The Ottawa River, also known as Ottawa Creek, is a short river, approximately long
[U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data]
The National Map
, accessed May 19, 2011 (or about
[ if Tenmile Creek, the longest tributary, is included), in northwest ]Ohio
Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
and southeast Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
in the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. It drains an area on the Ohio-Michigan border along the eastern and northern fringes of the city of Toledo, goes through Ottawa Hills, and empties directly into Lake Erie
Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...
. It is one of two rivers in northwestern Ohio that share the same name, along with the Ottawa River
The Ottawa River (, ) is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word "to trade", as it was the major trade route of Eastern Canada at the time. For most of its length, it defines the border betw ...
that is a tributary of the Auglaize River
The Auglaize River ( Shawnee: ''Kathinakithiipi'') is a tributary of the Maumee River in northwestern Ohio in the United States. It drains a primarily rural farming area in the watershed of Lake Erie. The name of the river was derived from the ...
. The upper of the river in Michigan north of Sylvania, Ohio
Sylvania is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States. The population was 19,011 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Sylvania is a suburb of Toledo, Ohio, Toledo, and encompassed by Sylvania Township, Lucas County, Ohio, Sylvania Town ...
is called North Tenmile Creek on federal maps, while another branch rising in Fulton County, Ohio
Fulton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio west of Toledo. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,713. Its county seat and largest city is Wauseon. The county was created in 1850 with land from Henry, Lucas, and Wil ...
, is called Tenmile Creek.
North Tenmile Creek rises in extreme southeastern Michigan
Southeast Michigan, also called southeastern Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan that is home to a majority of the state's businesses and industries as well as slightly over half of the state's population, most of whom are c ...
, southwest of Ottawa Lake, approximately north of the Ohio-Michigan state line. The creek flows south across the state line to Sylvania, where it is joined by Tenmile Creek to form the Ottawa River, approximately northwest of Toledo. The river then flows southeast into western Toledo, where it turns northeast. For its lower it flows along the north side of Toledo roughly parallel to the Maumee River
The Maumee River (pronounced ) (; ) is a river running in the Midwestern United States from northeastern Indiana into northwestern Ohio and Lake Erie. It is formed at the confluence of the St. Joseph River (Maumee River), St. Joseph and St. Mar ...
, separated from it by approximately . It crosses the Michigan state line for its final , entering Little Maumee Bay on Lake Erie.
Pollutants
The water quality assessment of the lower section of the Ottawa River found many chemicals in the water with a hazard quotient greater than 1 (from highest to lowest concentration): lead
Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
, aluminum
Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
, PCBs, manganese
Manganese is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mn and atomic number 25. It is a hard, brittle, silvery metal, often found in minerals in combination with iron. Manganese was first isolated in the 1770s. It is a transition m ...
, iron
Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...
, DDT
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...
, thallium
Thallium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Tl and atomic number 81. It is a silvery-white post-transition metal that is not found free in nature. When isolated, thallium resembles tin, but discolors when exposed to air. Che ...
, selenium
Selenium is a chemical element; it has symbol (chemistry), symbol Se and atomic number 34. It has various physical appearances, including a brick-red powder, a vitreous black solid, and a grey metallic-looking form. It seldom occurs in this elem ...
, chromium
Chromium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cr and atomic number 24. It is the first element in Group 6 element, group 6. It is a steely-grey, Luster (mineralogy), lustrous, hard, and brittle transition metal.
Chromium ...
, nickel
Nickel is a chemical element; it has symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive, but large pieces are slo ...
, cadmium
Cadmium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Cd and atomic number 48. This soft, silvery-white metal is chemically similar to the two other stable metals in group 12 element, group 12, zinc and mercury (element), mercury. Like z ...
, cyanide
In chemistry, cyanide () is an inorganic chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom.
Ionic cyanides contain the cyanide anion . This a ...
, and zinc
Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...
.
The poor water quality results primarily from the river's form and structure, since it has a slow flow, and, secondly, from urban runoff
Urban runoff is surface runoff of rainwater, landscape irrigation, and car washing created by urbanization. Impervious surfaces (roads, parking lots and sidewalks) are constructed during land development. During rain, storms, and other Precipitati ...
and discharge from landfills and sewers. The City of Toledo has made it a priority to clean up the river. It has taken action to clear landfills and tributaries.
Dam removal
In 2001, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed the removal of a long-standing dam in the Ottawa Hills stretch of the river to return the waterway to its natural flow and promote fish migration. It was also mentioned that the dam was a liability for the village. One dam was removed in 2007 and another in 2020.
See also
*List of Michigan rivers
This list of Michigan rivers includes all streams designated rivers although some may be smaller than those streams designated creeks, runs, brooks, swales, cuts, bayous, outlets, inlets, drains and ditches. These terms are all in use in Michigan. ...
*List of rivers of Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the Great Lakes region of the United States. The state takes its name from the Ohio River, whose name in turn originated from the Seneca word '' ohiːyo, meaning "good river", "great river" or "large creek". The Ohi ...
References
External links
University of Toledo Presidents Commission on the River
a commission of University of Toledo
The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a Public university, public research university in Toledo, Ohio, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, ...
faculty, staff, and students working to clean up the Ottawa River.
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Rivers of Michigan
Rivers of Ohio
Tributaries of Lake Erie
Rivers of Lucas County, Ohio
Rivers of Monroe County, Michigan