Division of Surface Water, 122 South Front St., PO Box 1049, Columbus, Ohio 43215 (614) 644-2001

Fact Sheet State of Ohio 

Environmental Protection Agency

Nonpoint Source Impacts on Primary

January 2003 Headwater Streams

Why Protect Primary

Headwater Streams?

Ohio EPA, as the State's lead water

quality agency, monitors the

conditions of Ohio lakes, rivers and

streams. The findings are conclusive

that negative impacts from nonpoint

source pollution, especially sediment,

nutrients and habitat disruptions, are

problems that need to be addressed if

we are to achieve the level of water

quality set forth in the Clean Water

Act and Ohio's water quality

standards regulations. The majority

of impacts occur in the upper parts of

watersheds of larger streams where

the headwaters are located. The

headwater streams referred to in this

fact sheet are those with a watershed

generally less than a square mile.

These are referred to as primary

headwater streams. On average, for

every mile of named larger stream

there are more than 5 miles of mostly

unnamed, primary headwater streams

in Ohio.

Nonpoint source impacts to a few

streams in a watershed may cause

little cumulative harm, but when

many headwaters in a watershed are

polluted or impacted it presents a

problem on a much larger scale.

Economic Reasons to Improve

Primary Headwater Stream

Management

Common sense tells us that water

flows downhill, and thus when water

is polluted near its origin, in the

headwaters, the effects are felt

downstream. Negative water quality

impacts include contaminants

reaching public drinking water

supplies, sediment accumulation in

lakes and reservoirs and less desirable

fishing and swimming in lakes and

rivers.

Another economically significant

impact caused by the alteration of

primary headwater streams and their

drainage areas (catchments) is flood

damage. The modifications made to

remove water quickly from the

catchments of primary headwater

streams puts too much water and

energy in larger streams. This causes

more frequent and more damaging

floods for neighbors downstream,

excessive scouring of natural stream

channels and damage to bridges and

other structures.

More holistic management of primary

headwater streams and their

watersheds designed to reduce these

impacts makes economic sense.

Ohio's Section 319 Program and

Improved Primary Headwater

Stream Management

The Clean Water Act Section 319

grant program is the main tool that

Ohio EPA has to direct nonpoint

source abatement efforts.

The focus of Ohio's nonpoint source

program is upon identifying best

management practices (BMPs) which

reduce pollution from nonpoint

sources and improve water quality.

Ohio EPA's approach to nonpoint

source pollution control is evolving.

It recognizes the importance of

nonpoint source impacts in relation to

headwater streams and larger

waterbodies within watersheds. 

Presently Ohio relies heavily on

watershed management plans to

identify and correct water quality

problems caused by nonpoint source

pollution. Those plans emphasize:

identification of the nature, extent,

and cause of water quality problems;

development and implementation of

plans to correct those problems;

education; and evaluation. 

In view of the vulnerability of

primary headwater streams to

nonpoint source impacts, Ohio EPA

strongly encourages local

governments and organizations who

apply for and administer Clean Water

Act Section 319 grant monies to give

proper consideration to the principles

of good headwater stream

management in the watershed

management plans submitted to Ohio

EPA and in other areas of all funded

projects.
Page 2

Nonpoint Source Impacts on Primary Headwater

January 2003 Streams

Division of Surface Water, 122 South Front St., PO Box 1049, Columbus, Ohio 43215 (614) 644-2001

Examples of Local Soil and

Water Conservation District

(SWCD) Related Initiatives that

Promote Good Primary

Headwater Stream

Management

Resource protection ordinances

Resource protection ordinances can

be used to establish stream setbacks

and control the development and land

use within a selected distance from

stream channels. The Summit

County SWCD recently helped

establish a county-wide ordinance

that established setbacks from all

steam channels in Summit County.

Sugar Creek TMDL

Farmers and landowners, in

cooperation with the Holmes and

Wayne County SWCDs and Ohio

State University Researchers, are

working to protect the headwaters of

the upper Sugar Creek watershed.

This is a local, voluntary effort that

helps fulfill the "implementation"

aspect of Ohio EPA's regulatory

obligation to establish Total

Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) in

nonpoint source impacted

watersheds.

Lake County SWCD

The Lake County SWCD is

inventorying all headwater streams in

the county using the methodology

developed by Ohio EPA. The

information provides guidance for

how to best protect the resources of

the County in the face of on-going

development.

For More Information

Visit the Ohio EPA Division of

Surface Water web page:

http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dsw/ or 

contact Bill Schumacher at (614)

644-2137 or by e-mail at

bill.schumacher@epa.state.oh.us