The Ohio River Ecological Research Program (ORERP): History and Accomplishments

Abstract

The Ohio River Ecological Research Program (ORERP), sponsored by multiple power plants along the river's main stem, was in existence for 50 years. Its goals were to collect fish community data to evaluate possible impacts to Ohio River fish communities because of either power plant discharges (i.e., thermal effects) or cooling water intakes. Studies by the ORERP have shown that thermal avoidance of discharge areas often occurs during the summer, but this avoidance is temporary and reversible, and long‐term disruptions of the fish communities have not been detected. Impingement studies conducted at 13 plants from 2005 to 2007 showed that impingement was highly episodic and dominated by clupeids and Freshwater Drum Aplodinotus grunniens. Impinged fish were mainly (>90%) young of the year; as a result, impingement numbers strongly reflected year‐class strength. Entrainment of ichthyoplankton was conducted under the ORERP at seven plants in 2015 and 2016. Annual entrainment estimates ranged from 43 million to 3.5 billion (i.e., 3.5 × 109) ichthyoplankton depending on the plant. The principal benefit of this collaborative effort was that these data allowed the sponsoring facilities and others to access an extensive database upon which fact‐based regulatory, resource management, and plant operating decisions could be based. Most importantly, the ORERP is a collaborative model for private and public organizations to collect, share, and analyze data and make resource management decisions for a large, multi‐use aquatic resource.