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MVSD seeks community input on plan to protect, improve water
BY Jordan Cohen
MINERAL RIDGE
Community and elected representatives have been asked for their help in the preparation of the Meander Creek Watershed Action Plan.
The watershed coordinator says the purpose of the plan will be to improve water quality and protect it.
“We want to get an endorsement from the state, which will improve funding opportunities for improvements [in the watershed],” said George Warnock, coordinator with the Western Reserve Land Conservancy. “Then we need officials to implement the process.”
City, county and township representatives were introduced to the plan in a meeting Tuesday evening at the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District.
The MVSD provides water to seven municipalities and 220,000 customers, including Youngstown and Niles.
The watershed, with Meander Creek at its heart, consists of an 86-square mile area in Mahoning and Trumbull counties. Warnock said updates to the watershed plan are necessary because of changes in land use.
An endorsement would have to come from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, said Mark Bergman from the EPA Division of Surface Water.
Bergman cited such areas of concern as faulty septic systems and some development that “may not be environmentally friendly.
“I’m not anti-development, but runoff problems can lead to water-quality issues,” Bergman said.
“There are some areas that should be protected.”
Ellsworth Township Trustee William Spellman told Bergman and Warnock he is concerned how a protection plan would impact farmers in his township.
“If you try to tell them what to do with their property, you’ve got a fight on your hands,” Spellman said. “People need to be part of the process so they know what they’re getting into.”
Representatives of the Land Conservancy told Spellman they would come to the townships to talk to residents about the plan. In addition, a public meeting has been scheduled for Nov. 30 at the MVSD offices. It will be the first of what is expected to be a number of public sessions.
“We anticipate some resistance, but we want to bring everyone together with this,” Warnock said.
The EPA’s Bergman warned that an endorsement is anything but a final goal for the group.
“It should serve as an everyday guide towards implementing solutions to benefit the watershed,” Bergman said.
Thomas Holloway, MVSD chief engineer, said he hopes the plan can be completed by the end of 2011.