Naya Holtz, speaking for the community development department, briefed Riverside City Council on the source-water protection program the city maintains as part of a contract with Dayton and Montgomery County Public Health.

Holtz described the Great Miami Buried Aquifer as a source aquifer supplying approximately 50% of the region’s drinking water and said about 1.6 million people rely on it. She said roughly 67% of Riverside lies within the designated source-water protection area and that groundwater flows across jurisdictional lines, which is why multiple jurisdictions cooperate on protection measures. "We have in our area a great resource, the Great Miami Buried Aquifer ... for our region, 1,600,000 people get their drinking water from there," Holtz said.

Holtz noted the program includes public education, outreach (including a children's water festival), business outreach in the protection area, and coordination with Dayton on monitoring wells and land-use oversight. She said the contract covers compensation to the city for the two-year period and that the draft contract has completed the city's legal review.

Manager said he expects to bring the final contract forward for council approval at the next meeting. Holtz also reminded council that Riverside contains Superfund or brownfield sites — Long Valley Pipe and the Danish Trade Landfill — that make protection of the aquifer especially important.

Next steps: Staff will return a finalized contract for council consideration at a future meeting and will provide required inspection and program data per the contract.