Project Grant 12E52611

The Ohio Department of Health was awarded a $229,369 Project Grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 under the Beach Monitoring and Notification Program Implementation Grants (CFDA 66.472). The grant will fund the recipient's efforts to monitor water quality and notify the public at designated recreational beaches in Ohio from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023.

Specifically, the grant will support the recipient's beach monitoring program for the upcoming swimming season, including meeting federal performance criteria. The program will consist of bacteriological water quality monitoring, public notification of sample results, notifying EPA of exceedances, and a public evaluation component. Upon detecting an exceedance of bacteria thresholds, the recipient will notify the public by issuing an advisory or closure. The anticipated outcomes are the submission of water quality monitoring data, documentation of public notifications, and an annual summary report. The objective is to reduce swimmer illness by informing the public of bacteria levels so they can make informed decisions about beach attendance. No subawards are included in the agreement.