The Mill Creek is continuing to rebound from decades of pollution thanks to the restoration work of local organizations.
The Mill Creek Alliance shared data and stories of the creek’s comeback — and plans for the future — at its annual presentation Wednesday night.
Executive Director Dave Schmitt says he recently met someone who commented on the “reckless optimism” of the organization’s 30 years of work on the Mill Creek.
“Reckless optimism really captures that spirit, I think, and we continue in that vein today,” Schmitt said.
The organization has seen fish, birds and beavers return to the ecosystem. Now, it wants to bring more people to the waterway.
Schmitt says the Mill Creek Alliance is expanding recreation opportunities on the Mill Creek.
“The Mill Creek Yacht Club and Mill Creek Alliance have been taking people paddling on the stream for years, but we've always had a dream of having a private canoe or paddling livery on Mill Creek,” Schmitt said. “That actually came to pass for the first time this past year, with a kayak kiosk installed at Salway [Park].”
He says another will be installed this spring near the Yellow Bridge in South Cumminsville.
The organization also is working on expanding the Mill Creek Greenway Trail and supporting the Experience Mill Creek Project to revitalize surrounding communities.
Some water quality challenges persist
Data shows water quality on Mill Creek is continuing to improve, but some challenges persist. More than 100 volunteers sampled water quality at 57 sites in the Mill Creek Watershed during the 2025 season.
Lab leader Izzy Leisgang says average conductivity levels exceeded water quality limits. Conductivity measures water's ability to pass an electrical current, and can indicate the presence of industrial runoff or road salt.
“Although we do have high conductivity levels in many areas of our watershed, we still are seeing a return of intolerant and moderately intolerant fish species that weren't there 10 years ago and 15 years ago in the early 2000s,” Leisgang said.
She says levels of total phosphorous and nitrogen also continued to be problematic. They can cause harmful algal blooms.
“Typically, in more agricultural areas, you'll see trends like this, where farmers are using fertilizers and it runs off into the streams,” Leisgang said. “But this is going to be more of a industrial urban impact within the watershed. So this is something we also intend on looking more into.”
She says overall water quality has been improving consistently over the past several years. From 2024 to 2025, E. coli levels improved significantly.
“In 2025 the Mill Creek met Ohio EPA standards for non-body contact recreation, so fishing and paddling [were] completely safe and accessible throughout the watershed,” Leisgang said.
The Mill Creek Alliance is working on creating an interactive, online dashboard to display water quality sampling results.
The organization also is considering how to adapt to impacts of climate change. The Mill Creek is experiencing both more precipitation and drought.
Read more: