• Not all water that falls on your property soaks into the ground. As water flows off your property, it can wash pollutants such as soil, lawn chemicals and pet waste, into where we fish, what we drink and where we swim. The Little Miami River and Little Miami River watershed covers 11 counties: Clark, Montgomery, Madison, Greene, Warren, Butler, Clinton, Clermont, Brown, Highland and Hamilton. The watershed is composed of five major sub-watersheds. These are;
• The Upper Little Miami River watershed includes: Clark, Madison, Greene, Montgomery, Warren
• The Lower Little Miami River watershed includes: Warren, Clermont, Hamilton
• Caesar’s Creek watershed includes: Warren, Clermont, Hamilton
• Todd’s Fork watershed includes: Clermont, Clinton, Warren
• East Fork watershed includes: Warren, Clermont, Clinton, Highland, Brown

and…

Floodplain:FEMA Designated Floodplains

Floodplains consist of the land directly abutting and adjacent to designated floodways, which are our local streams and creeks. Floodplains and their streams are sensitive to their environment and can change in structure and habitat due to land development and other conditions imposed by humans, such as littering. Many neighborhoods have streams that meander through them, attracting migrating birds, deer and other native wildlife. If you are one of those lucky property owners that enjoys a back yard stream, here are a few tips to preserve and improve your stream’s health:

DON’Ts

• Don’t mow to the edge of the stream. Leave a 10’ buffer where the grass is a bit taller than the rest of your lawn. This helps to stabilize your stream bank and reduce erosion from fast moving rain water.
• Don’t dump anything in your stream, even organic matter. Yard waste is the second largest type of all discarded trash. When grass, leaves or even pet wastes are placed in a stream and decomposes, it eliminates oxygen in the water and produces a foul odor. Without oxygen, the fish, turtles and other aquatic creatures cannot survive.
• Don’t change the path of your stream. Adding or removing natural boulders or vegetation changes the nature of a stream and can cause flooding or accelerated erosion downstream on your neighbor’s property. Let nature take its course.

DO’s

• Do remove any trash from your back yard stream and teach others to do the same. Clean water is a clear choice.
• Do practice being a good steward. Caring for your back yard stream can increase your property value and provide a haven for many types of wildlife in the community, improving the quality of life for yourself and for generations to come.