Clean Water Victory!

Many factors contribute to the increased incidence and extent of harmful algal blooms. Culprits include fertilizer and manure runoff from agricultural lands, exacerbated by a changing climate and an increase in intensity and volume of precipitation.

A Statewide Health and Economic Problem

While Lake Erie’s harmful algal blooms may be the most infamous, the problem affects lakes and rivers across the state, including the Ohio River, which in 2015 had a bloom more than 600 miles long. The increase in blooms not only poses serious threats to human health and wildlife, it also impacts our economy. For example, researchers at The Ohio State University estimate that algal blooms at Grand Lake St. Marys and Buckeye Lake cost Ohio homeowners $152 million in lost property value over six years.

Despite the magnitude of the problem, Freeman says that when she started her role with TNC, there was no substantial dedicated funding to address these issues. “There was a lot of diverse money coming in as ‘random acts of conservation’ from different state and federal sources,” she says. “But nothing that could be counted on over the long term.”

The Water Fund Solution

So TNC developed an idea to create a new program that would provide longterm, science-based funding to activities that were not getting the support they needed. Freeman says she recognized early on that change was going to have to be achieved politically. For that to happen, stakeholders would first need to present a unified front. She quickly set about doing just that.

For several years, Freeman, alongside partners representing vast interests, worked hard to achieve alignment and rally together around a water fund concept that TNC helped to shape.  The big break came in 2018, when gubernatorial candidate Mike DeWine took a meeting with TNC.

“He was definitely interested in the idea,” Freeman says. “Especially given that stakeholders like the Ohio Farm Bureau were behind it, too.”

Freeman says that while Governor DeWine’s enthusiasm was encouraging, she is amazed by how quickly the idea came to fruition, given all the years spent lining up support. Just a half a year later, in July, with the stroke of a pen, Governor DeWine signed into law the H2Ohio Water Fund.

H2Ohio will provide $172 million for water quality improvement projects over the next two years, including $46 million in the first year for nature-based solutions, such as creating and restoring wetlands and floodplains—for which TNC advocated strongly. In addition, after this two-year period, Governor DeWine’s budget authorizes half of any surplus in the state’s General Revenue Fund to be allocated to H2Ohio projects, which TNC is helping to identify under the leadership of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Freeman is pausing only momentarily to let the achievement soak in. “In TNC fashion, we don’t rest on our laurels,” she says. “There’s definitely more to be done—especially since H2Ohio wasn’t funded in the state’s budget at the level initially proposed.”

Long-Term Funding is Still Needed

While the establishment of H2Ohio creates huge opportunities for addressing harmful algal blooms, Freeman says we need to acknowledge next steps—especially through the Senate passage of House Bill 7, which would create a perpetual trust to fund H2Ohio. At the same time, Freeman says we need to expedite the adoption of sustainable agriculture practices. This includes improving soil health and nutrient management on farms, restoring floodplains and wetlands and implementing water management tactics like two-stage ditches and retention ponds.

“Our solutions to this problem need to be practical and effective—both politically and on the ground, where people with various vested interests are trying to do the right thing to improve our water quality,”  Freeman says. “I’m thankful to be in a position to help achieve that.”