Landowner’s Toolkit for Protecting the Watershed

When rain falls during a storm event, some will infiltrate into the soil and some will flow over the land as surface runoff. The amount of surface runoff versus infiltration will depend on the soil conditions, vegetation, and land use. Surface runoff causes problems for the river in the form of carrying a variety of pollutants, increasing soil erosion, and increasing flash flooding. As development increases infiltration decreases thus this toolbox is an effort to counteract the effects seen with development in a suggestion series of Best Management Practices (BMPs). These methods will help  enhance some areas of the Olentangy River and preserve others. BMPs can be implemtented on land across the watershed in a variety of ways including:

• Prairies
• Riparian Corridors
• Stormwater Ponds
• Woodlands