Posted January 21, 200619 yr STATE EPA REPORT Scenic stretch of Olentangy shows impact of area growth Saturday, January 21, 2006 Spencer Hunt THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH The explosive growth of new homes and businesses in Delaware County is threatening wildlife in a scenic stretch of the Olentangy River, according to a new state study. Dirt and chemicals that storms wash off Delaware construction sites and new lawns, roofs, roads and parking lots are polluting a section of the Olentangy considered an excellent habitat for fish, including the bluebreast darter, a threatened species. More at: http://dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/01/21/20060121-B1-02.html
January 22, 200619 yr I ended up driving along the east bank of the Olentangy (from US 23 to Orange Rd) over Christmas break and saw the new home developments (cleared lots between Hyatt and Orange Rd). If it isn't one thing, it's another threatning the Olentangy in DelCo. :oops:
January 22, 200619 yr I saw a presentation by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission a few months ago showing computer-generated maps of what how population growth and development will impact Central Ohio and Delaware County is pretty much Ground Zero. It showed even greater demands on land use and infrastructure. What was interesting about the presentation was that as they added in better transportation ... light rail, intercity passenger rail, bikeways, etc .... it encouraged more inward growth and greatly lessened the development of open land or "green fields'. The Olentangy is every bit as threatened as the Darby Creek watershed and this onward march of new housing developments is a major reason for deteriorating water quality and greater threats to wildlife and just the simple, scenic beauty of these areas.
January 22, 200619 yr But there is some good news... Farmers help the Scioto Program pays participants to restore fields along river to natural state Sunday, January 22, 2006 Spencer Hunt THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH JEFF HINCKLEY | DISPATCH Pickaway County farmer Roger Evans planted his bottomland along the Scioto with grasses that will help keep topsoil and farm chemicals out of the river. Like many other farmers who make their living along the Scioto River, Roger Evans couldn’t resist working the land near its banks. The rich soils of the Scioto’s bottomlands can yield up to twice as much corn and soybeans per acre as crops planted farther away. But farming that land was an increasingly bad gamble; flooding had grown worse through the years. More at: http://dispatch.com/news-story.php?story=dispatch/2006/01/22/20060122-C1-02.html
May 21, 200718 yr http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2007/05/21/story14.html Delaware opposing new EPA rules for Olentangy River development Business First of Columbus - May 18, 2007 by Kevin KemperBusiness First Officials in Delaware are girding for a fight with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency that would pit the city's development against expanded protections for the Olentangy River. The EPA since October has been gathering public opinion on proposed regulatory changes that would limit development in Delaware County and the city by establishing a 100- to 900-foot-deep no-build zone on either side of the Olentangy River and a 100- to 178-foot no-build zone on either side of the river's tributaries. More at link above:
July 1, 200717 yr OLENTANGY RIVER WATERSHED EPA pulls protection plan Cities, developers objected to construction limits Sunday, July 1, 2007 3:46 AM By Spencer Hunt THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH A state plan to shield the Olentangy River from further pollution has been shelved after complaints that new rules would cripple development in Delaware County. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency wanted to push new construction hundreds of feet from sections of the Olentangy and its Whetstone Creek tributary to limit the amount of dirt and chemicals that wash off new businesses and homes during storms. More: http://dispatch.com/dispatch/content/local_news/stories/2007/07/01/OlenEPA.ART_ART_07-01-07_B1_GN7648O.html
November 4, 200717 yr Olentangy watershed concerns alliance By MATT GERISH Published: Thursday, November 1, 2007 3:20 PM EDT The Olentangy River provides 89 percent of the city of Delaware's drinking water. The Olentangy Watershed Alliance hopes to clean up the river as it passes through town and is inviting residents to a panel discussion Nov. 14 to tell them how they can help. The alliance was formed in 1999 to work with local communities to understand, appreciate and responsibly use the Olentangy River, its tributaries and watershed. More at: http://www.snponline.com/articles/2007/11/01/delaware_news/news/dewater%2011_20071031_0329pm_4.txt
March 8, 200817 yr OLENTANGY PROTECTION Plan cuts no-build zone along tributaries Saturday, March 8, 2008 3:19 AM By Spencer Hunt THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Developers in Delaware County would be able to build homes and businesses closer to small streams that feed the Olentangy River under a revised plan from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The agency originally wanted to ban construction within 100 feet of all the tiny tributaries that feed the Olentangy south of Delaware Dam. The idea was to limit the dirt, sediment and other pollutants that wash off homes and roads and into the waterways during storms. More at: http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/03/08/Olentangy.ART_ART_03-08-08_B1_R09J3DN.html?sid=101
March 8, 200817 yr aww this is or was the only scenic stretch in the columbus area. too bad, but i guess it was inevitable.
January 28, 200916 yr Developers allowed to build closer to streams Wednesday, January 28, 2009 3:18 AM By Spencer Hunt THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH A planned protective buffer between the Olentangy River's smallest tributaries and Delaware County developers keeps shrinking. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency's plan to protect the streams from runoff pollution from construction sites, roofs and new roads used to call for a 100-foot buffer. Last year, the state cut it to 50 feet. Now, it's 30. More at: http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/01/28/Olentangy.ART_ART_01-28-09_B1_SQCN9QM.html?sid=101
January 28, 200916 yr Build right up to the edge, f*ckos. You'll find out why they call it a watershed come springtime.
January 28, 200916 yr Amen. And yet somehow the economy is so "bad" which is cited as the reason why development has peaked Downtown and Jeffrey Place only has a couple of buildings up. Yet at the same time there's "explosive growth" out in the ex-urbs. And what the hell is the Ohio EPA even good for?
November 17, 200915 yr Communities urged to protect Olentangy River from development MORPC wants to manage growth for a cleaner river Tuesday, November 17, 2009 3:03 AM By Mark Ferenchik THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH Columbus' relentless northward sprawl inevitably adds more homes, roads and sewers near the Olentangy River and its tributaries. The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission is lobbying communities along the river to join an effort to allow building on selected areas within the 372-square-mile Olentangy watershed while protecting other areas. Full story at: http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/11/17/copy/OLENTANGY.ART_ART_11-17-09_B1_DGFMTIS.html?adsec=politics&sid=101
January 2, 201015 yr Olentangy River watershed plan awarded $100,000 grant Monday, December 28, 2009 - 12:44 PM By Bonnie Butcher, ThisWeek Staff Writer The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the Ohio Lake Erie Commission to assist in the development of an Olentangy River watershed plan. The watershed comprises four counties, 17 townships and nine municipalities, and is about 57 miles long, MORPC documents show. Delaware County's section is about seven miles wide and runs from the northern to southern border. Powell and Liberty Township are among the jurisdictions that in November agreed to participate in the process. Representatives of the jurisdictions would form a partnership that would develop the watershed plan. The planning group would work with MORPC to identify the "priority conservation areas" and "priority development areas" in the various communities, Tinianow said. The process would take about two years. Full story at http://www.thisweeknews.com/live/content/olentangy/stories/2009/12/23/Olentangy-River-watershed_.html?sid=104
June 7, 20169 yr Olentangy River getting new kayak access point at King Avenue A spot at the intersection of Olentangy River Road and King Avenue is slated to become a new access point to the Olentangy River. At the crossroads is an empty parcel just upstream of the removed 5th Avenue dam. The Columbus Recreation and Parks Department plans to develop roadway access there into a kayak and canoe launch for the 8.94 mile Olentangy Water Trail. More below: http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2016/06/07/olentangy-river-getting-new-kayak-access-point-at.html "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
March 4, 20196 yr Green space plan being created to help preserve Olentangy River watershed By Beth Burger, The Columbus Dispatch Posted: March 1, 2019 at 6:00 AM Within a couple of months, there will be a concrete plan for green space throughout the Olentangy River watershed. The watershed, which stretches from the Delaware Dam in Delaware County to the confluence of the Olentangy and Scioto rivers just north of Downtown, is a 99,500-acre area of land that drains into the Olentangy River. Only 9 percent — or 8,788 acres — is protected land. ( . . . ) Laura Fay, science committee chairwoman for the nonprofit Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed (FLOW), said it’s unclear what percentage should be protected from commercial development as an analysis continues of the area. The group is asking community members to fill out an online survey about what they would like to see in terms of green space. ... To take the survey, visit https://www.olentangywatershed.org/?p=2216. ... FLOW is also developing the plan with a variety of conservation districts and municipalities. ( . . . ) The green space plan is scheduled to be unveiled at 6:30 p.m. May 14 at the Worthington Public Library, 820 High Street. “We will be presenting the results of our GIS analysis, as of now still incomplete, and also hoping to have IMPLEMENT (a landscape architecture firm in Columbus’ Italian Village) present the results of the Olentangy River Vision Plan,” Fay said. MORE: https://www.dispatch.com/news/20190301/green-space-plan-being-created-to-help-preserve-olentangy-river-watershed MORE: https://www.thisweeknews.com/news/20190301/green-space-plan-being-created-to-help-preserve-olentangy-river-watershed
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