For residents of Columbus, Ohio, Hoover Reservoir is a source of both recreation and drinking water for over half a million people. The city has made watershed management a priority to protect the area surrounding the reservoir. For residents and businesses adjacent to the reservoir banks, vegetative buffers are needed to prevent sediment and chemical runoff, and we can easily check the length of those buffers in Lens.
Through a stewardship program, landowners are provided with guidance and opportunities to manage their land to align with water protection goals. More broadly, the Big Walnut Creek watershed, in which the Hoover Reservoir is located, has conservation programs working with farmers to transition cropland to perennial vegetation and encourage cover crops, which yields benefits to both farmers and reduces sediment and fertilizer runoff into the reservoir. These vegetation changes can also be monitored in Lens.
