The Butler County Soil and Water Conservation District is currently working on a project to help restore Four Mile Creek, an important natural area for Miami University and Oxford. To complete this, it will remove a dam, located in Ruder Preserve, that currently impairs the creek’s flow and biodiversity. Additionally, the Conservation District will modify a second dam downstream that has been formed by the city’s sewer line.
Water resource specialist Ashlee Widener said that the Conservation District’s ultimate goal for the project is to restore the creek’s habitat.
“We're going to modify and hopefully improve rural stream function, improve stream erosion and improve this passage and aquatic connectivity within Four Mile Creek,” Widener said.
In 2010, the Ohio EPA conducted surveys on the area that indicated poor fish and macroinvertebrate communities, and excessive siltation. Since then, the Conservation District, along with the city of Oxford, have been working on a plan to restore the area.
Widener said that they are hoping to select the engineering firm that will assist with the project in the next few months. Then, later this year or early next year, a stakeholder meeting will take place.
“We'll have a meeting with basically anybody in the area who wants to come, so that includes students, anybody from Miami University or anybody in the area that just wants general information on what's going on,” Widener said. “We anticipate that will be a pretty big meeting.”
The project has involved the help and input of many people, including private landowners, the city of Oxford and faculty and students at Miami. Robert Bell, the director of planning, architecture, and engineering in the Physical Facilities Department at Miami, has also been involved in the project.
Bell said that Miami’s involvement in the project is due to the close proximity of the upstream dam, as well as the downstream dam caused by Oxford’s sewer line running through Miami’s property. He said that some of Miami’s natural areas will likely be impacted by the project.
“There will be a section of the path that goes behind the equestrian center that will be impacted and likely closed during the time that the work is happening,” Bell said.
Additionally, the city of Oxford has been working to coordinate this project. Community Development Director Sam Perry said that he is designated as the contact person for the city, and he will make sure the city’s assets are protected while working to modify the dam formed by Oxford’s sewer line.
Perry said that Oxford is an ideal area for this project, especially because of Miami faculty and students supporting its purpose.
“We're in a university town where there's people that can explain the reason why it's important,” he said. “So I think that makes this one a good candidate. We've had the support from folks in the sciences at the university that have been backing this for some time and, thanks to the Soil and Water Conservation District, it's now happening.”
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Currently, the engineering and construction of the project is planned to begin in 2026, and the project’s completion is planned to be by August 2027.
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