The Portage River Watershed TMDL
The Portage River Watershed Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) report was approved by U.S. EPA on September 30, 2011. TMDL reports identify and evaluate water quality problems in impaired water bodies and propose solutions to bring those waters into attainment with water quality standards.
The Portage River is located in northwestern Ohio. The Portage River flows into Lake Erie at Port Clinton in Ottawa County. The watershed is distributed across Ottawa, Sandusky, Hancock and Wood counties with a small portion in Seneca County. Land use in the watershed is comprised predominantly of 78% cultivated cropland, 11% developed land, and 5% forest. McComb obtains its drinking water from Rader Creek; North Baltimore from Rocky Ford Creek; and Fostoria from the East Branch of the Portage River.
Ohio EPA sampled the water quality in the watershed in 2008. Only 54 percent of the sites in the Portage River watershed fully met aquatic life use goals and 12 percent met recreation use goals. Problems include an excessive amount of fine sediment in the channels, nutrient enrichment from runoff and other drainage from cropland and animal farming, nutrients in waste water, organic enrichment from combined sewer systems, and bacteria from croplands, home septic systems, waste water systems (both CSOs and WWTPs) and urban runoff.
TMDLs were calculated for E. coli bacteria, nutrients, organic enrichment and sediment and habitat. Recommendations include new permit limits for 22 facilities, adoption of conservation practices on cropland, overall better treatment of decentralized waste water, and improving habitat through a more natural approach to drainage maintenance. The report recommends increased inspections and subsequent enforcement regarding home septic systems that do not comply with local codes and implementing conventional management practices to minimize pollutant loading from cropland and urban landscapes.
The TMDL Report
Many of the documents referenced in the TMDL report can be found under Forms and Publications page.
Supplemental Information
The following documents provide background information on the Portage River watershed.
- Fact sheet [PDF 833K]
- Biological and Water Quality Survey of the Portage River Basin, Select Maumee River Tributaries, and Select Lake Erie Tributaries, 2006 - 2008. Hancock, Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Senea, and Wood Counties, Ohio.
For further information, please go to the 2008 Portage River Water Quality Monitoring page.
For more information, please contact:
Katie McKibben
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
Northwest District Office
347 North Dunbridge Road
Bowling Green, Ohio 43402
katie.mckibben@epa.state.oh.us