The Borough of Columbus (and future Ohio state capital) was established in 1816 along the shores of the Scioto and Olentangy Rivers. The confluence of these 2 water sources, just north of downtown, played a vital role in the region’s water access and management that continues to this day. The city of Columbus has always stood at the forefront of water treatment and management. City planners first dammed the Scioto River in 1908 with the construction of the Griggs Reservoir, and later with the O’Shaughnessy Dam in 1925. Once hailed the “best inland city reservoir and dam in the United States,” the O’Shaughnessy stored enough water to serve double the city population at the time.

After a series of typhoid outbreaks, scientists and engineers combined forces to design a water system that changed the world. Known as “The Columbus Experiment”, treatment facilities drastically improved Columbus water quality by virtually eliminating water-borne illnesses like typhoid and cholera that had plagued the city for decades. Post-World War II, the population was booming, and city planners sprang into action to meet demands of new residents; The Hoover Reservoir became the city’s largest dam structure, at 90 feet high and 83 feet wide at the base. Completed on the Big Walnut Creek in 1955, it took  5 days to fill with water.

Today, residents can still trace Columbus tap water back to Scioto River and Big Walnut Creek, as well as from ground water pumped from sand and gravel deposits of the Scioto River Valley. According to a recent Columbus Water Quality Report, all  3 sources of water have a high susceptibility to contamination from spills or releases of chemicals. Although the city provides water treatment services, residents may still encounter rusty, cloudy, or musty tap water due to storm runoff, chlorine, and other contaminants.