As we begin a new year, ORSANCO and its Foundation for Ohio River Education (FORE) are reflecting on a powerful 2025! One defined by shared science, collaboration, and commitment to protecting the Ohio River and the vast network of waterways that connect communities across the basin.
The Ohio River Basin spans nearly 205,000 square miles, linking thousands of streams and tributaries across 14 states. What happens in one part of the basin can affect water quality far downstream. In 2025, ORSANCO continued its mission to provide water quality data, science-driven information, and coordination needed to protect this shared resource for drinking water, recreation, aquatic life, and economic vitality.
Advancing ORSANCO’s Water Quality Monitoring for Protection Across the Basin
Throughout 2025, ORSANCO scientists conducted extensive water quality monitoring along the Ohio River and its tributaries. Hundreds of samples were collected to assess bacteria levels for contact recreation, monitor metals and organic compounds, and detect potential threats to drinking water supplies. ORSANCO’s real-time monitoring network remained a critical early-warning system, helping utilities and communities respond quickly to changing conditions and spill events.
By tracking water quality across state lines and throughout interconnected waterways, ORSANCO ensures that decisions are informed by basin-wide data rather than isolated snapshots, which supports coordinated protection of our shared waters.
Understanding River Health Through ORSANCO’s Biological Assessments
In 2025, ORSANCO biologists continued long-term biological monitoring throughout the basin, surveying fish communities at dozens of locations along the Ohio River system. These surveys documented tens of thousands of fish representing more than 150 species, offering valuable insight into the ecological health of the river and its connected habitats.
Because fish and aquatic life move freely through the river network, this basin-wide biological data helps scientists understand long-term trends, identify emerging concerns, and guide restoration efforts across shared waterways.
ORSANCO Collaboration and Coordination Connecting Communities to Their Rivers
Through the work of ORSANCO’s Foundation for Ohio River Education (FORE), ORSANCO played a vital role in helping communities understand how the Ohio River and its tributaries affect their daily lives. Through hands-on education programs, river-based learning experiences, and public outreach events, FORE engaged thousands of students, educators, families, and community members across the basin.
By translating complex water quality data into accessible, meaningful learning opportunities, FORE helped people see the Ohio River not just as a distant polluted waterway they can do nothing about, but as a connected system that begins in their own communities and flows far beyond state boundaries.
ORSANCO Driven Stewardship in Action Across the Basin
Community stewardship remained a cornerstone of 2025 through the Ohio River Sweep. Volunteers across the basin came together to clean up rivers, streams, and shorelines, removing hundreds of tons of litter from shared waterways. From headwater streams to the mainstem of the Ohio River, these efforts demonstrated the power of collective action and local responsibility in protecting a connected river system.
Each cleanup, no matter how small, contributed to healthier waterways downstream—reinforcing the idea that the Ohio River Basin is truly a shared responsibility.
ORSANCO Commission Working to Elevate the Ohio River on the National Stage
In 2025, ORSANCO and FORE also strengthened their roles in advancing basin-wide collaboration at the federal level. Through active engagement with the Ohio River Caucus and continued support for the advancement of the Ohio River Basin Restoration Program Act, ORSANCO provided scientific expertise and data to inform policy discussions focused on restoring and protecting shared waters.
These efforts reflect a growing recognition that the Ohio River Basin requires coordinated, long-term investment and collaboration across states, sectors, and communities.
Looking Ahead
As we move into 2026, ORSANCO and FORE remain focused on expanding access to water quality data, strengthening partnerships, supporting restoration, and deepening public understanding of the Ohio River and the interconnected waterways that define the basin.
Thank you to the partners, volunteers, educators, agencies, and community members who make this work possible. Together, we are protecting a river system that sustains us all.