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Columbus, Ohio — The House of Representatives’ plan to cut $120 million from H2Ohio, Governor Mike DeWine’s flagship water quality program, jeopardizes the state’s fragile progress in combating harmful algal blooms and safeguarding clean drinking water for millions.

Gail Hesse, Great Lakes water program director for the National Wildlife Federation said:

"Slashing funding for H2Ohio isn’t just a budget cut—it’s a gamble with Ohio’s water, health, and economy. Harmful algal blooms don’t negotiate, and they don’t take years off. Without sustained investment in proven solutions like wetland restoration and agricultural best practices, we’re inviting another crisis like Toledo’s 2014 drinking water shutdown.

These cuts are particularly short-sighted in the face of a recent Supreme Court decision removing federal protections for most wetlands alongside the cuts to the agencies that help farmers and communities address water quality. Nationwide, states are looking at H2Ohio as a model for protecting water quality through collaboration instead of regulation. Ohioans want us to double down on this popular, successful program to protect drinking water, not step back.”

H2Ohio has been a critical tool since 2019 in reducing the nutrient pollution that fuels toxic algae in Lake Erie, including the Maumee River watershed — ground zero for harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie. The program has funded thousands of nutrient management plans for agricultural fields. The plans are critical tools that identify the specific practices needed to reduce nutrient runoff. Ohio should not abandon farmers without the resources to implement these plans. We need practices on the ground to start seeing water quality improvement in Lake Erie.

For more information, see or the white paper, .