Ohio House lawmakers voted this month to make steep cuts to the statewide water quality program, which was formed after toxins left Toledo temporarily without safe drinking water.
H2Ohio has since funded programs to prevent farm runoff, protect water supplies and other water quality solutions.
The proposed $120 million cut in the House's budget has alarmed local and regional environmental advocates and some state leaders.
House budget has different priorities
The House budget for the next two fiscal years includes investments in schools, property tax relief, and the construction of a new football stadium.
When delivering the budget bill, House Bill 96, Chair of the House Finance committee Brian Stewart said the goal was to cut waste and put fiscal responsibility at the fore. Their version also saves money from what Gov. Mike DeWine proposed, said Stewart.
“Looking at the all funds budget, House Bill 96 reduces spending by $4.4 billion compared to the executive proposal,” Stewart said.
That includes a nearly 45% cut to DeWine’s statewide water quality program, H2Ohio.
DeWine proposed $270 million for 2026 and 2027. But the House approved $150 million dollars. Not everyone was on board.
“Recent polling shows that 75% of Ohioans support programs funded by H2Ohio, yet Republicans are using this budget process to cut popular and widely-supported Ohio programs that protect the health and wellbeing of our people and our water sources,” read a statement from Ohio House Democrats.
'Really critical that we get this funding back'
H2Ohio was launched in 2019. It provides grants to replace lead pipes, reduce nutrient runoff into Lake Erie, mitigate salt pollution in Ohio waterways and more.
It's administered through the Ohio Department of Agriculture, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and Ohio Environmental Protection Agency,
The grants go to municipalities, counties and soil and water conservation districts.
The previous budget bill appropriated $270 million toward H2Ohio for 2024 and 2025.
The proposed cuts surprised Tom Zimnicki, with the regional nonprofit Alliance for the Great Lakes.
“A number of states look to the H2Ohio model, at least in terms of just the level of investment and that commitment towards water quality in the state being reflected in the budget in that way,” Zimnicki said.
H2Ohio was largely informed by an event in 2014, in which Toledo residents were left unable to drink and cook with their water due to toxins from algal blooms in Lake Erie.
Leaders from Ohio, Michigan, and Ontario, Canada created an agreement in 2015 to reduce the levels of phosphorus entering the Western Basin of Lake Erie by 40% over a 10-year period.
That goal has not yet been achieved this year.
In 2023, the Alliance published a report estimating that Ohio should actually be investing hundreds of millions of dollars more into conservation efforts to reach this goal.
“Really improving water quality – and this is true across the region – we're not going to get there with one-off projects or just one time infusions of money when some of the water quality issues that we’re facing are so massive,” Zimnicki said.
Melanie Houston, vice president of programs for the Ohio Environmental Council, said along with other organizations, they’ll work hard over the next few months to ensure the original amount approved by the governor will be restored in the Senate budget bill.
“Our rivers and our Great Lake are a source of drinking water for so many Ohioans, and you know, everyone has the right to have clean and safe drinking water in this state. And so this is just really critical that we get this funding back,” Houston said.
Trump administration also makes cuts
The Alliance and OEC are two of several organizations that sent a letter to the House this month expressing concerns about the budget for H2Ohio.
Houston said the program is all the more important now that the federal government has dialed back its water regulations. In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed the scope of the Clean Water Act, reducing the amount of wetlands protected under the law.
“Thankfully, in Ohio, we're really fortunate that we still have statewide protections for wetlands and a strong permitting program out of the Ohio EPA,” Houston said.
H2Ohio has funded 203 wetlands across the state as of February. Wetlands act as natural filters for water ways, offering flood protection and mitigating excess nutrient deposits. She said the program is also important in the midst of the Trump administration reducing funding and staffing at the U.S. EPA.
“That's gonna mean that Ohio has to invest more of its agency resources,” she said.
H2Ohio was initially envisioned to be a 10-year program. But because its funding is dependent on the state budget, which is drafted every two years, it’s subject to the whims of the legislature, Houston said.
“I think these cuts at this moment really highlight the importance of making this a more stable program through a long-term funding mechanism such as a water bond,” she said.
If funded by a bond, the proposal would be presented to Ohio voters, allowing them to approve or reject borrowing a specific amount of money to finance the program over a set period of time.
But for now, Houston emphasized that there is still time. The state Senate still must approve the budget. DeWine must sign it by June 30.
