November 17 Conservation Chat to Focus on Katotawa Creek

It’s the smallest of the Jerome Fork’s watersheds, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important. On November 17, Ashland Soil and Water Conservation District will be hosting a Conservation Chat at the Polk Fire Department focusing on Caring for Katotawa Creek watershed.

“Despite it's small size, the Katotawa Creek watershed actually serves at part of the headwaters of the Mississippi River, so what happens here in our local communities has a big impact downstream,” said Erica White, Ashland SWCD technician and Jerome Fork watershed coordinator. “Right now, the data shows that the Katotawa is considered impaired for recreational use because of bacteria levels in the water, and that is an important factor to address because if you look downstream, the Katotawa’s waters flow into the Mohican River that is used by thousands to kayak and canoe each year.”

Ashland SWCD is operating on it’s third and final year of a grant from the Ohio Department of Agriculture focused on improving the water quality of the Jerome Fork of the Mohican River. One key aspect of doing that is doing watershed planning, one small watershed at a time. 

In 2019, the district tackled planning for the Lang Creek watershed, which included the city of Ashland, and in 2020 they tackled the job of assessing the needs of a much more rural watershed, Orange Creek. This year, they are tackling the watershed needs of Katotawa Creek Watershed.

“One of the first steps in the nine-element planning process is receiving community input and identifying projects within the watershed that can improve water quality,” White said. “The planning phase of the plan is the most important in the entire process. We know water quality improvements start at the local level, and there is not anyone who knows this watershed better than its community members.”

In addition to this community meeting, the district has begun distributing surveys both through the mail and online to begin to assess what community members identify as  sources of pollution and impairment in the Katotawa Creek watershed. Once those needs are identified, staff will begin working with the community to prioritize tools and practices that can be used to improve our water quality on a local level.

“We want to hear what you see in the Katotawa Creek community and what you think is impacting water quality,” White said. “We want to learn more on how we can come up with solutions to fix these problems directly from community members. During the meeting, we will be playing an interactive watershed planning game to learn more about how the watershed works and functions as we prioritize issues. We want to include anyone who lives, works, or is involved in the watershed or wants to learn more about watershed planning should attend this meeting.”

White said It’s important for community members to understand that this planning and prioritization process is not a stream or a river clean up project for Katotawa Creek - it’s about identifying and prioritizing needs on a watershed scale. To do that, the community first has to identify what a watershed is.

A watershed is a land area that channels rainfall and snowmelt to creeks, streams and rivers - and then eventually to outflow points such as resevoirs, lakes, bays or the ocean. So even though water is a key part of a watershed, the watershed is actually the land, not the water body.

The Jerome Fork is a natural corridor through the center of our county. Nearly half of the county’s land actually drains into the Jerome Fork. Katotawa Creek is one of the six sub watersheds that make up the larger Jerome Fork watershed and runs from just south of Polk to below Interstate 71, with the western boundary near the Ashland County airport and the eastern boundary hear the intersection of Township Road 1150 and Interstate 71.

White invites all Ashland County residents to join the discussion and make their voices and ideas heard by visiting Ashland SWCD’s website at www.ashlandswcd.com to complete a survey sharing your concerns and input about the Katotawa Creek watershed. Hard copies of the survey are also available by calling the office at 419-281-7645.

Community members are asked to RSVP if possible for the meeting; light refreshments will be provided.