As one of 54 Water Resources Research Institutes nationwide federally authorized by the Water Resources Research Act, the Ohio WRC has funded more than 50 water research projects. Our Ohio water researcher database includes approximately 240 researchers from 14 major universities in Ohio.

The Water Resources Research Act Program is a Federal-State partnership that plans, facilitates, and conducts research that helps resolve State and regional water problems; promotes technology transfer; promotes dissemination and application of research; trains scientists through participation in research; and awards competitive grants under the Water Resources Research Act. Investigators apply through the Ohio WRC for both 104B Annual Base Grants that help the Center to plan and conduct applied and peer reviewed research on water resources and 104G National Competitive Grants that promote collaboration between the USGS and university scientists in research on significant national and regional water resources issues.

We want to hear about your successes! If you have received seed funding from Ohio WRC that you have been able to leverage into additional grants, please reach out to the Ohio WRC email (OhioWRC@osu.edu).

Join us for the Ohio WRC-WMAO Luncheon Seminar on October 14^th 

Since the 1990s, Lake Erie has experienced toxic cyanobacterial blooms due to high nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) inputs from its tributaries. These blooms negatively affect aquatic life, pets and livestock, and humans, as evidenced by shutdown of the City of Toledo water treatment plant in August 2014. The Maumee River has the largest drainage area into western Lake Erie and is most responsible for high nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loads to Maumee Bay and the western basin. Previous studies have compared orthophosphate and nitrate (NO₃^-) loads from the Maumee relative to harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie; however, no studies have evaluated the transformations and fate of N within the river, even though phytoplankton biomass accumulation is seasonally limited by N in the western basin. The overall objective of the project was to determine whether Maumee River sediments are a source or sink of bioavailable N for primary productivity, including harmful cyanobacterial blooms in western Lake Erie. Preliminary results focused on dissolved gas fluxes across the sediment-water interface and suggest that Maumee River and Bay sediments exhibit active microbial processing, as evidenced by high sediment oxygen demand. While nutrient flux data are still pending (analyses delayed by restricted access to laboratory facilities during global pandemic), dissolved gas fluxes indicate that Maumee River sediments act as a net N sink, primarily via denitrification. River sediments thus perform a valuable ecosystem service by removing bioavailable N before it is discharged to Maumee Bay, where it can provide fuel for cyanobacteria bloom biomass and cyanotoxin production. However, isotope patterns for NH₄⁺ also show that Maumee River (and Bay) sediments release substantial amounts of NH₄⁺ to the overlying water. Since denitrification converts NO₃^- to N₂ gas, and NO₃^- is energetically less favorable for cyanobacteria assimilation compared to NH₄⁺, the positive effects of N removal via denitrification (and anammox) are mitigated to some extent by sediment NH₄⁺ releases. These results support numerous other studies showing that watershed N loads into western Lake Erie and other aquatic systems impacted by non-N-fixing, toxin-producing cyanobacteria taxa.

The event will be held on October 14^th, from 12:00 PM-1:00PM via webinar (Webinar Instructions will be sent to attendees on October 13th). Please register.

If you have any questions, feel free to email OhioWRC@osu.edu.

Interested in water-quality concentrations, loads, and trends in streams and rivers across the United States? Check out a new USGS website with data from the USGS National Water Quality Network—110 stream and river sites with long-term, consistent data on water quality.

Small streams can be very efficient at slowing nutrient transport to downstream ecosystems by storing nutrients in biomass and potentially removing nitrogen and phosphorous through burial and nutrient transformations. The Ohio WRC funded Dr. David Costello and his team at Kent State University hypothesized that low trace metal concentrations in eutrophic streams in Northwest Ohio limit biofilm growth, contribute to saturation of nutrient removal processes, and limit biofilm storage of nitrogen and phosphorous.

Dr. Costello is continuing this research through the NSF CAREER program titled "Beyond N and P: How trace metal limitation influences stream ecosystem function" which will expand to 98 Great Lakes streams to identify locations and conditions where trace metals are influencing algae.

Find out more about Dr. Costello's research by visiting his website. If you'd like to find out more about other Ohio WRC research projects, visit:https://wrc.osu.edu/past.

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) has released Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for 12 new projects funded through WRF’s Research Priority Program. This strategic program enables WRF to address broadly relevant subscriber issues, challenges, and opportunities with targeted research that lasts three to five years. RFP deadlines are Thursday, October 15, 2020 and Thursday, October 29, 2020. More information.

IWRA is now accepting Case Study Proposals for their Smart Water Cities Project. The Proposal Deadline is Monday, November 2nd, 2020. For more information, view the Call to Submit Case Studies on IWRA's website.

USDA is now accepting proposals for RCPP through the RCPP portal. Proposals are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on November 4, 2020. For more information, view the Application for Program Funding on grants.gov.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and partners are launching the Innovative Ways to Destroy PFAS Challenge. The challenge asks solvers to submit detailed plans for a non-thermal way of destroying PFAS in concentrated film forming foam (AFFF), while creating the least amount of potentially harmful byproducts. The challenge closes on November 23, 2020. Learn more about the challenge.

To find more resources offered by Ohio WRC, please visit: https://wrc.osu.edu/resources

A public hearing regarding proposed amendments to five Credible Data Program rules in Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) Chapter 3745-4 has been scheduled for October 8, 2020. Ohio EPA will be holding a virtual public hearing on the rules at 10:30 a.m. on October 8, 2020. The virtual hearing may be accessed here. The meeting will be held exclusively online.

Ohio EPA Notification of Public Hearing on Proposed Rules - Underground Injection Control (OAC Chapter 3745-34-09, -21, -63)

A public hearing regarding proposed amendments to three Underground Injection Control rules in Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) Chapter 3745-34 has been scheduled for October 21, 2020. Ohio EPA will be holding a virtual public hearing on the rules at 10:30 a.m. on October 21, 2020. The virtual hearing may be accessed here. The meeting will be held exclusively online.

The rules in Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) Chapter 3745-09 establish regulations for defining, siting, constructing, disinfecting, sampling, developing and abandoning public water system wells. The early stakeholder outreach phase is an opportunity to shape the direction of rules before staff begin drafting rule language. By sharing your comments early in the process, Ohio EPA can consider different concepts and ensure our rule development takes into account the effects the rules will have. Comments are due by 5:00 PM, October 21, 2020 to dsw_rulecomments@epa.ohio.gov. Click here for more information.

The 49th WMAO Conference will be held remotely this year due to Covid-19. Sessions will extend throughout four consecutive days during the week of November 2nd. Abstracts are sought for 20-minute oral presentations or as a poster. More information.

Presented by ODNR Division of Natural Areas & Preserves Scenic Rivers Program, Ohio Scenic Rivers Association and the Water Management Association of Ohio, this event brings together people who share an interest in Ohio’s rivers. Watershed professionals, naturalists, community members and all others who would like to learn and connect with other river advocates should attend. For more registration info, click here.

May 11-14, 2021 • Greater Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, Ohio

Save the date for the 2021 Residuals and Biosolids Conference and plan to experience a robust program highlighting continued advances in the wastewater residuals and biosolids sector. Potential speakers are invited to submit an abstract for podium presentation, workshop, virtual presentation, or exhibitor mobile session. Click here for details.