The Holmes County Engineer and the Holmes County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD) have teamed up to address infrastructure needs and water quality issues within the Doughty Creek watershed. The watershed encompasses most of Berlin Township, Mechanic Township, a small portion of western Clark Township, and a small portion of eastern Killbuck Township in Holmes County. Parts of Mill Creek and Clark townships in Coshocton County are also part of the watershed before the Doughty Creek drains into the Killbuck Creek near Layland.

The first step to addressing the infrastructure needs and water quality issues is to identify all the issues that are presently a problem along Doughty Creek and the many streams that flow into it. The group decided to ask for public input by creating an online survey that allows residents to identify the type of problem and pin its location with coordinates. “By filling out the survey, residents can let county officials know where erosion, streambank undercutting, flooding, log jams, lack of stream vegetation, and any other issues within the watershed may exist”, said County Engineer Chris Young. “We know where many of the issues are located near the roadways and bridges, but folks living near the streams are often in a better position to tell us about problems further back on their own private property.”

To fill out the survey, visit the Holmes County Engineer’s website at https:/holmesengineer.org before August 31st, 2024. The survey can be filled out using any computer device, but perhaps the best way to submit information is through a mobile device onsite where the problem area is located. This allows the user to not only use the GPS position to mark the problem location, but also take pictures of the problem that can be submitted along with the survey. The location, type and images of the problem areas will help county officials identify areas of real concern, focusing existing resources and providing supporting information for regional, state and federal grants to mitigate the problems. “I encourage anyone with knowledge of problems in Doughty Creek watershed to please share this information. This will help the county strategize about ways to fix the identified problems and open us up to new funding sources to address them”, stated Karen Gotter of the Holmes County Soil & Water Conservation District.

If you cannot access a computer, but have information that you would like to share, a phone call to the County Engineer (330-674-1856) or the Holmes SWCD office (330-674-2811) is welcome.