Nearly 1000 conservation leaders from across the nation gathered Feb. 8-12 in Salt Lake City for the National Association of Conservation Districts’ 79th Annual Meeting. The conference focused on the theme “Bee The Change: Reaching New Summits in Conservation”, and the future of districts and natural resource conservation took center stage. General sessions and breakouts featured an exciting line-up on how partnerships with SWCDs impact the locally-led conservation efforts regarding our nation’s soil, water, air, and other precious natural resources, including a talk by Clermont SWCD.
John McManus presented during a breakout session on the Williamsburg Off-Channel Wetland Treatment System project (see photo at right). It was a great honor to showcase this unique nutrient removal system in Clermont County on the national stage. Clermont SWCD enjoyed showcasing the efforts that are occurring within the county to address environmental concerns, and our collaboration with other agencies, businesses, and landowners to address the needs of the county and its residents.
Check out this video highlighting the Williamsburg Wetland! Designed to remove pollutants and provide quality habitat, the wetland is functioning as intended and absorbing excess water during storm events. Thanks to the many project partners, especially the Clermont Co. Office of Public Information and Ohio EPA for their assistance producing this fun and educational video.
The Williamsburg Off-Channel Wetland project, located along the East Fork Little Miami River, ~12 miles upstream of Harsha Lake, was completed this summer by the dedicated partners listed below. The project began after the low-head dam was removed (2018) and a 3-acre drinking water reservoir was left behind in a 15-acre wooded floodplain. “When our watershed partners asked us to consider turning the reservoir into a wetland, we were excited to take another step forward to help local water conservation efforts,” said Mayor Mary Ann Lefker.
Clermont SWCD and the Clermont County OEQ worked with partners to assess the site. Recognizing the unique opportunity for a demonstration site upstream of a major lake, the partners and multiple funding sources allowed us to create an enhanced wetland design that provided habitat and water quality benefits, including the installation of high frequency water quality monitoring equipment.
To create as much water storage as possible, approximately 34,000 cubic yards of sediment was excavated from the floodplain and the reservoir. This improved the river-floodplain connection and allowed water to flow two ways through the system. An average rain event directs water into an inlet channel connected to the reservoir through an underdrain. Two wintering holes were dug along this path to provide habitat throughout the seasons. Within the reservoir, water meanders along a path to an outlet on the southern berm. The outlet pipe was sized and fitted with a flap gate to slowly release water into a meandering 2,000 foot floodplain channel nicknamed “the gut.”
During larger storm events, excess water can bypass the reservoir and flow directly onto the floodplain. The entire system was constructed with minimal slope to slow and store water, and remove pollutants before water re-enters the river. The water monitoring equipment tracks water flow and measures the amount of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and sediment removed from the river. The monitoring is a key component and partner agencies will study the data to understand how constructed wetland systems can help protect water resources, like Harsha Lake.
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.
