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
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.
Waste and Watersheds Night Leads the Final Three Eco Scouts Workshops in McKeesport
Eco Scouts, the Thursday night workshop series from the Pennsylvania Resources Council and Allegheny CleanWays, has three sessions left in McKeesport, including an October 29 night on how everyday waste reaches local rivers and drinking water.
Water Bills Jumped 62 Percent in a Decade, and Pennsylvania Is Among the Hardest Hit
A new Food and Water Watch report finds US household water bills rose 62 percent over the past decade, faster than inflation, groceries, and incomes, with Pittsburgh and Pennsylvania among the most expensive systems in the country.
Water Is Common Ground: A Playbook for Talking About It This Election Season
Water Hub’s new Water Communications Playbook makes the case that water is one of the few issues still crossing party lines, and offers advocates a plain-language guide to talking about safe, affordable water heading into the midterms.
A Free Briefing on What the Public Really Thinks About Data Centers
The Environmental Polling Consortium is hosting a free online poll briefing on data centers on Wednesday, October 14 at 3 p.m. ET, with the latest public opinion and practical messaging advice for advocates. It will be recorded.
