When rain falls on farmland in central Ohio, some of it runs off into ditches, streams and rivers, carrying nutrients and sediment with it.
During a heavy rain, it does all of that and causes flooding.
But place a wetland in the path of that flow, and the swampy area becomes nature’s sponge, holding water and releasing it slowly while also filtering pollutants and sediments so that they don’t make their way into streams and rivers. And some of that filtered water seeps into the ground to recharge aquifers that provide water for drinking and industrial purposes.
That’s the goal with a $1.2 million wetland being built on 11 acres in southwestern Licking County, thanks to a coalition of agencies and industries – and funding from several companies to cover the cost.
“This is the culmination of an effort that started in 2022 or ’23, when The Nature Conservancy heard from corporate partners who wanted to invest in water conservation,” said Adam Lehmann, Central Ohio Water Manager for The Nature Conservancy. “They said they were having difficulty finding partners, which we were able to help them with. The outcome was the Slim Creek Wetland project.”
Amazon Web Services, Google and Bath & Body Works, all of which use water and have operations in Licking County, and Ryan Companies US, a commercial development company, are providing a combined $1.2 million for the project, Lehmann said.
The goal is to divert runoff from more than 700 acres of mostly farm fields, send it through the wetland and filter out nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment.
Lehmann said it will also serve as an example of what can be accomplished with private-public relationships to build or restore wetlands to maintain or improve stream-water quality in fast-growing central Ohio.
Slim Creek flows from west of Kirkersville in southwestern Licking County to the watershed of the South Fork of the Licking River and Buckeye Lake. Day to day, most of the water flows into the South Fork, according to Kristy Hawthorne, program administrator for the Licking County Soil & Water Conservation District. During heavy rains and high-flow periods, water from Slim Creek also flows into Buckeye Lake.
She said the property for the wetland project is adjacent to the well field used by Licking County Regional Water, formerly known as the Southwest Licking Community Water and Sewer District, so the wetland will help recharge aquifers there as water is pumped to the surface for residential and commercial purposes.
“Currently, it is an undeveloped piece of property – former farmland,” said Hawthorne, whose office will administer the grant and oversee the wetland project. “The landowners are interested in conservation and are working with Licking County Soil & Water and USDA on conservation efforts. The north side of the property had been in row crops, and we are turning it into a conservation project. We’ve been working with these owners for years to find a funding source to develop this project.”
She said that “as large water users enter the watershed, it’s important for them to be cognizant of aquifer recharge to help replenish the water that is being used.”
Companies such as Amazon and Google, which have large data centers in the area, use water to cool their computer servers.
Hawthorne said the $1.2 million for this project will pay for the design and construction, as well as 10 years of water-quality and quantity monitoring.
“The value of this project is the conservation of our natural resources through partnerships to build wetlands and have a rich biodiversity project in the South Fork watershed,” she said, “and the South Fork Watershed is the one most affected by the large companies coming into our area.”
She said wetlands “provide an opportunity to cleanse water and provide flood protection – like the flooding we saw on the South Fork in April. And a wetland provides a rich diversity of wildlife and helps support a diverse wildlife population.”
Hawthorne said she is excited about the new partnership with the corporate sponsors and The Nature Conservancy, and she looks forward “to additional opportunities as development continues in Licking County – opportunities to work with companies on projects like this as they choose Licking County as a place to develop.”
In a release, Will Hewes, Water Stewardship Lead for Amazon, said “Amazon’s goal is to be a good water steward everywhere we operate and at AWS we are on a path to become water positive by 2030.”
He said it is one of more than 20 projects Amazon Web Services has invested in globally “that will return over 7 billion liters of water each year to our communities and the environment.”
Ben Townsend, Google’s Head of Infrastructure Strategy & Sustainability, said in the release that the company is “committed to our water replenishment ambition and will continue to invest in the health of watersheds in the communities where we operate.”
Central Ohio has been home to Bath & Body Works for more than 34 years, according to Jeff King, Group Vice President and Head of ESG, who said in a statement that the company is honored “to join The Nature Conservancy and other like-minded companies that are working to protect and preserve this region’s precious water resources.”
And at Ryan Companies, Joe Rozza, Chief Sustainability Officer, echoed those sentiments about a partnership to “support efforts focused on restoring and protecting vital ecosystems in ways that benefit local communities.”
Alan Miller 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.