The Licking County Soil and Water Conservation District was born 80 years ago out of a need in the agricultural community to protect soil and water health.
Kristy Hawthorne, the district program administrator, said the organization is known as “defenders of the natural resources.” Today, the conservation group is still protecting soil and water, by ensuring the large wave of development washing over Licking County is done ecologically.
Licking County Soil and Water Conservation District hosted a conversation about current projects and the state of the Raccoon Creek watershed in Alexandria on July 18.
Soil and Water is a subdivision of local government funded by the state, grant money and donations. The staff joined with the U.S. Geological Survey, Civil and Environmental Consultant and HDR, an environmental services company in Columbus, to show the community the progress they have made in assessing the watershed and the plans they have to protect it.
Hawthorne said that there is a heightened sense of concern about natural resources with all the development in Licking County, and she said it’s important for everyone to understand that there’s a local government entity that is trying to be proactive.
“We wanted to share all the great news with the community tonight,” Hawthorne said. “We wanted to be seen as a leader and being proactive to managing natural resources.”
Hawthorne said that her office has been partnering with South Licking Watershed Conservation to be proactive in making sure development is happening properly.
“We are not anti-development. We are pro-proper development,” Hawthorne said.
Deanna Bobak, a project manager for Civil and Environmental Consultants, gave a presentation about the nine-element “Nonpoint Source Implementation Strategy” (NPSIS) used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to determine all of the elements that must be involved in every project and plan for those elements to be funded.
Bobak is working on a NPSIS within Raccoon Creek to look at water quality, protect critical resources, and find out how to reduce nonpoint source pollution. A nonpoint source would not be specific pollution coming from a facility like a wastewater treatment plant, but instead, the pollution would be widely distributed.
Bobak said the Ohio EPA tests water quality approximately every 10-20 years, and the most recent water data from the Ohio EPA is from 2008. Hawthorne said that the Soil and Water District is working to revive a volunteer water-quality monitoring program called “Stream Team.” It does not meet EPA levels of monitoring, but it provides indicators of water quality.
What flows into Raccoon Creek affects all waterways downstream, including the Licking River, the Muskingum River and the Ohio River, which flows into the Mississippi River and into the Gulf of Mexico. Bobak said their work will make big progress toward state and regional goals to reduce nutrients and sediments going into the Gulf of Mexico.
“We start at these very small levels because if we can make differences at these small levels, and if everyone is doing it, we’re gonna make a difference at a larger level,” Bobak said.
Erin Bertke, a hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, discussed the water-quality testing USGS has been doing in Raccoon Creek because of the industrial and residential growth coming to the area. The testing site is on Moots Run Road next to a bridge over Raccoon Creek that is being rebuilt. The agency has been able to continue testing despite the construction.
One of the things for which USGS is testing in Racoon Creek is polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Hawthorne said PAHs are found in asphalt and the manufacturing process.
“With all of the tens of thousands of acres we’re anticipating with parking lots – (and) township roads turning into five lane highways – we figured it would be good to keep track of that,” Hawthorne said.

According to Hawthorne, right now USGS and Soil and Water are doing benchmarking in Raccoon Creek, so if pollution happens in the future, the agencies will be able to find the source and address the problem.
David Moore, a project manager for HDR, grew up hiking along and fishing in Raccoon Creek, and he is currently working on a study of flooding along the creek. The study aims to quantify flood risks by looking at rainfall amounts, debris-induced flooding, and sediment erosion. HDR is looking to find solutions to reduce the impact and consequences of flooding.
Moore set up maps of the Raccoon Creek watershed in several municipalities in Licking County. He asked meeting attendees to put a blue pin on their property if they have flooding issues, a green pin for debris or erosion issues, and a red pin if they have had no flooding issues. Licking County residents can report flooding issues on the South Licking Watershed Conservancy District website.
Moore said alternative strategies for reducing flooding could be a dam, channel improvement, bridge improvements or flood-warning systems.
“We’re using every tool in the toolbox to reduce flood risk so it could be almost anything,” said Moore.
Hawthorne said the intensity of the storms and climate changes are factors when it comes to flooding, and understanding the science behind the flooding will help mitigate it.
Caroline Zollinger writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.