TOLEDO, Ohio — There are three projects currently in the works to help keep Lake Erie clean.
Dozens of local and state officials took to the water aboard the Sandpiper to tour the Maumee River on Friday.
The event, hosted by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources wanted to showcase the various ways to help limit excess nutrients from entering Lake Erie.
Representatives from ODNR showed visitors that back in the mid 1800's, the mouth of the Maumee River used to act as a natural filter with wetlands and island.
But now that the Maumee River has been industrialized, that natural filter is gone.
That is why ODNR is investing in three separate projects at the mouth of the river.
A new wetlands established at Cullen Park in Point Place, a proposed flow through wetlands between he Cullen Park causeway and Grassy Island, and cleaning up a dredging dump site owned by the City of Oregon.
The projects, once complete, are expected to naturally filter out 30 to 35 percent of nutrients from the river before entering Lake Erie.
"We have the evidence that this is going to make a significant difference for drinking water, for recreation, for all of the reasons fresh water is important in Ohio," said ODNR Director Mary Mertz.
The projects would be funded through Governor Dewine's H2Ohio initiative.
Which is why so many state representatives and senators were on hand, to see how the state funding is being used to help clean up Lake Erie in person.
"Well, for me it's always helpful for me to be on the ground and talk to the people in the field and actually see first hand what is going on and what's being done and what we can do," said State Senator Theresa Gavarone.
"So, we really have to make sure that we place a priority on preserving the waterways. We have one of the greatest natural resources right here in our own back yard and Lake Erie," said State Representative Haraz Ghanbar.
Much of the bulk of the material to create the wetlands will be reused dredging material from the Lucas County Port Authority.
"We can use it to construct wetlands, we can use it for agricultural field placement, and we can use it to make engineered soils by blending it with other types of material," said Joe Cappel, V.P. of Business Development at the Lucas County Port Authority.
The projects help out on the back-end of the nutrient runoff problem, but officials still know there is a lot of work to be to find a solution for the source of the problem.
"So, it's really important that we have the opportunity to not only hear from them but to ask questions from them and to make sure that we have the clarity. So that when we're making decisions, we have that institutional knowledge at our fingertips," said Ghanbari.
Of those three projects, the wetlands at Cullen Park is the furthest along with the planning and design phase.
So that could be completed within the next two years.
