Sandusky Bay Initiative

About the Office of Coastal Management

• Coastal Zone Management Act• Grants• Regulatory Programs• Outreach and Education• Technical Assistance • Coastal Nonpoint Pollution

Control Program• Old Woman Creek – NERR –

Stewardship, Research, Education

About the Ohio Coast• 312 miles of shoreline in Ohio. • 23% of Ohio’s population (2.6

million) live in eight coastal counties. • Receives the drainage of the Lake

Erie Watershed of approximately 7.4 million acres.

Current Conditions and Areas of Focus for the Office of Coastal Management• Water Levels• Shoreline Erosion• Habitat/Coastal Wetlands• Nutrients• Public Access to the Coast• Beneficial Reuse of Dredge Material

Priority Area

Sandusky Bay

Why Sandusky Bay?

• Historical and existing coastal wetlands.

• Unique Bay system in Lake Erie.• Priority watershed for

nutrients – Annex 4• High fish abundance and

diversity. Priority fishery.• High public recreational use.• Bloom conditions start the

earliest and last the longest in Lake Erie – Planktothrix.

Sandusky Bay Initiative

WesternSandusky

Bay

EasternSandusky

Bay

Muddy Creek Bay

BackBay

64 square miles – 1 million acres agricultural landWater flows from west to east through the Bay

Water depth ranges from < 6 to 9 feetFederal navigation channel

Sandusky Bay Initiative- Primary Goals• Improve Sandusky Bay water quality by reducing nutrient

and sediment loads.• Enhance coastal wetland and fisheries habitat.• Where feasible, promote public access.• Work with local restoration partnersFocused Goals:• Coordinate and support innovative wetland and nature-based

shoreline restoration and enhancement projects.• Demonstrate the Beneficial Use of dredge material• Implement a landscape-scale approach to systematically link

projects to maximize nutrient and sediment reduction in the Bay

• A PORTFOLIO OF PROJECTS

Systems Thinking at Scale

Sandusky Bay Initiative - 2017 – Kick-off Phase I • Eight projects- $2 Million investment

(State, Federal, Local)• Initial Engineering & Design for sediment

and dredge beneficial reuse habitat sites in Sandusky Bay.

• Launch of monitoring coordination with partners and Ohio EPA.

• Initialize development of a 3D Eutrophication Model.

• Initiate the development of Strategic Plan to create a portfolio of projects based upon 2017 findings and other work.

• Initiated two coastal wetland implementation projects.

Sandusky Bay Initiative Partners

• Ohio DNR, Coastal Management• Ohio DNR, Division of Wildlife• Ohio EPA• Ohio Lake Erie Commission• City of Sandusky• Local SWCDs• USACE• NOAA• USEPA• Old Woman Creek NERR• Cedar Point• TNC• Ohio Sea Grant

• Bowling Green State University• Heidelberg University• Kent State University• Marsh Management

Associations/Conservancies• Limnotech, Tetra Tech, Biohabitats,

Baird, Foth, KS Associates, GEI• Sandusky County

Sandusky Bay Monitoring

• Bloom biomass is low light adapted.

• Water clarity is a key driver. • Flow , turbidity and wind

events are interlinked and not always driven by river discharge.

• Planktothrix and irradiance responses.

• Bi-weekly sampling throughout the Bay.

• GLOS connected buoys• Sediment samples – 8

locations• ADCP flow velocity meter

Sandusky Bay Model

Modeled TP based on Sandusky River data and Met data for 2 years. Adding year 3P may be trapped within the Bay and not loading Lake. P is not for PlanktothrixInternal Loading may be significant

415 MT 425 MT

240 MT 40 MT

Site Design - Cedar Point Causeway Wetland Restoration-Beneficial Use of Dredge Material• Design and Engineering

completed in 2018.• Phased approach to align

with dredging cycles.• Enhance fishery habitat for

Sandusky Bay• Reduce Sedimentation in

Sandusky Bay.• Maintain boat recreation

access.• Public/Private Partnership

and City of Sandusky and local stakeholders.

• Permitting and final engineering.

• Implementation 2020 (SB-1)

Prioritized soft outer edge where possibleMaximized Emergent Backwater HabitatRecreational Navigation ConsiderationsTolerate some re-suspension/loss of dredged material

Coastal Wetlands – Re-Connection• Great Lakes Restoration Initiative –

Action Plan II – Coastal Wetlands & Habitat Focus Area

• Public-Private Partnerships with local conservation organizations and soil and water district.

• Two Sites: Standing Rush and Pipe Creek

• Hydrological Connections through Nature Based Design and Hybrid adaptations.

• Reconnection of 245 acres of coastal wetlands and nearshore habitat and 1900 LF along Pipe Creek

Strategic Restoration PlanDevelop a Portfolio of Project Investments that meet cumulative benefits and are systemic whereby a series of projects will work together to achieve targets/goals.

• Identified approximately 40 projects.• Developed a site screening matrix for

initial evaluation.• Identifying the focus areas of projects

in conjunction with model and monitoring work to prioritize short-term and long-term investments.

• Focus on in-water coastal wetland designs that can improve habitat for spawning/nursery, manage internal loading and nutrient inputs.

Next Steps• Portfolio of Projects and Priority

Implementation• Model Scenarios to inform Nutrient

Budget, Design Criteria for Restoration.

• Continue to collect data to review episodic events, focus area monitoring and sediment resuspension, internal loading.

• Implementation of a variety of restoration project types both experiential and beneficial on a system-wide approach.

Sandusky Bay Initiative Contacts

• Chief Scudder Mackey – ODNR- OCM• Jim Park – ODNR –OCM• Lynn Garrity – Ohio Lake Erie Commission