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History The Hamilton County Storm Water District was established in response to newly promulgated legislation that is an extension of the 1972 Clean Water Act. As end-of-pipe, point sources of pollution were reduced by the original Act, it became apparent that other nonpoint pollution sources that include sediment, fertilizers, pesticides, urban runoff, stream chanelization and land disposal were significantly degrading our water quality and were in fact, responsible for over half of the pollutants in our streams. The USEPA created legislation known as the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Phase II Final Rule that required more that 480 local governments across Ohio to apply for a storm water permit by March 10, 2003 and develop a storm water management plan to reduce these nonpoint sources of pollution. In Hamilton County, the local jurisdictions took this opportunity to work together to create a county-wide storm water district. Our waterways know no jurisdictional boundaries and if we are to truly address water quality; our waterways must be viewed as a whole system. Fee structure One benefit of having a county-wide storm water district is the economy of scale. The District is administered by the County Engineer and draws on the knowledge and talents of existing county departments. Since the County Commissioners deemed Storm Water as a priority in 1990, our District had a head start in dealing with the requirements of this new permit. Here is a comparison of our Storm Water Fee other regional districts and then nationally: * Hamilton County = $4.54 per year per SFU * Maumee River Regional Storm Water District = $5 – 10 per year per ERU * City of Loveland = $16 per year per ERU (Phase II only) * Forest Park = $36 per year per ERU * National AFSMA = $8.28 per year per household What am I getting for my fee? The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) NPDES Phase II permit requires six minimum control measures to improve our water quality. 1. Public Information & Education – The biggest challenge is to instill the fact that individual action and choices have an impact on water quality. When you consider our current population is approximately 814,000, you can imagine the cumulative affect of one bad action. The Hamilton County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) is responsible for this component. Actions include the development of a general brochure, a water quality curriculum for grades K-12, creation of billboard and radio ads, free classroom and community education programs and a web based library of education materials. See the website at http://www.hamilton-co.org/stormwater/ To arrange an educational program, call 772-7645. 2. Public Involvement and Participation – The Hamilton County General Health District (GHD) staffs a hotline for stormwater pollution complaints – 946-7000. Hamilton Co. SWCD coordinates a storm drain labeling and watershed signage program. They also offer mini-grants to local watershed groups for education programs. Call 772-7645 to become active in any one of these programs. 3. Illicit Discharge Detection & Elimination – The Hamilton County GHD is assisting the District by mapping the location of outfalls to Hamilton County storm water system including rivers, creeks, and streams. The Hamilton County GHD is also performing dry weather screening and sampling of these located outfalls to determine if there are any illicit substances being discharged. The dry weather screening allows priority areas to be identified and ultimately each detected illicit discharge to be tracked to its source and eliminated. 4. Construction Site Runoff Control – Sediment is our #1 water pollutant by volume. The Hamilton County SWCD along with the SW District Support Staff has developed erosion and sediment control regulations and an ordinance that cover site plan review & construction site inspection involving land disturbances of one acre and larger. The ordinance and regulations are being reviewed by the Prosecutor’s office and will be implemented this year. The SWCD will train local government employees on how to implement these regulations. 5. Post Construction - The Storm Water District Support Staff and Camp Dresser & McKee Inc. (CDM) have worked closely with the Hamilton County Department of Public Works to develop a storm water quality ordinance and rules and regulations that compliment the existing rules and regulations governing storm water quantity site design considerations. These rules and regulations will be reviewed by the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office and will be implemented this year. 6. Pollution Prevention & Good Housekeeping – The SW District Technical Advisory Committee and CDM Consultants have worked closely to develop a water quality maintenance management plan for local governments. This plan is intended to provide guidance regarding the best management practices that need to be utilized in everyday governmental operations in order to minimize the potential for stormwater pollution, and improve the water quality of the rivers, streams, and creeks. Storm Water District Oversight Board meetings are held monthly. See the Storm Water District website for meeting date and location or call 946-4250.  Hamilton County Soil & Water conservation District 29 Triangle Park Drive, CIncinnati, Ohio 45246 Monday, March 21, 2005 For Immediate Release Spring Means Gardening!!! (so test your soil now) As you peruse the gardening catalogs and plan your vegetable and flowerbeds, remember, the best way to ensure gardening success is to provide good soil quality for your plants. The Hamilton County SWCD will now be offering soil fertility testing through Michigan State University. The test results will provide you with a soil amendment recipe to ensure you get the most out of your plant investment. Soil testing boxes and instructions can be obtained from the SWCD office for $10.00/box or $12.00 if mailed to you. You can stop by the office at 29 Triangle Park Drive, any weekday from 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. or call the office at 772-7645. This is a small investment when you consider the cost of plants and fertilizer. You will also be doing you part in reducing the use of unnecessary chemicals. Contact: Holly Utrata-Halcomb, Administrator Hamilton County Soil & Water Conservation District Telephone - 513-772-7645 e-mail – holly.utrata-halcomb@hamilton-co.org Non Point Source Pollution & You by Holly Utrata-Halcomb, District Administrator Who Me? Couldn’t Be! Did you know that every single person contributes to water quality impairment? Now, do not despair or get defensive. This simple truth is due to our being alive; which beats the alternative! Let me explain. The products and conveniences we use have consequences. Your automobile, for instance requires lubricants, oil and fluids to operate properly. If these fluids leak on hard, impermeable surfaces, eventually they will end up in our waterways via storm water or melting snow. As spring approaches we can hardly wait to see the grass turn green. To prevent weeds and promote a healthy lawn most of us will apply fertilizer and pesticides on our lawns throughout the spring, summer and fall. Yesterday I got a flyer from a lawn company suggesting 8 applications over the growing season. Did you know that the average homeowner applies 7 times more chemicals to their lawn than a farmer does per acre? Again, if a product is applied at too high of a rate the excess will end up in our waterways. This same scenario goes for household chemicals, pet waste, yard waste and any other product that could end up on the ground. The good news is that as human beings we have choices. We can follow directions when using chemicals and dispose of their containers properly. We can recycle automotive fluids and other household items and containers; we can pick up after our pets and send the waste to the landfill. We can also keep our septic tanks and automobiles in good repair. Does all this sound too simple? Consider that Hamilton County has a population of 823,471. Consider if every person did just one of the above items, how that would influence the quality of our storm water run- off. The Hamilton County Storm Water District was established in March 2003 in answer to the Phase II Clean Water Act. This is in response to studies that show over half of the water pollution comes from disperse sources (Non Point Sources) and are washed into our waterways via storm water or melting snow. Yes, you can make a difference. To find out more call our District Office at 772-7645. To report storm water quality problems call the Storm Water District’s hotline @946-7000. Hamilton County Soil & Water conservation District 29 Triangle Park Drive, CIncinnati, Ohio 45246 Monday, March 21, 2005 For Immediate Release Spring Means Gardening!!! (so test your soil now) As you peruse the gardening catalogs and plan your vegetable and flowerbeds, remember, the best way to ensure gardening success is to provide good soil quality for your plants. The Hamilton County SWCD will now be offering soil fertility testing through Michigan State University. The test results will provide you with a soil amendment recipe to ensure you get the most out of your plant investment. Soil testing boxes and instructions can be obtained from the SWCD office for $10.00/box or $12.00 if mailed to you. You can stop by the office at 29 Triangle Park Drive, any weekday from 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. or call the office at 772-7645. This is a small investment when you consider the cost of plants and fertilizer. You will also be doing you part in reducing the use of unnecessary chemicals. Contact: Holly Utrata-Halcomb, Administrator Hamilton County Soil & Water Conservation District Telephone - 513-772-7645 e-mail – holly.utrata-halcomb@hamilton-co.org Managing Storm Water Quantity for Water Quality The Hamilton, Butler, Clermont and Warren SWCD’s are planning a seminar that will be offered in two-day topical segment. Day 1: Essential Hydrology for Storm Water Management .Thursday-April 28, 2005. 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Indiana Wesleyan University, 9286 Schulze Drive at Union Center Boulevard in West Chester, Ohio. Day 2: Designing Storm Water Detention Basins for Water Quality. Friday-April 29, 2005, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Indiana Wesleyan University. Early registration is $120/day by 4/15/05 or $150/day after that date. Please call the District office at 513-772-7645 for a brochure and registration. Pond Clinics The Soil and Water Conservation Districts of Hamilton and Butler Counties are sponsoring a Pond Clinic, Wednesday, April 6, 2005, and Wednesday, June1, 2005, along with the Fairfield Parks and Recreation Department. It will be held from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. at the Fairfield Golf Course at 2200 John Gray Road, Fairfield, Ohio. There is no charge for the Pond Clinic. Experts will be on hand to answer all questions about pond construction, fish stocking, aquatic weed control, mosquito control and West Nile Virus and geese management. Special guests will be Jim Reynolds of Jones Fish Hatchery and George Cummings of the Natural Resources Conservation Service. There is a 2nd Pond Clinic on Wednesday, June 1, 2005, same time—same place. For additional information or directions, call the Hamilton County SWCD office at 513-772-7645 or the Butler County SWCD office at 513-887-3720. Hope to see you there!! Here’s the Dirt on Earthworks! Dangers of Uncontrolled Fill on Hillsides Mohammad M. Islam PE – Hamilton County Dept. of Public Works If your house is on a hillside without any useable backyard or you are building an in-ground pool and have excess soil to dispose of, be careful of what you do. Dumping soil on hillsides to create a level yard or stockpiling excess soil on an adjacent vacant lot seems like a good idea, but sooner or later these fills can become a nightmare and financially devastating for the property owners. The photos indicate recent events where the property owners dumped uncontrolled fills on hillside. The landslides on these properties caused immense damage to the houses and adjacent properties. If you are the property owner and the landslide occurs on your property, and/or is due to your actions, the property owner is liable for damages to adjacent public and private properties affected by the landslide. The hillsides of Hamilton County contain Eden soils and are prone to landslide. Any additional surcharge or weight on these soils will make them unstable, especially during winter months and rain events when the soils are wet and saturated. Any cut or fill on or near a hillside should be properly designed by a professional engineer. Before placing any fill on a hillside the area should be cleared of vegetation and the fill should be properly benched and compacted to prevent any movement of the fills. If you want a level backyard or want to get rid of excess soils call Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District - 772-7645 or Hamilton County Public Works - 946-4750 for information relating to the stability of the hillside and your proposed project. EROSION & SEDIMENT CONTROL EXPO The Soil & Water Conservation Districts of Southwest Ohio are sponsoring a one day Erosion and Sediment Control Expo on June 7, 2005, at the Warren County Career Center from 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The field day will include speakers from the Ohio EPA, The Natural Resources Conservation Service, The US Army Corps of Engineers and a representative from the development community to discuss and answer questions regarding the passage of House Bill 411 and its impacts on the construction industry, The Ohio EPA and US Army Corps of Engineers permitting process for construction along streams and a case study of a developers efforts regarding compliance in Warren County. Participants will also be able to interface with vendors of current erosion and sediment control products involving onsite product demonstrations. For additional information or if you are interested in participating or showcasing your company’s current product during the field day, contact the Hamilton County SWCD at 513-772-7645. Hope you can join us!! Photo Contest The Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District will be holding a 2005 Amateur Photo Contest. The theme is “Oh Beautiful Hamilton County”. There is a 1st and 2nd place Junior category (ages 14-19 years old) and a Senior category (ages 19 and older). Call the District office at 772-7645 for rules and guidelines. Deadline for entries is August 29, 2005. 1st prize in both categories is $100.00 and 2nd prize in both categories is $50.00. Thanks to The Brinkman Group, LTD for sponsoring this contest! Fish Sale! All fish provided by Jones Fish Hatcheries, Inc. 513-561-2615 1-800-662-FISH DATE: Saturday, May 14, 2005 TIME & LOCATION: All orders can be picked up from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon at: Hamilton County SWCD 29 Triangle Park Drive, Suite 2901 Cincinnati, Ohio 45246-3411 HOW TO ORDER: Please contact Kim at 513-561-2615 or email: Kim@jonesfish.com to place an order. To get a FREE full-color catalog with fish pricing and types of fish and pond accessories available call the toll free number above. There is no minimum order requirements. All fish will be double bagged to be easily transported to your pond location. Information is also available at: www.jonesfish.com IMPORTANT: Please mention you are ordering thru the Hamilton SWCD. DATES TO REMEMBER April 6, 2005 Pond Clinic - Sponsored by the Hamilton & Butler SWCD’s & Fairfield Parks & Recreation Department. 6:30 - 9:00 p.m. No charge. April 16, 2005 Earth Day at Sawyer Point - Look for our booth. April 28, 2005 Earth Jam at Cincinnati State & Technical College. 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Look for our booth. April 28 & 29, 2005 Managing Storm Water Quantity for Water Quality. A two day workshop at the Indiana Wesleyan University in West Chester, Ohio. Call 772-7645 for more information and/or a brochure. May 14, 2005 Fish Sale. Pick up day at the District office for fish. Deadline to order fish is May 11, 2005. June 7, 2005 Erosion & Sediment Control Expo. 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Warren County Career Center. For additional information call the office 513-772-7645. June 16, 2005 - Little Miami River Partnership Water Quality 2005 Symposium. Mason Municipal Building. 9 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Call Stephanie Hines at 732-7070 for more information. June 18, 2005 - Ohio River Sweep. 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Call Jeanne Ison at 1-800-359-3977 for information.  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