Sharing a Vision of Safe and Clean Waters
Our Mission
The Headwaters to the Ohio Water Network connects diverse water stakeholders to develop and pursue a shared vision and attract increased resources for safe and clean water.
Welcome to the Headwaters to the Ohio Water Network (H2O), a coalition of organizations working to improve water quality and access in the Upper Ohio River Basin. We promote sustainable water management practices and ensure that everyone in the region has access to clean, safe, and affordable water. With a focus on collaboration, knowledge-sharing, and community engagement, we are working to address the key water-related challenges facing our region, from climate change and stormwater runoff to agricultural practices and public awareness. Join us in our efforts to protect and preserve our most vital natural resource - water.
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Our Latest News
Data Centers Could Cool on Dirty, Salty Water Instead of Rivers, Study Finds
A University of Texas study finds that desalination could turn brackish groundwater and oil and gas wastewater into data center cooling water, keeping server farms off freshwater, with technology we already have.
Washington Starts Clearing Its Flood-Clogged Streams, by Hand and by the Rules
After four flash floods this summer, the city of Washington is starting a cleanup of debris and sediment clogging culverts and streams across the city, done mostly by hand and under DEP’s rules to protect the streams.
A Tree Has Two Jobs. A New Webinar Series Covers Both.
River Network and Anthropocene Alliance are hosting five weekly webinars on climate resilience, from grant monitoring to buffer zones, every Thursday at 3 p.m. ET from October 22 through November 19.
Stormwater Fees on Trial: Williamsport and Pittsburgh Cases Could Settle the Tax Question
After the Supreme Court’s West Chester ruling, two cases involving the Williamsport Sanitary Authority and PWSA will decide whether Pennsylvania authorities can keep charging stormwater fees.
Mountain Watershed Association: DEP’s Landfill Leachate Study Raises More Questions Than It Answers
MWA’s review of DEP’s radium-in-leachate study argues the agency used the wrong standard, averaged away six exceedances, and skipped a real risk assessment. Three of the landfills sit in the Yough watershed.
Records Show Mingo County’s Orange Creek Was Mine Drainage, Not Railroad Mud
Residents were told Rockhouse Fork turned orange from railroad ditch work. FOIA records show an abandoned mine was flagged to the state spill hotline before the public got that story.
PA DEP Environmental Education Grants Are Open Through November 13
About $420,000 is available in DEP’s 2027 Environmental Education Grants round. Watershed groups, schools, and conservation districts can apply through November 13, 2026.
The Federal Water Funding Surge Is Over, and a 60 Percent Drop May Be Next
The infrastructure law’s $43.4 billion supplement to the State Revolving Funds expired September 30. Analysts project federal water funding could fall 60 percent next year, and small basin systems feel it first.
Wheeling Shows Its Homework: What a Source Water Protection Plan Looks Like in Practice
Wheeling’s three-year update of its Source Water Protection Plan maps hundreds of tanks and facilities above its Ohio River intake. It is a model worth copying anywhere in the basin.
Data Centers Keep Coming, and Nobody Is Adding Up the Water
New WITF reporting shows AI data centers draw on Pennsylvania water twice, for cooling and for power, while a Bucknell watershed scientist warns no agency reviews the cumulative toll on any one watershed.
Too Clean to Be Healthy: How Zebra Mussels Rewired Lake Erie
A short explainer video shows how billions of zebra mussels made Lake Erie twice as clear while starving its food web, fouling its beaches with algae, and opening a path for bird-killing botulism.
Monarch Data Center’s State Waters Permits Are Open for Comment Through October 26
WVDEP is taking comments through October 26 on two State Waters Permit applications for the Monarch campus near Point Pleasant, covering roughly 28 acres of wetlands and nearly three miles of streams.
