Water&Management&in&&

the&Ohio&River&Basin&

Peter&Tennant,&Deputy&Executive&Director&

The$Ohio$River$Basin$
The$Ohio$River$Basin$

 204,000&square&miles&

 Portions&of&14&states&

 Over&45&inches&of&precipitation&per&year&

 Second&largest&tributary&watershed&to&the&Mississippi&

 Largest&tributary&in&terms&of&flow&
Major$Water$Uses$

 Navigation&

 Drinking&water&

 Industrial&use&–&cooling,&process&

 Hydroelectric&Power&

 Aquatic&Life&Habitat&

 Recreation&

 Waste&Assimilation&
Naviga6on$system$

 2500&miles&of&navigable&rivers&

 Entire&Ohio&River&plus&portions&of&seven&tributaries&

 Nine&foot&channel&maintained&on&the&main&stem&Ohio&

 20&navigation&dams&on&the&981&mile&Ohio&

 Approximately&37&Reservoir&projects&provide&flow&

augmentation&

 230&million&tons&of&cargo&transported&annually&

 Up&to&75%&of&coal&consumed&in&the&US&
Drinking$Water$Use$

 29&municipal&water&intakes&

 Over&3&million&individuals&served&

 All&utilities&provide&a&minimum&of&“reasonable&

treatment”&–&mixing,&flocculation,&sedimentation,&

filtration,&disinfection.&
Industrial$Use$

 Largest&user&is&electric&power&generation&

 Power&plants&historically&used&once&through&cooling;&

newer&facilities&have&cooling&towers&
Hydroelectric$Power$

 Facilities&operational&or&planned&for&most&navigation&

dams&on&the&Ohio&

 Larger&facilities&on&tributaries,&particularly&the&

Cumberland&and&Tennessee&Rivers.&

 Development&has&slowed&in&recent&years&
Interac6on$of$Uses$

 Maintenance&of&navigation&channel&assures&adequate&

river&flow&for&water&supply,&water&quality&needs&

 Navigation&presents&challenges&to&water&quality_&

sensitive&uses&

 Concerns&with&maintenance&of&dissolved&oxygen&levels&

below&hydropower&facilities.&
About ORSANCO 

 Interstate Compact agency 

 Member states: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New York, 

Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia. 

 3 Commissioners per state plus 3 federal 
ORSANCO’s$Beginnings$

 1934_&Cincinnati&Cleanup&Campaign&

 1936_&Congress&authorizes&Compact&negotiations.&

 1939_&Compact&approved&by&IN,&WV,&OH,&NY,&IL&

 1940_&Compact&approved&by&Congress,&KY&

 1948_&Compact&is&signed&
Authority: Ohio River Valley Water 

Sanitation Compact 

 The Compact is incorporated in the laws of each of the 

member states. 

 The Compact is also incorporated in Federal law. 

 The Compact was signed by the Governors and State 

Commissioners on June 30, 1948. 
Water$Quality$Problems$$

JThen$and$Now$

Then%&%1948%

 Low&DO&

 Pathogens&

 Aesthetics&

 Toxics&

Now%&%2011%

 Algae&

 Pathogens&

 Aesthetics&

 Emerging&Chemicals&
Headquarters: Cincinnati, OH 

Commissioners: 27 

Staff: 24 

Base Budget: $2.6 Million 
ORSANCO$Programs$

 Regulatory&(Effluent&Pollution&Control&Standards&

for&the&Ohio&River)&

 Monitoring&and&Assessment&–&(Ambient&

Bimonthly,&Recreation&Season,&Biological,&Algae)&

 Spill&Detection/Response&

 States&Program&Coordination&(CWA,&SDWA)&

 Applied&Research&

 Public&Education&
Emerging$Water$Resource$

Concerns$

 Drought&Impacts&–&Coming&to&a&Watershed&Near&Us&

 Energy_Water&Nexus&–&Significant)in&The&Ohio&Valley&

(mining&and&mine&discharge&impacts,&natural%gas%

drilling,&power&production&needs,&biofuels)&

 Aging&Water&Resources&Infrastructure&

 Climate&Change&(wetter?&extreme&events?)&

 Future&Proposals&for&Out_of_Basin&Transfers?&
Developments$

 Ohio&River&Basin&Commission&has&ceased&operations.&&

 ORSANCO&has&established&a&Water&Resources&

Committee.&

 ORSANCO&is&receiving&funding&from&several&private&&

foundations&to&support&exploration&of&a&role&in&water&

resources&management.&

Surface$Water$Quality$Monitoring$  West&Virginia&

 Cooperative&agreement&with&

USGS&to&test&GW&quality&by&

testing&nearby&wells&and&

streams&from&2011_2012&

 West&Virginia&Water&

Research&Institute&(WVWRI)&

has&an&established&

monitoring&network&on&the&

Monongahela&River&(19&

Parameters&including&Br_&&&&

TDS)&

 Ohio&

 No&monitoring&directly&

related&to&Drilling&
Study%Area%of%USGS%&%WVDEP%Ground%Water%Study%of%Marcellus%Shale%

Gas%Play%in%North%Central%WV%%
 Pennsylvania&

 RAIN&&(River&Alert&Information&

Network)&–&a&surface&water&protection&

network&monitoring&Cond,&pH,&&& Temp&at&13&Locations&(adding&a&14th&in&

WV)&

 Freshwater&Biology&Team&has&a&

monitoring&network&for&Fish&Creek,&

WV;&Cross&Creek&&&Tenmile&Creek,&

PA&

 Modifications&to&existing&monitoring&

network&to&address&Marcellus.&

 Susquehanna&

 Network&of&51&in_stream&monitors&

 50%&of&well&applications&get&a&

baseline&biological&assessment&at&a&fee&

of&$5700&

Surface$Water$Quality$Monitoring$



Milepoint Chloride%Range%

Mg/L%

Nitrate/Nitrite%

Range%

Mg/L%

54.4& 16&_&52& 0.5&–&1.2&

341& 14&_&56& 0.5&–&1.2&

846& 14&_&48& 0.7&–&1.4&

Ohio&River&Chloride&and&&

Nitrate/Nitrite&Nitrogen&Concentrations&

2006&–&2011&
Total$Dissolved$Solids/Bromide$

Study$

 To&Characterize&ambient&background&levels&of&TDS&

&&Bromide&

 Develop&site_specific&translators&to&convert&

conductivity&to&TDS.&

 Provide&data&to&support&possible&development&of&an&

Ohio&River&bromide&stream&criterion.&&

 Weekly&Samples&from&17&Sites&(4&tribs)&for&1&year&

(Dec&‘11&–&Dec&‘12)&

Thank%%You%for%Your%Attention%

Peter%Tennant%

ptennant@orsanco.org%