Caesar Creek Lake Watershed
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The Caesar Creek Lake Watershed is 237 square miles consisting of agriculture , urban and rural land types. The portion of the Caesar Creek Lake Watershed that the CCC is focusing on is on the map to the right in colored areas. The Caesar Creek Lake watershed extends into Warren, Greene and Clinton Counties. On the south side of the watershed resides Caesar Creek State Park. Caesar Creek State Park is highlighted by clear blue waters, scattered woodlands, meadows and steep ravines. The 3,741-acre park offers some of the finest outdoor recreation in southwest Ohio including camping, fishing, boating, hunting, swimming, trails for hiking, biking and horseback riding - plus a Nature Center! This watershed collects water in Caesar Creek Lake which drains to the Little Miami River. The lake was designed and constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers as regional flood control, but has benefited the surrounding community with it's recreational benefits and beauty. The lake is also a drinking water source for the City of Wilmington.
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Caesar Creek Collaborative
The Caesar Creek Collaborative is a group of local agencies, university partners, community organizations, agricultural producers, residents and volunteers who are working to improve water quality and soil health in and around Caesar Creek Lake. As a group our goals are to involve local stakeholders and partners; study the region; develop a plan for water and soil health improvement that includes a variety of projects; secure funding for projects and to work with stakeholders and partners to accomplish projects.
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What work is the CCC doing?
The Caesar Creek Lake Watershed is 237 square miles and sheds runoff from agriculture , urban and rural land into Caesar Creek Lake. As this water runs over the landscape, pollutants are picked up and taken downstream into Caesar Creek Lake. This process is commonly referred to as nonpoint source pollution and has a dramatic effect on water quality in large bodies of water. The pollution that lands in Caesar Creek Lake travels into the Little Miami River and into the Ohio River. We care about the health of our region because of impacts downstream as well. In Ohio, the Environmental Protection Agency has asked interested parties to create plans to improve nonpoint pollution problems through the creation of Nine-Element Nonpoint Source Implementation Strategy Plans (NPS-IS or 9-element plans). These plans are a specific type of watershed based planning that will allow local entities to effectively propose and implement nonpoint source pollution remediation projects utilizing funding made available through the Clean Water Act Section 319 and potentially Governor DeWine's H2Ohio program. Click HERE to learn more about these NPS-IS 9 Element plans. |
Caesar Creek State Park: Lake, dam, spillway
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A new era for data research...
The first step that the CCC is taking towards improving the soil and water health of the watershed is to gather data and study the region. A team at Central State University led by Dr. Sakthi Kumaran Subburayalu has partnered with the CCC to help with some of the more technical aspects of the watershed investigation and data discovery. As part of the OEPA NPS-IS grants, the OEPA encouraged all grant recipients to utilize the Agricultural Conservation Planning Framework (ACPF) toolbox. The ACPF leverages high-resolution geo-spatial data to help scientists better understand areas and practices that might improve the soil and water health. The ACPF has been used in other states such as Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, but not widely used in Ohio just yet. The CCC is working to change that! What does all this mean? Click below to understand more! |