The Funding Gap
The Ohio River isn’t just a waterway. It’s infrastructure — and nearly 10% of the U.S. population calls the Basin home.
The Ohio River is a lifeline for more than 30 million Americans — supplying drinking water, supporting agriculture and industry, and sustaining diverse ecosystems across 14 states. Over 270 million tons of goods move through the Basin each year, supporting more than 500,000 jobs across manufacturing, agriculture, energy, and transportation. The river and its watershed touch nearly every dimension of life in the region — and what happens to the river happens to the people who live alongside it.
Despite supporting nearly 10% of the U.S. population and sustaining one of the most productive economic corridors in the country, the Ohio River is the largest river system in the U.S. without dedicated federal restoration funding. While neighboring systems like the Great Lakes ($368M) and Chesapeake Bay ($92M) receive significant annual federal investment, the Ohio River Basin receives $0 in dedicated restoration funding. Closing that gap is central to the Caucus’s mission — and to ORSANCO’s work as its scientific partner.
An ecosystem of national significance
The Ohio River Basin is one of the most biodiverse freshwater systems in the nation, home to more than 160 fish species, rare and endangered mussels, and aquatic habitats found nowhere else. Protecting that biodiversity isn’t just an environmental priority; it’s essential to the long-term health of the water supply, the fisheries, and the communities that depend on them.
Protection that doesn’t stop at state lines
When challenges arise on the Ohio River, from the 2023 East Palestine derailment to the 2015 Harmful Algal Bloom, a coordinated, science-based response makes all the difference. Protecting the Basin means having real-time monitoring, cross-state communication, and early warning systems already in place before they’re needed.
That’s where ORSANCO comes in. Governed by eight compact states, ORSANCO is the only unified, interstate platform for collecting, analyzing, and acting on water quality data across the entire Basin. From continuous pollution monitoring and emergency coordination to public data access and drinking water protection, ORSANCO delivers the science and infrastructure that keeps the river — and the communities it serves — safer.