The Maumee RAP is a local organization set up to improve the water quality of the Maumee River and Lake Erie. It was formed in 1987 by the Ohio EPA and Federal EPA in accordance with the International Water Quality Agreement, amended in 1987 between Canada and the United States to protect the Great Lakes. The organization has undergone many different forms and now is active as a non-profit 501(c) 3 organization called Partners for Clean Streams, PCS. The Maumee RAP is also actively supported by Ohio EPA independently of PCS. The organization works with closely with governmental agencies, businesses and local partners to promote clean, safe and healthy waters in Maumee River and Lake Erie as assigned by the International Joint Commission. For more information about how the Maumee RAP was formed and what it does, please see Ohio EPA or our History of the Maumee RAP.

What is the Maumee AOC? 

The Maumee Area of Concern is one of four Areas of Concern in Ohio and one of 43 AOCs in the Great Lakes. Each Area of Concern was designated by the International Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1987. Areas of Concern generally include major municipal and industrial centers on Great Lakes rivers, harbors and connecting channels. The Maumee AOC includes drainages from Wood, Lucas and Ottawa counties. The Maumee River contributes the largest tributary load of suspended sediments and phosphorus into Lake Erie contributing to serious algal blooms. Heavy metals and organic chemical sediment contaminations are what also lead the Maumee watershed to be an Area of Concern. The Ohio EPA is very actively involved with all 4 of the AOCs in Ohio, including the Maumee AOC. For more information on AOCs please visit the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, EPA

Each Area of Concern in the Great Lakes has at least one of 14 Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs).  A BUI is a specific issue in the environment that causes problems for wildlife and humans such as health, business, recreational or aesthetic related uses. To address the Areas of Concern and remove BUIs, Remedial Action Plans (RAPs) were formed. While each RAP is set up differently, they each have three stages:

Stage 1- Identification of environmental problems and sources

Stage 2- Elimination of the pollution source to improve water quality

Stage 3- Protection of the improved state