A Friends of the Lower Muskingum River meeting next week will be the start of developing a plan to protect the river and its tributaries.
The meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 15 at the Lowell-Adams Volunteer Fire Department, 223 Lock Street, Lowell.
The purpose of the meeting is to get public input as the group works to develop a plan for preserving and restoring the watershed, officially called a Watershed Action Plan (WAP).
"By the end of the year, I have to have the plan written and submitted to the state," explained watershed coordinator Jesse Daubert. "It's specifically for the Southern Subwatershed of the Lower Muskingum River and that's specifically a land area around the Muskingum River that's 90.1 square miles."
The Southern Subwatershed incorporates Marietta, Devola and Lowell.
He added that it's extremely important that members of the public attend the meeting and share their concerns.
"Since it's a public document, it's guided by public input. I need to know from the public what the issues are within the watershed," Daubert said.
Daubert said once completed, the watershed action plan will identify all causes and sources of pollutants to the receiving bodies of water.
"Anything this land area drains into, I'll be assessing those tributary systems, then we'll put it into a plan and it will then show possible sources and it will offer suggestions to remediate those issues," he said.
Daubert said if the plan is endorsed by state and local officials, funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Ohio EPA and Ohio Department of Natural Resources that aren't normally accessible will be made available to Friends of the Lower Muskingum River, local planners, policy makers and leaders.
The president of the Friends of the Lower Muskingum River group, Marilyn Ortt, said it could be two years from now before the plan is approved.
She, too, said it's extremely important that community members attend the meeting.
"There are people out there who have a history with the river and know what some of the problems are that wouldn't occur to anyone else," Ortt said. "We're hoping those folks will come out and give us that information."
