Ohio Department of Agriculture honors Lucas County Engineer's Office for its use of conservation ditches to improve water quality
(LUCAS COUNTY, Ohio) - Ohio Department of Agriculture awarded the Lucas County Engineer’s Office the 2025 H2Ohio Partner/Business award for its implementation of conservation ditches over the past few years. The award was presented at the 2025 Ohio Federation of Soil and Water Conservation Districts Annual Partnership meeting on January 23 in Columbus.
Lucas County Engineer Mike Pniewski said his office is honored to receive the award, stating these improvements are significant investments in our communities that people see and appreciate every day and the return they provide has outweighed the cost.
“For the seven years I have been at the office, installing and implementing conservations drainage projects such as two-stage ditches and self-forming channels has resulted in significant benefits for all our residents, whether they be agricultural producers, residential housing, or industrial users that count on functional drainage to enhance their quality of life,” Pniewski said. “These projects have successful reduced flood risk and the crop and structural damages from flooding, increased channel functionality, provided habitat for aquatic species, and enhanced connectivity along the riparian corridors.”
This award is given to state and local agencies who have used H2Ohio funding to implement projects designed to address complex issues aimed at improving Ohio’s waterways. Since 2020, LCEO has completed eight conservation ditch projects, funded by various federal and state grant sources such as H2Ohio, Ohio EPA and Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) and totaling 104 square miles.
H2Ohio projects include Ford Ditch, completed in 2024, which installed 3,400 feet of a two-stage channel and floodplain, 2.8 acres of enhanced riparian area and an adjacent 10-foot buffer strip. Two-stage ditches help prevent erosion, benefit riparian and aquatic habitats and improve overall water quality by reducing nutrient runoff. The project was funded by a $636,345 grant from H2Ohio and $90,000 from LCEO for a total cost of $726,354.
Ford Ditch
Lucas County Engineer Mike Pniewski said his office is honored to receive the award, stating these improvements are significant investments in our communities that people see and appreciate every day and the return they provide has outweighed the cost.
“For the seven years I have been at the office, installing and implementing conservations drainage projects such as two-stage ditches and self-forming channels has resulted in significant benefits for all our residents, whether they be agricultural producers, residential housing, or industrial users that count on functional drainage to enhance their quality of life,” Pniewski said. “These projects have successful reduced flood risk and the crop and structural damages from flooding, increased channel functionality, provided habitat for aquatic species, and enhanced connectivity along the riparian corridors.”
This award is given to state and local agencies who have used H2Ohio funding to implement projects designed to address complex issues aimed at improving Ohio’s waterways. Since 2020, LCEO has completed eight conservation ditch projects, funded by various federal and state grant sources such as H2Ohio, Ohio EPA and Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) and totaling 104 square miles.
H2Ohio projects include Ford Ditch, completed in 2024, which installed 3,400 feet of a two-stage channel and floodplain, 2.8 acres of enhanced riparian area and an adjacent 10-foot buffer strip. Two-stage ditches help prevent erosion, benefit riparian and aquatic habitats and improve overall water quality by reducing nutrient runoff. The project was funded by a $636,345 grant from H2Ohio and $90,000 from LCEO for a total cost of $726,354.
Ford Ditch
Another H2Ohio project began in 2024 with a two-stage restoration for Bench Ditch and Hagerman Ditch. Construction began in late 2024 and is anticipated to be completed by summer 2025. The project will install 7,360 feet of a two-stage channel and floodplain, an enhanced riparian area and an adjacent 10-foot buffer strip. This project is fully funded with a $1.2 million grant from H2Ohio.
Bench-Hagerman Two-Stage Ditch Restoration
Bench-Hagerman Two-Stage Ditch Restoration
LCEO applied and successfully received grant funding for two additional two-stage conservation ditch projects from GLRI to be designed and completed by the end of 2026. In total, LCEO’s 10 grant-funded projects since 2020 involve 36,484 linear feet or seven miles of two-stage conservation ditch projects and have utilized $4,465.991 of GLRI, ODA H2Ohio, and Ohio EPA grant funding. Pniewski said his office continues to leverage local dollars collected through a stormwater utility fee with both federal and states sources to have the biggest impact for the community.
“As we have built more of these improvements at scale, we have found that people are seeing the benefits they provide and are wanting more and more of them,” Pniewski said. “Without the support of our State and Federal partners such as the Ohio Department of Agriculture, H2Ohio and the Ohio and U.S. Environmental Protection Agencies, we would not have been able to make such a marked, demonstrable improvement in water quality, enhanced habitat, and flood risk and we are already seeing dividends that our citizens are noticing and appreciating by asking when more will be built.”
The Lucas County Engineer’s Office has applied an additional $989,886 in GLRI and ODA H2Ohio grant funds in 2024 to construct 1,570 linear feet of two-stage ditch and 6,150 linear feet of self-forming conservation ditch respectively in the future.
For more detailed information on each of the eight completed or under-construction conservation ditch projects, see the full press release below.
“As we have built more of these improvements at scale, we have found that people are seeing the benefits they provide and are wanting more and more of them,” Pniewski said. “Without the support of our State and Federal partners such as the Ohio Department of Agriculture, H2Ohio and the Ohio and U.S. Environmental Protection Agencies, we would not have been able to make such a marked, demonstrable improvement in water quality, enhanced habitat, and flood risk and we are already seeing dividends that our citizens are noticing and appreciating by asking when more will be built.”
The Lucas County Engineer’s Office has applied an additional $989,886 in GLRI and ODA H2Ohio grant funds in 2024 to construct 1,570 linear feet of two-stage ditch and 6,150 linear feet of self-forming conservation ditch respectively in the future.
For more detailed information on each of the eight completed or under-construction conservation ditch projects, see the full press release below.