The Mill Creek is a stream in southwest Ohio. It flows 26 miles southwest and south from its headwaters in Union Township of Butler County through central Hamilton County and the heart of Cincinnati, Ohio into the Ohio River just west of downtown.

The stream, its water power and valley, were important to the development of Cincinnati. Then, for a time, the steep hillsides that surround it limited expansion, and gave impetus to the free growth of surrounding communities that were over that barrier. Finally, inclined railed lifts solved the problem, before trucks and automobiles eliminated it.

Pollution problem

Over a half million people live in its drainage basin. Canalization, by the Army Corp of Engineers has added to sewage and run off problem caused by intense urbanization. Industrial plants line its banks, including Procter & Gamble, Formica, and the Ford Motor Company. Its drainage comes from over 30 governments (towns, cities, and townships), and includes five superfund sites.

In 1992 the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency conducted a water quality and biological survey of Mill Creek. They found high levels of lead and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in creek sediments, aquatic organisms were found to be pollution tolerant and high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) were found in fish tissue. Canalisation to prevent flooding was shown to have adversely impacted habitat for aquatic life.

Reference

• Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Mill Creek, 2004

External links

• Mill Creek Restoration Project