Water Quality Monitoring Program

Water quality is at the heart of what MSD does every day.

WATER QUALITY STORY MAP

Visit our interactive Water Quality Story Map to learn more about MSD's water quality program in a visual format.

MSD's Water Quality Story Map image
VIEW THE WATER QUALITY STORY MAP

MSD WATER QUALITY STUDIES

MSD monitors water quality and aquatic habit in the Mill Creek, Little Miami River, and Muddy Creek & other tributaries. MSD partners with the Midwest Biodiversity Institute (MBI) to perform comprehensive biological, chemical, and physical sampling and analysis in sampling rounds every four or five years. The results are then compared to previous studies and Ohio Water Quality Standards

The most recent (third round) of water quality sampling was conducted in 2021-2023.

The second round of sampling was conducted in 2016-2019:

The benchmarking (baseline) round of sampling was conducted in 2011-2014:

For more information about our local streams, please see our stream-specific webpages below.

Photo of a longnose gar in the Mill Creek — Longnose gar in the Mill Creek

HABITAT MITIGATION

The health of local streams isn’t just dependent on what's in the water; it's also important for fish and other aquatic organisms to have a natural habitat.

Toward that goal, MSD and the MILL CREEK ALLIANCE are working to eliminate low-head dams on the Mill Creek mainstem. LEARN MORE

Bonecrusher dam on the Mill Creek — Low-head dam on the Mill Creek. Nicknamed the "Bonecrusher," it's slated for mitigation in the near future.

HIGHLIGHT: LOWER LITTLE MIAMI RIVER

Photo of the Little Miami River at Otto Armleder Park — Lower Little Miami River at Otto Armleder Park in Linwood

On November 8, 2023, MSD hosted a public forum on water quality in the lower Little Miami River.

The forum covered the results of a 2022 biological and water quality study (bioassessment) of the lower Little Miami commissioned by MSD and performed by the Midwest Biodiversity Institute (MBI).

The results show that 90% of the lower Little Miami mainstem is maintaining exceptional warmwater habitat for aquatic life use.

The study also shows widespread impairment of E. coli throughout the mainstem and tributaries. Sources of E. coli include combined sewer overflows (CSOs), home sewage treatment systems, and animal waste.

Learn more about the Little Miami River