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News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 20, 2001

NINE WATERSHED PROTECTION GROUPS TO RECEIVE
STREAM QUALITY MONITORING EQUIPMENT FROM ODNR

Yellow Springs company donates $13,000 in equipment for use in new program

COLUMBUS, OH -- Nine watershed protection organizations across Ohio will receive water quality monitoring equipment this spring thanks to a new grant program of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) and a contribution from Y.S.I, Inc., a water monitoring equipment manufacturer in Yellow Springs.

A total of $23,000 in equipment will go to watershed protection groups as part of ODNR's new Watershed Chemical Monitoring Grant Program. The equipment will allow programs associated with some smaller streams to begin gathering data for the first time. It will also help groups responsible for protecting some larger streams to acquire more accurate data.

Additionally, watershed protection groups will use the equipment in education activities and to develop more effective restoration plans for their individual streams and rivers.

"We thank Y.S.I. for their generosity and support," said Larry Vance, chief of ODNR's Division of Soil & Water Conservation. "This equipment will benefit watershed groups by providing accurate analysis of stream water quality, while supplying information needed for water quality improvement planning."

Y.S.I., Inc. recently donated $13,000 in photometers to ODNR. That equipment, along with $10,000 in multi-parameter probes, will be distributed to the watershed protection groups free of charge. In return, each group will provide the supplies necessary for successful testing and undergo special training in the use of the new equipment at Y.S.I., Inc.

Photometers measure the chemical content of stream water while probes measure physical properties such as conductivity, temperature and oxygen level. Together, the equipment enables stream experts to accurately analyze water samples for a wide variety of pollutants.

A list of watersheds that will benefit from new equipment under the new Watershed Chemical Monitoring Grant Program are:

  • Tiffin River and Brush Creek - 2 photometers to the Fulton County Soil & Water Conservation District
  • Sunday, Monday and Federal creeks - 1 photometer to Ohio Rural Action
  • East Fork River - 1 photometer and 1 probe to the Brown and Clermont County Soil & Water Conservation Districts
  • East Branch, Huff Run and Wills Creek - 1 photometer and 1 probe to the Tuscarawas and Guernsey County Soil & Water Conservation Districts
  • Blanchard and Auglaize rivers - 1 photometer to the Putnam County Soil & Water Conservation District
  • Darby Creek, Olentangy River, Alum Creek and Walnut Creek - 1 photometer and 1 probe to the Franklin County Soil & Water Conservation District
  • Pymatuning River - 1 photometer and 1 probe to the Trumbull County Soil & Water Conservation District
  • Scioto River - 1 photometer to the Scioto River Valley Federation
  • Bokes Creek - 1 photometer to the Union County Soil & Water Conservation District

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For Further Information Contact:

Dan Kush, ODNR Soil & Water Conservation

(614) 265-6621

-or-

Jane Beathard, ODNR Media Relations

(614) 265-6860