July 19, 2000
Officials go to the resource
By Vicki Hunker
Staff Writer
A canoe trip Tuesday gave state, city and county officials a chance to view the Sandusky River up close and see for themselves some of the positives and negatives of the waterway.
State Rep. Rex Damschroder, one of the trip's initiators, said the many issues pertaining to the river were the reasons he set the idea in motion.
The former landfills on CR 90 and another on the other side of Fremont, in addition to the Kirby Tire fire last August, have put the river in the news.
"If you live in Tiffin or Fremont, this is where the water comes from for drinking," Damschroder said.
Also, controversies over tearing down or repairing St. John's Dam on CR 6 south of Tiffin and Ballville Dam in Fremont have been in the forefront during the past few years.
Canoeists traveled from Heck's Bridge near Howard Collier State Nature Preserve to St. John's Dam on the first leg of the journey. After lunch, they got back in the canoes and went to the Boy Scout camp at the CR 90 landfill.
Damschroder said the river and its tributaries impact the Great Lakes and people must be aware of the importance of caring for fresh water now and for future generations.
"We have the largest supply of fresh water in the entire world right in our back yard," he said. "We have to get the word out not just in Seneca County but in all of Ohio."
He cited the wish of people in Japan recently to buy fresh water from Lake Superior to sell in Japan.
Stu Lewis, chief of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Natural Areas and Preserves, said preserving the few remaining high-quality streams in the state is the goal of DNAP.
In 1970, he said the Sandusky River was the second river in the state to be designated a state scenic river.
"There are negatives, but there's a lot more good stuff going on on the river than bad," Lewis said.
Also during lunchtime discussions at Ruffing Family Care Center near St. John's Dam, a variety of issues concerning the river were brought up.
"My first observation about the river is that the water's so silty," said Mayor Bernard Hohman. "We tend to think of it as more polluted that it is."
He said the river's appearance might be part of the reason the public doesn't use it more often recreationally.
The need for more public access to the river was another observation.
"There's no place to pull over and rest or swim," said John Bing of Tiffin Park and Recreation Board. "It tends to be a private waterway for people who live there and the campgrounds."
Pete Richards of Heidelberg College's Water Quality Lab said main use for recreation is fishing.
"It's good," he said. "I don't think it's spectacular, but it's good."
Bing suggested that more public access might become of project of the Seneca County Park District.
Hohman said the city of Tiffin recently refurbished Frost Parkway, making the river more visible. And city officials are considering creating a river access from Frost Parkway.
"The opportunity for public participation is a good thing because it gives people a chance to look at the river," said Tiffin City Administrator Wayne Stephens.
Dave Little of Ohio-American Water Co. said his group discussed runoff from agricultural fields and the impact it has on the water treatment process at the water plant.
Among the other issues discussed were water runoff from the campgrounds and houses directly into the river, the importance of educating the public about failing septic systems and encouraging farmers to put land in the Conservation Reserve Program.