By Sarah Hippensteel Hall, Ph.D., manager of watershed partnerships If you haven’t visited the Stillwater River firsthand, it is time you did. The Stillwater River is a special place to fish, paddle, or just enjoy some beautiful scenery. Ohio’s only National Water Trail and State Scenic River Designated as both a National Water Tra ...

By Sarah Hippensteel Hall, Ph.D., manager of watershed partnerships Before you head out on your next cycling or paddling adventure along the Great Miami, be sure to check out bike trail and river conditions. It’s always best to know before you go! The live BikeTrail and River Conditions Mapon the Great Miami Riverway website helps you ...

By Mike Ekberg, manager of water resources monitoring and analysis In Part I, we looked at what per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances, or PFAS, are and why you should care. In Part II, we looked at their presence in local drinking water. In this final post, we look at the strategies for dealing with PFAS. Per- and polyfluorinated alk ...

In Part I, we looked at what per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances, or PFAS, are and why you should care. In Part II, we look at the impact to our drinking water. Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances or PFAS are a group of manufactured chemicals widely used in consumer products such as cookware, pizza boxes, stain repellants, an ...

By Mike Ekberg, manager of water resource monitoring and analysis You've probably heard about PFAS, but what are they and why are they such a hot topic today? Amazing chemicals PFAS or per- and polyflouroalkyl substances are a group of chemicals developed in the 1940s that can repel water, dirt, and grease; tolerate high temperatures; m ...

By Sarah Hippensteel Hall, manager of watershed partnerships The Great Miami, Stillwater, and Mad rivers offer many paddling, rowing, and power boating opportunities. Our water trail maps take you to public access sites and give you safety information. And one simple act can help you have a safe summer on the water. Wear your life jacke ...

MCD has created a new series of videos about the importance of water. Many people in the Miami Valley don’t know where our water comes from, how it’s replenished or the ways water is used beyond our daily life activities. They don’t know what an aquifer is or how it works. Or how many industries rely on groundwater and how high-qual ...

By Mike Ekberg, manager of water resources monitoring and analysis The US Postal Service is often lauded for delivering the mail in all kinds of weather—rain, snow, sleet, etc. But delivering, or in our case, protecting, in bad weather is kind of our thing. And for the past two weekends, our staff took it to another level, protecting o ...

By Mike Ekberg, manager of water resources monitoring and analysis If you own a private well, do you have it tested at least annually? You should. Your family’s health depends on it. Just because your water tastes good doesn’t mean it is good. If you want to be sure your drinking water is safe, you need to have it tested. Test at l ...

MCD has released a new report on Water Stewardship that discusses the region's water challenges and how communities can take action and build resiliency to address those challenges.. Mike Ekberg, MCD manager of water resources monitoring and analysis, and Sarah Hippensteel Hall, manager of watershed partnerships, are currently visit ...

By Sarah Hippensteel Hall, Ph.D., MCD manager of watershed partnerships Water is the Rodney Dangerfield of resources. Like Dangerfield used to say, it "don’t get no respect." Let’s face it. You can’t live without water. But I’ll bet you don’t think twice when you turn on the faucet. You just expect that good quality water will ...

By Mike Ekberg, manager of water resources monitoring and analysis It’s late November, and winter 2019–2020 is right around the corner. That means it’s time to discuss the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) Winter Outlook. Before I do, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at last year’s Win ...

By Mike Ekberg, manager of water resources monitoring and analysis It’s been a rollercoaster of a year so far weather-wise. The first six months were wet, wet, wet, followed by a very dry summer. And what can we expect these last couple months of the year in the Great Miami River Watershed. A wet first half 2019 started out wet a ...

By Cory Paul, executive director, Red Cross Dayton Area Chapter The importance of being prepared has been renewed in the last several months after the Miami Valley responded to an outbreak of devastating tornadoes. The most common sentiment I heard was, "I never thought it could happen here." We’ve been reminded that "it" can happen ...

Today is national Protect Your Groundwater Day! Did you know… About 2.3 million people rely on groundwater for drinking water in our region. The local Buried Valley Aquifer holds about 1.5 trillion gallons of water. This region uses about 250 million gallons per day for everything from drinking to bathing, and cooking to irrigat ...

By Sarah Hippensteel Hall, Ph.D., manager of watershed partnerships Could your land use plan be holding back your community? It could if you’re not utilizing the regional open space plan to safeguard the aquifer’s groundwater and be prepared for the future. Planning for changing climate This region is averaging about 5 more inches ...

By Sarah Hippensteel Hall, Ph.D., manager of watershed partnerships Sometimes it feels like the Great Miami River gets all of the attention. But the Mad River, with its scenic vistas, abundant fishing and paddling, and new rock climbing access, offers fun and unique places that can’t be found on other rivers. If you have paddled on t ...

By Mike Ekberg, manager of water resources monitoring and analysis What if I told you the Great Miami River in Dayton has some of the healthiest populations of fish and macroinvertebrates (stream bugs) and provides some of the best aquatic habitat in Ohio? You probably wouldn't believe me. After all, urban rivers aren’t often associate ...

By Brenda Gibson, public relations manager How many different ways can we say it? Wearing a life jacket can save your life. We know, we know. You have all kinds of reasons why you don’t want to wear it. Here are five excuses we’ve heard for not wearing a life jacket and why they don’t hold water. I have life jackets on board. Tha ...

By Elizabeth Connor, Great Miami Riverway Sometimes the best travel plans are right in your own backyard. If you’re looking for new and exciting activities to do and places to visit this year, you won’t have to travel far. The Great Miami Riverway’s Tour de Way passport program launches on May 4. You can explore the reg ...