Boating in the Ohio River

K

keets

New Member
Jan 16, 2007
116
Ohio River Beaver co Pa
Boat Info
2006 260da
Engines
6.2l
My wife and I boat in the Ohio river. I do take a dip in the river just about everytime we go out. Can anyone give me real insight into the river quality on the Ohio. Should I be concerned about swimming in the river. I have seen a report one time that said you should avoid swimming in the river the day or two after a bad rain storm. Taking a dip while on the boat is one of the best parts of boating. Thanks keets.
 
What part of the Ohio River? I grew up waterskiing in the rivers around Pittsburgh. North on the Allegheny was pretty nice water, but the Monongahela was pretty muddy and unattractive.

In Louisivlle, we jump in occasionally, but we pay attention to recent weather. Every now and then you read stories in the papers about sewer companies dumping into the river during flood conditions. We don't let the kids in the water unless the river is at a normal stage, as indicated by the NOAA hydrographs. If the water is up, it doesn't look like something we'd want to jump into, anyway.

I've had several people refer to studies showing that the river is better than the lakes (Cumberland, Dale Hollow) with regards to fecal content at the end of the summer by a factor of 10. The story is that the river is constantly moving, whereas the lakes are more stagnant and have so many houseboats discharging. I wish I could provide a reference for that one.

The last few years have been great on the river here. Just be careful with debris walking near the shore, and don't let the kids play with rusty dipsticks or empty drums.
 
I've been boating the ohio since 1980 and specifically around mile marker 433 near the Meldahl dam since 1998. First off I think you need to consider the source. The local news stations blow everything out of proportion to dramatize their news cast. I think the river looks cleaner than it ever has. There used to a problem after heavy rainfalls because there was a mixing of storm and sewer systems causing the dumping of sewage into the river. The sanitations departments have been required to and have been working to improve their systems. I can't recall one time last summer where there was a warning about bacterial contamination of the river.

ORANSCO is responsible for monitoring and educating the public about the river quality. Their site is located at Oransco Home Page. They have the data posted there maybe you could dig it out and give it a look.
 
Kameroo said:
I've had several people refer to studies showing that the river is better than the lakes (Cumberland, Dale Hollow) with regards to fecal content at the end of the summer by a factor of 10. The story is that the river is constantly moving, whereas the lakes are more stagnant and have so many houseboats discharging. I wish I could provide a reference for that one.
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Are you saying that the house boats are aloud to discharge sewage in the lake??? I did not think you could discharge on any of the inland waters or within 3 miles of land on the coast?
 
Thanks for the info. We dock our boat on the beaver river and boat between Ambridge and Industry Pa. Pittsburgh has a triathalon which uses the river for the swimming part. They also held the bass masters here. The river has cleaned up alot since the 70s'. I guess if they can turn waste water to drinking water they can get it clean enough to swim in. The waste water is also diluted with the river water so I'm not going to worry about it.
 
chuck1 said:
Are you saying that the house boats are aloud to discharge sewage in the lake??? I did not think you could discharge on any of the inland waters or within 3 miles of land on the coast?
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Allowed to? No. Does it happen? You don't want to know. Even on the river, I don't remember ever having to wait at the pump-out area.

Keets, my folks were on the Beaver River for several years, at the former Brockway Marine. Pappan's overlooked our slip. Small world! They later moved the boat to Lake Erie. My wife and I are both from the area.
 
Kameroo, that's where I dock. It's called Jefferies Landing now. The docks all got washed away during the Ivan hurricane floods. They put in new docks last year. The docks are real nice. There is also a tropical theme bar right there also.
 
Do they have good music in the summer? Sounds like a good spot to visit after we drop off the kids at the relatives!
 
I've been an Ohio River boater for 9 years and only two new growths to report:smt038.. The reports of water quality as compared to Cumberland are accurate. People often confuse quality with clarity. The Ohio moves over 150K cfm which is a tremendous amount of water (at pool stage) so it usually looks "dirty". I wouldn't recomend drinking it but swim away. Just watch out for the Garr and blinky the three eyed carp
 
wish2fish said:
Dan,
our water east of the city is pretty clear.
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For the most part ours is as well, I can usually see my outdrive but compared to lake boating (Norris, Telico, J Percy Priest, Dale Hollow and even Cumberland) the clarity is not as good. How you lookikng today? we're at 51 but falling. are you up-river or down river from Meldahl?
 
our place is 3 miles upstream of Meldahl on Locust creek. I live just 5 miles south of downtown cincy just off I-75. It was cold all day yesterday temps were below freezing and the wind chill had to be in the teens.
 
Tell me about it, I was on duty for my 24 hour shift, it was colder than a well diggers A#@&#. Yesterday was one of the few shifts I hope not to catch a fire, any other time bring em on baby.
 
Ah, that's not cold. We were below zero with -30 windchills. Your weather sounds like short sleeve weather :grin: west of here was even colder.

-Ryan

wish2fish said:
our place is 3 miles upstream of Meldahl on Locust creek. I live just 5 miles south of downtown cincy just off I-75. It was cold all day yesterday temps were below freezing and the wind chill had to be in the teens.
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FYN409 said:
Ah, that's not cold. We were below zero with -30 windchills. Your weather sounds like short sleeve weather :grin: west of here was even colder.

-Ryan
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Yeah we got some of that colder weather over here. But in 3 months all will be forgotten. Can't wait.
 
Yes it is beautiful there and the water is clear as a bell. I have yet to overnite there. These islands are about 5mi offshore and have no real good anchorages. Its hard enough to anchor in rock,but moving to a different location at nite due to wind shift would be a chore. Too many hazards.
 
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