September 14th marked a busy day for the Clermont Soil and Water District this year. To kick off the day we started filming some material for an informational video about the Williamsburg Off-Channel Wetland Project (details to come soon!), before jumping into a special wetland ribbon cutting ceremony and finally finishing off the evening with the 2023 annual meeting. The ribbon-cutting event was held to mark the completion of the wetland project, constructed along the East Fork Little Miami River upstream of Harsha Lake.

Mayor Mary Ann Lefker, along with council members and staff, welcomed visitors and thanked the many project partners for their support in creating the uniquely designed 8-acre wetland system. The village’s old water reservoir was retrofitted into an attenuating wetland and the floodplain was excavated to provide additional water storage, pollution filtration and removal, and improved habitat for wetland species. Project partners will monitor the site over time to quantify water quality improvements and study additional environmental benefits.

After the commencement of the ribbon cutting, we transitioned into our annual meeting where we closed out the 2023 board of supervisors election, honored conservation leaders with awards, and shared some of the work the district has put in over the past year. Thank you to all those who attended the meeting, and we hope to see you all back next year!

Special Thanks to all our Project Partners: Village of Williamsburg, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Duke Energy Foundation, Friends of Reservoirs/National Fish Habitat Partnership, Ohio EPA, U.S. EPA/ORD, Ohio State University and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources/H2Ohio Program.