State of Ohio and Cuyahoga River Watershed Nonpoint Source Section 319 Projects

The spatial data and metadata are in a Geopackage geodatabase accessible through the open-source geographic information system QGIS, and through R, the open-source statistical computing and graphics software. We studied the spatial distribution of best management practices (BMPs) from US EPA nonpoint source section (§)319 projects in Ohio as means to evaluate their effectiveness. We queried US EPA's Grants Reporting and Tracking System (GRTS) to obtain §319 projects, and their BMPs, completed by 2020-12-31 in the state of Ohio. The spatial layer ohio_bmp has 547 observations containing BMPs associated with specific §319 grant and project numbers, state project numbers, and huc12s. The spatial layer cuya_bmp_update2 has 78 BMP observations from the Cuyahoga River Basin. The fields from GRTS used in our study are described in the Data_Dictionary_of_319project_variables csv and Excel spreadsheet files. Our paper, Decreasing Trends in Total Suspended Solids and Cumulative Effects of Nonpoint Source Projects in the Cuyahoga River Watershed, OH, was published in the June 2023 issue of the Journal of Great Lakes Research. The abstract for that paper is here:
Using the US EPA’s Grants Reporting and Tracking System (GRTS), we test if completion of best management practices (BMPs) through the Clean Water Act Section (§)319 National Nonpoint Source Program was associated with a decreasing trend in total suspended solids (TSS) load (metric tons/year).  The study area chosen had 21 completed projects in the Cuyahoga River watershed in northeastern Ohio from 2000-2017.   The §319 projects ranged from dam removal, floodplain/wetland restoration to stormwater projects.  There was an overall decreasing trend in TSS loads.  We identified three phases of project implementation and completion, where Phase 1 had ongoing projects, but none completed (2000-2004).  The steepest decrease in loads, identified as Phase 2 (2005-2011), was associated with completion of low-head dam modification and removal projects on the mainstem of the Cuyahoga River.  A likely decreasing trend was associated with projects completed in the tributaries, such as natural channel design restoration and stormwater green infrastructure (Phase 3). Pairing sediment reduction estimates from projects with the river’s flow normalized TSS loading trend, we estimated that the §319 effort may account for a small fraction of the TSS load reduction.  Other stream restoration projects (non-§319) have also been done in the Cuyahoga watershed by other organizations.  However, trying to compile these other projects is challenging in larger watersheds having multiple municipalities, agencies, and nonprofits doing restoration without better coordinated record keeping and monitoring.  While a decreasing trend in a pollutant load is a desirable water quality outcome, determining what contributed to that trend remains difficult. 

This dataset is associated with the following publication:
McManus, M., C. Nietch, M. Heberling, and L. Gains-Germain. Decreasing Trends in Total Suspended Solids and Cumulative Effects of Nonpoint Source Projects in the Cuyahoga River Watershed, OH.   JOURNAL OF GREAT LAKES RESEARCH. International Association for Great Lakes Research, Ann Arbor, MI, USA, 49(3): 608-620, (2023).

Tags: cumulative-effects, diffuse-pollutants, grants-reporting-and-tracking-system-grts, load-reductions, urban
Organization: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency