FOSR Links - Reference Materials

Watershed Reference Materials

Stormwater Management for Property Owners
The Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District Natural Resource Conservation Service has several Fact Sheets offering tips for helping streams: Ohio Water Drainage Laws summarizes water property rights Protecting Your Stream has suggestions for streamside property owners Simple Solutions for Stream Water and Surface Drainage offer suggestions for managing rain and runoff water around your property Erosion and Sedimentation explains some problems and solutions
The EPA has a listing of green streets initiatives around the nation, an excellent source for design ideas and examples.
A simple Google Images search for stormwater management shows many methods being adopted, as well as problems being encountered.
Local Watershed Resources	Top
The Ohio Watershed Network maintains a listing of Watershed Groups in Ohio with a clickable state map listing watershed groups around Ohio.
The Central Ohio Rain Garden Initiative (CORGI) offers information, design help, and local examples of rain gardens.
The Columbus Recreation and Parks Department offers volunteer opportunities to work in the parks (not limited to working around the streams).
Educational Resources	Top
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has Water Science for Schools.
The USGS also has Learn About Water, with more technical information.
The Ohio State University Extension has the Ohio Watershed Academy - guest access allows viewing of many parts of the site with good information.
FOSR is developing a series of presentations illustrating general watershed issues, using local examples. A Stream Flow Spike in a Heavily Developed Area compares flow levels on the Olentangy during a 2-inch rain event in 24 hours. Waterborne Pollutants in the Scioto River gives examples of pollution problems, and potential solutions. Dam Flow Control on the Scioto and Olentangy Rivers shows how the dam operators can manipulate flow levels to work around stormwater surges. FOSR has created a composite image of the entire Upper Scioto basin, using GIS to combine a base topographic map and the National Hydrographic Dataset which shows the basin and sub-basin boundaries. 4.11 Mb download
Legal Reference Resources	Top
The City of Columbus Code Title 9 covers Columbus waterways including Griggs and O'Shaugnessy reservoirs.
The Ohio EPA Division of Surface Water has a list of Surface Water Laws including Ohio Revised Code Title 61 which covers water supply, sanitation, and ditches. Many environmental laws are rooted in Chapter 6111, covering water pollution control.
At the federal level, the United States Code Title 33, Chapter 26, known as the Clean Water Act sets the national law, incuding Subchapter III, Standards and Enforcement.