assessed in nearly every major (8 digit) hydrologic unit in Ohio. Between one quarter and one third of the watershed assessment units assessed for human health use are in attainment of that use. PCB contamination, primarily a result of historic industrial sources and old landfill discharges, is the cause of most of the human health use impairments. Mercury is the second leading cause of human health use impairments after PCBs.
Recreation Use
For Lake Erie public beaches, the frequency of swimming advisories varies widely, ranging from 0% at Kelleys Island State Park beach to nearly 50% at Euclid State Park beach. Generally, beaches located near population centers tend to have the most problems.
For inland streams, bacteria levels were low in about one in ten watersheds. About three in ten watersheds had high levels of bacteria. The remaining six in ten did not have enough data for evaluation. Ohio’s 23 large rivers fare somewhat better, with about 20% having relatively low bacteria levels and 20% showing higher levels of bacteria. About 60% did not have enough data collected in the past five years to evaluate. High bacteria levels are often observed during periods of higher stream flows associated with heavy rains.
Aquatic Life Use
The upward trend in full attainment of the aquatic life use in both watersheds and larger streams continues. In general, large rivers in Ohio are meeting aquatic life use goals at a much higher percentage than smaller streams.
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|
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Average Percentage of Watersheds
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Attainment Percentage of Large Rivers
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Large river assessment units in Ohio reflected a slight decline in percent of monitored miles in full attainment compared to the same statistic reported in the 2010 IR. Based on monitoring through 2010, the full attainment statistic now stands at 89% (793 of 852 assessed LRAU miles). The slight decline in full attainment across LRAUs between the 2010 and 2012 IR cycles (93% to 89%) is largely because of new assessments in four large rivers, three of which flow through highly urbanized areas and receive large quantities of flow from wastewater treatment facilities. The table below shows that all four of the large rivers have improved dramatically since first sampled in the early- to mid-1980s.
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Stream
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Year Studied
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% of Stream
Monitored
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% of Aquatic Life Standard
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Meeting
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Partially
Meeting
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Not
Meeting
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Sandusky
River
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1981/88
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78
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14
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31
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55
|
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2009
|
100
|
69
|
1
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31
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Cuyahoga
River
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1984/87
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100
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0
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0
|
100
|
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2010
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95
|
77
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13
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10
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Scioto River
(middle)
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1988
|
74
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21
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55
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24
|
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2009/10
|
100
|
85
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8
|
7
|
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Great Miami
River (lower)
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1980/82
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100
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0
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17
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83
|
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2009/10
|
100
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80
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20
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0
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The following charts show the progress in attainment status of aquatic life statistics in recent years for both large rivers (upper) and watersheds (lower).
Public Drinking Water Supply Use
There are a total of 124 public water systems with 130 treatment plants using surface water (excluding Ohio River intakes). Sufficient data were available to evaluate about one-third of the drinking water source waters for nitrate.
The only impaired areas were the Maumee River (the systems for the communities of Defiance, Napoleon, McClure and Bowling Green and the Campbell Soup system) and a portion of the Sandusky River (Fremont). Some areas were identified for a watch list; all were located in the northwestern and central parts of the state. It is difficult and expensive to remove nitrate from drinking water; some systems are conducting nitrate removal pilot studies, but no Ohio surface water systems currently use treatment specific for nitrate removal. Ohio public water systems rely on blending the surface water with other sources such as ground water, selective pumping from the stream to avoid high nitrate levels by using off-stream storage in upground reservoirs, or issue public notice advisories warning sensitive populations to avoid drinking the water while nitrate levels are high. The primary sources of elevated nitrate are nonpoint source runoff from agricultural land use and home/commercial fertilizer application, failing septic systems and unsewered areas, and wastewater plant discharges.
Pesticides could be evaluated for about 14% of the drinking water source waters. Five of 18 areas were identified as impaired, all in southwestern Ohio: one in Brown County (Mt. Orab), one in Miami County (Piqua), and the three sources used by the Village of Blanchester in Warren and Clinton counties. Thirteen areas were identified for a watch list because of elevated atrazine. The primary source of atrazine in these watersheds is nonpoint source runoff from agricultural land use.