Hydrologist warns Bowling Green of Maumee River 'flash drought' and water-supply risk
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Summary
Hydrologist and resident Jim Evans told council that a 2025 'flash drought' centered on the Maumee River has produced a local 7-inch rainfall deficit and falling groundwater that makes Bowling Green’s water supply increasingly vulnerable; he urged the city to pursue Lake Erie access or a municipal well field and urged restrictions on large industrial water commitments.
Jim Evans, a resident and professional hydrologist, told the Bowling Green City Council that the Maumee River Valley experienced a 2025 “flash drought” that centered the water shortage on the local watershed and has materially reduced streamflow and groundwater levels.
“Overall, the drought of 2024 was more severe… but the 2025 drought was directly centered on the Maumee River Valley,” Evans said, describing a roughly 7-inch rainfall deficit in northwestern Ohio this summer and long-term declines in river discharge. He added: “As a professional hydrologist, I have an ethical responsibility to warn city council the seriousness of the vulnerability of our water supply.”
Evans told council that short, intense rainstorms have increased in frequency and intensity while delivering little lasting recharge to groundwater. He said hydrographs for the Maumee at Waterville show sustained declines and noted that some river channels were “about 50% dry by October.”
The commenter urged the city to plan for backup water sources, offering two concrete options: develop access to a Lake Erie water supply or install a municipal well field. He also raised concerns about recent large commercial water commitments to new facilities, citing in his remarks a 1,000,000-gallons-per-day pledge to a data center and a 600,000-gpd commitment to Abbott Labs and suggested such contracts include restrictions to protect public-safety priorities during shortages.
Evans recommended that companies that use a lot of water, such as data centers, be required to install heat-recapture or reuse systems to reduce emergency demand. He warned that delays in addressing the vulnerability “will have serious repercussions for this community,” and closed by saying that the city had been fortunate to avoid a crisis this year only by “good luck.”
Council did not take any immediate formal action during the meeting in response to Evans’ comments. The municipal staff and departments later reported on infrastructure and water-service issues (including an update by the public-infrastructure director on galvanized service lines), which council may use as part of follow-up planning.