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Newsletter: Spring 2026
Richland Soil and Water Conservation District News – April 2026
How nutrients impact your pond.
By Matt Wallace
Springtime will bring about opportunities to make new memories with family and friends around your pond, but did you experience issues with various plants last year that you may have forgotten about? Things like watermeal (green, floating, granular plant), duck weed (small lobed floating green plants with a tiny root), cattails (green in the summer and brown in the winter extending above the waterline), or broadleaf watermilfoil (submerged leaves are finely dissected and cause the shoot to resemble the form of a raccoon tail, whereas leaves on the emergent bracts tend to be smaller and appear only in summer).
All of these plants can have the potential to provide feeding, loafing, and protective cover opportunities for waterfowl, fish, and other mammals. But like so many other things, they can become a nuisance, reduce plant biodiversity, create hypoxic zones and need to be controlled. Things like watermeal and duckweed are indicators of a high nutrient load in your pond which feed off muck in the bottom of your pond. Muck is natural and comes from dead and decaying plant material that can reduce oxygen, increase nutrients, and reduce your ponds volume. The best way to correct this is by using a live beneficial bacteria coupled with pond aeration. This will reduce the amount of muck in your pond, reduce the nutrients that cause excessive plant growth, and restore lost volume. For pond advice, give us a call.
Don’t miss these spring events!
Spring permit numbers and a stormwater exemption reminder.
By Sam Foley
There’s been a lot of activity in the stormwater permitting office to start off 2026. So far this year Richland SWCD has issued 24 residential stormwater permits and 23 residential permit exemptions. Exempted permits are projects or sites that don’t reach any of the thresholds outlined in the County’s Stormwater and Sediment Control Regulations. We have also issued 21 commercial permits, with the majority of those being small commercial site maintenance at oil and gas wells. If your project is carried over from 2025 you can expect our office to be requesting stabilization of your site this spring. Warm weather is right around the corner and there’s no better time to get some grass growing!
For this month’s stormwater minute, I wanted to briefly touch on the regulations mentioned above. In the Applicability section of the County’s regulations, it is laid out which projects will be required to adhere to these standards. Projects involving earth-disturbing activities of over 3,000 square feet or new hard surfaces of over 2,000 square feet, must obtain the stormwater permit. A development that would significantly change the use of the property (from residential to commercial, for instance) would also be applicable. Finally, any development involving earth-disturbance within 100 feet of a stream, wetland, or Special Flood Hazard Area must follow the performance standards laid out in the regulations.
Think your project might be exempt? Great, but we still need to make that call! Stop by our office and fill out an application so Zoe or I can officially confirm and sign off on your stormwater permit exemption. If you have any questions about applicability of your project, please contact our office for guidance.
First quarter updates and green car washing practices!
By Zoe Baumberger
The first quarter of 2026 focused on behind-the-scenes administrative work to prepare not only for the year ahead, but for the 2026-2030 permit term. This included submitting our annual report to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and closing out a successful 2025. Sam and I also created a map of the post-construction BMPs we’ll be inspecting this permit term. It was a bit of an undertaking and we’re proud of the result. Another key focus of Q1 was developing goals for the new permit cycle. We plan to update our outfall maps and collaborate with partner organizations to create new opportunities for public education and involvement. We have clear goals for the next permit terms and are excited to see them come to fruition.
As spring arrives washing the winter salt off your car is a good maintenance practice. However, when you wash your car in your driveway or on other impervious surfaces, soap, oil, dirt, and salt can run off into storm drains. Runoff from vehicle washes can contain high amounts of nutrients, metals, and hydrocarbons that adversely affect aquatic ecosystems. What goes down the drain goes into the environment!
So what can you do to protect local waters?
- Go to a commercial car wash facility that treats wash water
- Use a biodegradable, phosphate-free, water-based detergent
- Limit the amount of detergent used
- Wash cars in the yard
- Direct wash water to pervious areas like grass or gravel
- Use a car wash kit to protect nearby storm drains from wash water
Together we can ensure that only rain goes down the storm drain! Learn more about green vehicle maintenance and car washing here: https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-01/bmp-vehicle-maintenance-and-washing.pdf
Spring H2Ohio Update!
By Jordan Keller
2022-2025
Our initial H2Ohio contracts were completed upon verification of all practices with the latest practice for these contracts ending in March 2026. Practice completion rates and incentive payments will be calculated and shared at the 2026 Annual celebration this summer. 30 out of 33 producers re-enrolled for H2Ohio crop years 2026-2027.
2026-2027
11 Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plans (CNMPs) were developed for producers with significant livestock operations. 27 Voluntary Nutrient Management Plans (VNMPs) were developed for producers without livestock. Our 38 H2Ohio producers have signed up 31,046.1ac for crop years 2026/2027. These contracts are projected to bring in 2.98 million dollars in incentive payments to producers who complete the best management practices per the H2Ohio standards.
