t he m iami c onservancy d istrict failing to plan: the clean water act can’t fix it all douglas...

THE MIAMI CONSERVANCY DISTRICT

Failing to Plan: The Clean WaterAct Can’t Fix it All

Douglas “Dusty” HallThe Miami Conservancy District

for

Hey 19: Make Tomorrowa Wonderful Thing


The Miami Conservancy District

• Great Flood of 1913• Authorized under state

statute – 1914 Ohio Conservancy Act

• Governed by Conservancy Court

• Broad authorities within watershed


Presentation Overview

• Chapter 1: Water, Water Everywhere But…

• Chapter 2: The Great Miami River Watershed

• Chapter 3: “Patchwork” Management


What is a watershed?

A watershed is all the land area that drains to a given body of water.


l

Graphic Courtesy of Press & Siever, 1998

The Water Cycle


Water Treatment Plant

Commercial DevelopmentResidential

Development


Water

You can live without it…

…but not for very long!


Your Share

• Intake 2/3 of a gallon each day

• 60% of body weight!

12½ gallons with a twist of lemon please!


Plentiful

• Earth = over 74% covered

• Volume = 326 million miles³


Plentiful???

0

20

40

60

80

100

Oceans

Frozen

OtherPer

cen

t


“Other”

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

Groundwater

Lakes

Rivers &Streams

Per

cen

t


Whose water is it?

• Justinian Institutes (533) “By the law of nature these things are

common to mankind---the air, running water, the sea, and consequently the shores of the sea.”

• English Law - Magna Charta (1215)

• U.S. Supreme Court (1800s)


Recap – Chapter 1Water, Water Everywhere But…

• The same water gets “used” over and over.

• It’s easily polluted.

• There is lots of it - but not much is readily available.

• We can’t live without it.

• It’s yours and mine.


Ohio’s Great MiamiRiver Watershed• 4,000 mi² / 15 counties

• Dayton is largest city

• Major tributaries: • Great Miami River

• Stillwater River

• Mad River

• Wolf and Twin Creeks

• 1.5 million residents


Buried Valley Aquifer

• Underlies river system and many urban centers

• Source for > 90% drinking water

• High production• High permeability• High vulnerability• Significant exchange of

surface and ground waters


GMR Watershed Snapshot

• Headwaters primarily rural & agricultural

• Urban near confluence & lower Great Miami River

• > 70% of people live in urbanized areas

• > 80% of land used for agriculture


Water Quality Impairment

Ohio EPA - Stillwater River

Phosphorus

• Proposed reduction = 977K lbs./year

• Agriculture is source of 90%


Recap - Chapter 2The Great Miami River Watershed

• It’s big and covers all or parts of 15 Ohio counties.

• Our drinking water source is under our feet.

• Urban areas are mostly on the major rivers.

• The watershed is dominated by agriculture.

• Water quality relates to land use.


Who’s in Charge Here?

Federal Government?

State Government?

Local Government?


Federal

• Clean Water Act– Surface water

– Zero discharge by 1985

– “Fishable and swimmable” by 1983


Are We Meeting the Goals?

• Of our monitored streams:

– Yes = 58.8%

– Almost = 19.8%

– No = 21.4%


Clean Water Act

“The term "point source" means any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including… This term does not include agricultural stormwater discharges…”


Counties

§ 303.21. Powers not conferred by chapter.(A) Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section, sections 303.01 to 303.25 of the Revised Code do not confer any power on any county rural zoning commission, board of county commissioners, or board of zoning appeals to prohibit the use of any land for agricultural purposes or the construction or use of buildings or structures incident to the use for agricultural purposes of the land on which such buildings or structures are located, and no zoning certificate shall be required for any such building or structure.


Townships

• § 519.21. Powers not conferred by chapter. (A) Except as otherwise provided in division (B) of this section, sections 519.02 to 519.25 of the Revised Code confer no power on any township zoning commission, board of township trustees, or board of zoning appeals to prohibit the use of any land for agricultural purposes or the construction or use of buildings or structures incident to the use for agricultural purposes of the land…, and no zoning certificate shall be required for any such building or structure.


County & Township Zoning

Regulationof

Agriculture


Incentive-Based Strategies

• “Farm Bill” Conservation Programs– 1935 Soil Conservation Act– 1956 Soil Bank– 1970 Water Bank– 1985 Full title devoted to conservation programs– 1990s CRP & EQIP– 2002 EQIP at $1.3 billion (CSP added)

• More Incentives Needed!


Water Quality Credit Trading

• Wastewater treatment plants facing increased compliance costs meet their requirements for pollutant reductions by investing in more cost-effective agricultural projects that produce better environmental results in the same watershed.


Nutrient Reduction Costs

• Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) can reduce phosphorus and other nutrients with $$$$ treatment

• Agricultural producers can reduce phosphorus and other nutrients for a fraction of the cost


Water Quality Credit Trading

County SWCDs


Trading Program Strategies

• All trades upstream

• Project validation

• Trading ratios

• Insurance pool

• Data collection

• Adaptive implementation


Ancillary EnvironmentalBenefits

WWTP Upgrade Ag. Practices via Trading

Pollutant of concern Yes Yes

Other pollutants ? Yes

Habitat No Yes

Canopy No Yes

Stream bank No Yes

Velocity No Yes

Wetland No Yes

Floodplain No Yes

Assimilative capacity No Yes


Ancillary Pollutant Reduction

Nutrient Traditional Approach

(lbs.)

Trading (lbs.)

TP 904,015 1,349,207 to 2,253,222

TN 4,475,978 6,380,721 to 10,865,700

Estimated* Impact of Trading Ratios

*Kieser & Associates, 2004


Trading Market Study

Preliminary Economic Analysis of Water Quality Trading Opportunities

in the Great Miami River Watershed, Ohio

Prepared by:Kieser & Associates

536 E. Michigan Ave., Suite 300Kalamazoo, Michigan 49007


20-Year Trading Economics

• WWTP upgrades = $422.5 million

• Trading = $46.5 million– Ag. practices $37.8 million– Data, admin., etc. $8.7 million

• Citizens save $376 million!

Meeting Nutrient Criteria Discharge Limits


Key Partners

• Wastewater Treatment Plants• United States Department of Agriculture• Soil and Water Conservation Districts• Ohio Farm Bureau Federation• Ohio Department of Natural Resources• Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce• Community-based subwatershed groups


From Growth and Change at the Urban-Rural Interface, OSU, 2003

Migration from Large Cities


Ohio’s Changing Landscape

• Population of large and small metropolitan counties peaked in 1970

• Population of fringe counties of large metro areas grew more than 500,000 between 1970 and 2000 Photo from WOSU –”View from Malabar”


Central to Decentralized Systems

Dayton Population and New Miami County HSTSs

150000

175000

200000

225000

250000

275000

1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

Date

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2000

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6000

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12000

14000

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DaytonPopulation

New HSTSs


Moving to the “Country”

• More than a million HSTSs in Ohio*

• More than one out of four new homes will use HSTSs*

• Less than 7% of Ohio’s soils are suitable for traditional HSTSs**

• Failure rate estimate is 25% = 900,000 gallons per day*

*Ohio Department of Health**OSU Extension


Moving to the “Country”


Excuse Me???????


“Truly Tasteless”


Exurban Land Use Planning

• “Ohio counties and townships have a somewhat limited ability to handle the population and land use changes…” (OSU, 2003)

• Health district staff may act as de facto planners when approving/disapproving HSTSs


Household Sewage Treatment Systems

• HB 231 Signed by Governor in February

• New rules– Soil types

– Drainage

– Hydrogeology

• Promote coordination


Natural Ground Cover

75% - 100% Impervious Cover

25% deep infiltration

5% deep infiltration

10% shallow infiltration

25% shallow infiltration

40% evaporation 30% evaporation

10% runoff

55% runof

f

Development vs. Water Cycle


Coming Up Next


Dayton Well Field Protection Area

• Drinking water production areas built out with industry

• More than 600 businesses with over 140 million pounds of hazardous substances

• Multiple jurisdictions


• Education• Funding for easements• Funding for projects• Emergency response

• Monitoring and enforcement

• Inventory and spill reporting

• Land use controls

Comprehensive Local Strategy


Recap - Chapter 3“Patchwork” Management

• Federal laws won’t solve local challenges.

• State laws won’t solve local challenges.

• Market-based incentives are vital.

• We’re building tomorrow’s problems today.

• Creative and cooperative solutions work.


It’s OUR Future!

• Should water resources be a priority in planning processes?

• How can planning processes address water resources that extend across many jurisdictions?

• Are comprehensive/integrated approaches to water resources management possible in the absence of an overarching set of rules or regulations?

• Can planning bridge the gap between water science and and the water resources management strategies based on zoning techniques?


“Thriving communities, a healthy watershed, and a higher quality of life, sustained by well-managed water resources throughout the watershed.”

MCD’s VISION

t he m iami c onservancy d istrict failing to plan: the clean water act can’t fix it all douglas...

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