Little Pickerel Creek-Frontal Sandusky Bay Watershed
When thinking of watersheds in my hometown's region, the Maumee River watershed first comes to my mind since it's a major contributor of Lake Erie's algal blooms. But my hometown isn't in this watershed and this got me really curious about the watershed I grew up in. Where I live in my hometown of Sandusky, Ohio, the watershed I live in is the 43.4-square-mile Little Pickerel Creek-Frontal Sandusky Bay. It's one of many watersheds located within the Great Lakes Region and contains surface waters in the form of coastal wetlands and creeks, and also a naturally occurring aquifer that supplies these creeks in the form of springs, (USGS, U.S. EPA). The land uses within this watershed consist of 21% developed, 54% agriculture, and 25% natural areas, (Erie Conservation District).
Watersheds marked in the Great Lakes Region. My watershed is located in the watershed marked 0410. - USGS
According to 'How's My Waterway' report by the U.S. EPA, my watershed is unfortunately impaired based on measurements of aquatic life and recreational use. These impairments include E. Coli, nitrogen, nitrate, eutrophication, organic enrichment, particle distribution, phosphorus, and sediment/siltation, (U.S. EPA).
As seen in the aerial photo above, there are numerous plots of farmland within my watershed. One identifiable threat to my watershed is agricultural runoff from these fields into the surface and groundwaters. Extra nutrients of phosphorus and nitrogen running off into these waters are most likely contributing to the algal bloom problem in the Sandusky Bay. These nutrients can also favor the growth of invasive and nuisance species like phragmites and cattails located within the watershed. There is no historical or current research being conducted on the creeks within this watershed. However, from what we learned in this week's material on groundwater and aquifers, it would be interesting to see if there are any water quality issues of high nitrogen levels or contaminants from fertilizers stemming from this aquifer and seeing how this might affect the stocked trout population.
A second threat to at least one creek, Cold Creek, is the invasive round goby. I have caught several two winters ago in this creek while fishing for rainbow trout. Round gobies have a high reproductive rate and feast on fish eggs which ends up harming other populations of fish, like the trout, (USGS). As of now there are no current management strategies being conducted as the mouth of this creek empties into Sandusky Bay. One strategy I propose could be to electroshock the creek and collect all of the gobies out of the system. This action would have to be reoccurring as the mouth of the creek stays open for other fish, allowing for invasive to swim in from the bay.
As previously mentioned, my watershed contains several coastal wetlands that are private and managed by the state. A state funded program launched in 2019 called H2Ohio aims at restoring and creating wetlands that were once lost and drained due to agricultural practices to mitigate the effects of agricultural runoff. At least two of the wetlands in my watershed are on the project list. Current management of these listed wetlands includes improving wildlife habitat, especially for waterfowl. I think its pretty neat for these wetlands to be state recognized, but I'm wondering how long it will take and what other efforts will be needed until my watershed is unimpaired?
Sources
Erie Conservation District. https://erieconserves.org/watershed/sandusky-bay-drainage/
H2Ohio. About H2Ohio. https://h2.ohio.gov/about-h2ohio/
H2Ohio. Projects. https://h2.ohio.gov/project/
Sandusky Register. Unique Cold Creek supports Castalia Trout Fishery. https://sanduskyregister.com/news/168407/unique-cold-creek-supports-castalia-trout-fishery/
United State Environmental Protection Agency. How's My Waterway? https://mywaterway.epa.gov/community/5003%20Venice%20Road,%20Sandusky,%20Ohio/overview
United State Environmental Protection Agency. How's My Waterway? Waterbody Report. https://mywaterway.epa.gov/waterbody-report/21OHIO/OH041000110201/2022
United State Geological Survey. NAS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species, Round Goby. https://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/factsheet.aspx?SpeciesID=713
United State Geological Survey. Science in Your Watershed. https://water.usgs.gov/wsc/sub/0410.html
Kathryn-
ReplyDeleteIt was very interesting to read about your local watershed in Ohio. Responding to your concluding point, I think there is no amount of work that can be done to restore your watershed to its "glory days" of health. Rather, restoration and conservation efforts should be aimed at finding a new healthy equilibrium that can maximize the watersheds health along with favorable economic policies. For example, recurrently shocking the gobies in that one creek seems like an awfully intensive and costly solution for a problem that is treating the symptoms rather than attacking the problem itself (I see lampricide as attacking the problem itself, for example). Nonetheless, it is certainly depressing to research these local waterways near us and find these negative bits of information on them. Either way, interesting read and good work!
Hey Kathryn,
ReplyDeleteThis is a good description of the issues surrounding your watershed, and I'm happy that the wetlands in the watershed were recognized by Ohio! My question is about what you understand about Ohio's practice of wetland protection/conservation laws and policies. Do you think that Ohio protects wetlands well, or is policy lagging? I'm asking because Wisconsin used to have quite strong wetland protections, but 4 years ago the state passed a law to essentially exempt wetland filling permits for isolated wetlands smaller than 3 acres per parcel (link of the law below). To me, this is ridiculous because isolated wetlands are just as crucial to hydrologic functioning as wetlands connected with navigable waters, but also because nearly all isolated wetlands are at most 3 acres big! Hopefully Ohio has a better track record than WI, but it is interesting to see hour states differ in their approach to similar midwestern issues.
https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2017/related/lcactmemo/act183#:~:text=Wisconsin%20law%20requires%20a%20person,the%20activity%20is%20exempt%20from