Fulton Creek watershed is a "focus watershed" in the Upper Scioto River Watershed Project area.  In addition, Fulton Creek is a "treatment watershed" in a USDA-Cooperative State Research, Education and Extention Service research project using social indicators from a 2008 farmer survey. Survey results are being used to fine-tune the conservation education and outreach components of the watershed project.  Several other research and study efforts are either beginning or are underway in Fulton Creek including stream assessments and new conservation program exploration.  For more information on new conservation program exploration see water quality trading.

Watershed Facts

• Area is approximately 38,699 acres or about 60.5 square miles.
• Includes approximately 27.0 miles of Fulton Creek and named tributaries (Elliott Run, Ash Run aka Peacock Run, and Big Run). In addition, about 5.0 miles of the Scioto River mainstem, and about 4.0 miles of Utz Run in Delaware County. (Total open watercourse miles in subwatershed 9 is about 64.3).

Legislation Introduced - April 2009

SB 110 (Niehaus) Household Sewage: To revise the Household Sewage and Small Flow On-Site Sewage Treatment Systems Law, and declare an emergency.

Legislation Introduced - April 2009

SB 100 (Grendell) Household Sewage: To revise the Household Sewage and Small Flow On-Site Sewage Treatment Systems Law, to establish the Household Sewage Treatment System Revolving Loan Program and the Household Sewage Treatment System Grant Program in the Department of Health, to make appropriations, and to declare an emergency.

If your septic system failed, or you know someone whose did, you are not alone. As a homeowner, you are responsible for maintaining your septic system. Proper septic system maintenance will help keep your system from failing and will help maintain your investment in your home. Failing septic systems can contaminate the ground water that you or your neighbors drink and can pollute nearby rivers, streams, lakes, and reservoirs. In the Upper Scioto River Watershed Project area these rivers and streams are a source of our drinking water and recreational uses.

To find more information for homeowners with septic systems visit the Ohio Department of Health at http://www.odh.ohio.gov/odhPrograms/eh/sewage/sewage1.aspx or check out this site.

An initiative to remove the lowhead dam on the Scioto River at Prospect has had a long and unsuccessful history. Over the years the dam has been an off and on topic for discussion by various government agency officials, organizations, and citizens. Recently, the City of Columbus has demonstrated an interest in undertaking the complexities of the dam decommissioning process in conjunction with the Water Beyond 2000 Upground Reservoir Project in Thompson Township in Delaware County. For more detailed information about the Water Beyond 2000 Upground Reservoir Project visit the project website

Although not official, it appears that the schedule for removal of the dam has been revised. The City of Columbus is currently in the process of obtaining a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The permit application was submitted on March 16, 2007, and proposed demolition of the Prospect Dam as mitigation for the installation of a proposed inflatable weir in the Scioto River. The City of Columbus anticipates receiving approval for the Section 404 permit later in 2008, after mitigation plans associated with disturbances to an archeological site and adverse affects on historic properties are reviewed and approved by OHPO. The City of Columbus submitted an application for a Section 401 Water Quality Certification to the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency for the project on May 3, 2007. Ohio EPA issued the Section 401 Water Quality Certification (WQC) on April 19, 2008. The WQC accepted the proposed mitigation plan, including the removal of the Prospect Dam and the creation of new off-site wetlands. The Upground Reservoirs Project is now planned to begin in the spring of 2010, and is not expected to be complete until late 2012. The Prospect Dam is still in place and will not be removed until some time in 2012. Progress is now being made toward the safe and environmentally positive removal of the structure and the restoration of the work area.