Ohio EPA has embarked upon a new series of studies in the Muskingum River watershed. Data was collected from Salt Creek and Moxahala Creek (which includes Jonathan Creek). This work follows previous studies of Sugar and Wakatomika Creeks, the Tuscarawas and Mohican Rivers and the mainstem of the Muskingum River. These studies give Ohio EPA an important snapshot of where the water is healthy and where the Agency needs to focus work with local governments, landowners and concerned citizens to restore polluted waterways.

The Salt Creek and Moxahala Creek watersheds encompass hundreds of square miles in Central and Southeast Ohio and include forests, farmland and developed areas in Muskingum, Morgan, Perry and Licking Counties. Jonathan Creek flows into Moxahala Creek which flows into the Muskingum River near Zanesville. Both Maysville and Crooksville obtain their drinking water from streams in the watershed.

This summer's sampling may be the first step in developing a water quality restoration plan for impaired areas within the Salt Creek and Moxahala Creek watersheds. Pollution sources, such as sewage, urban and rural runoff and stream modification, can contribute to impairment and affect the quality of drinking water provided to Blue Rock State Park, Maysville and Crooksville

Each year, Ohio EPA collects data from streams and rivers in five to seven different areas of the state. A total of 300 to 400 sampling sites are examined, and each site is sampled more than once. Sampling locations are generally chosen upstream and downstream from sewage treatment plants, industrial discharges, tributaries, streams, dams and where there have been significant changes in land use practices. Most of the sampling is completed by mid-October. If Ohio EPA finds that the stream is not meeting water quality goals, then additional measurements and samples may be taken throughout the following year.

During these studies, Ohio EPA scientists collect chemical samples, take measurements of the stream, examine and count fish and aquatic insects and their habitats. Ohio EPA has one of the most advanced water quality measurement programs in the nation, determining the health of rivers and streams through biological data (fish and bugs), not just chemical data (e.g., bacteria, metals, nutrients). The abundance and variety of collected species, especially those sensitive to pollution, provides vital information that Ohio EPA uses to strategically focus funding and other resources for pollution prevention projects.

Ohio EPA also has taken samples this year from: Portage River and several tributaries of Lake Erie (Northwest Ohio), Great Miami River (the headwaters to Plum Creek, including Loramie Creek in Southwest Ohio), Pymatuning Creek (including tributaries to Pymatuning Reservoir and Yankee Creek in Northeast Ohio) and the Licking River (Central Ohio).