How LEF Is Helping Stop Phosphorus Before It Reaches Lake Erie
Published: Saturday, August 8, 2026 9:00 am
Erie is excess phosphorus, especially phosphorus that leaves farm fields and moves through drainage systems into rivers, streams, and eventually the lake.
That is why the Lake Erie Foundation has been focused on practical, science-based solutions that reduce phosphorus before it reaches the water.
Our Phosphorus Runoff and P-Filter Project is one example of that work in action.
This grant-funded project is located in northwest Ohio in the Maumee River Watershed near Defiance, Ohio. The goal is direct: identify high-phosphorus fields and install targeted filter systems that remove phosphorus from runoff before it can move downstream toward Lake Erie.
These fields are often called High P Fields or Legacy Fields because they have built up high levels of phosphorus over many years. Even when better nutrient practices are used today, these fields can continue releasing phosphorus through runoff and tile drainage.
With support from agricultural partners and engineering partner Flint Run Engineering, LEF helped identify a private field where a P-filter system could make a measurable difference.
The project now includes five filters, and the early results are strong. According to LEF Vice President Matt Fisher, the five current filters are removing 95% or more of the phosphorus from the runoff they are treating.
That is a promising early signal.
Long-term monitoring will continue so LEF and its partners can better understand how these filters perform across different seasons, storm events, drainage conditions, and years of operation. That data will help determine how this model can be expanded to more High P Fields and Legacy Fields across the Maumee River Watershed.
Lake Erie’s water quality challenges are serious, but they are not unsolvable. Progress comes from targeted projects that reduce pollution at the source and create models that can be repeated across the watershed.
That is what this project is all about.
Read the full article and watch the P-Filter video:
https://lakeeriefoundation.org/phosphorus-runoff-p-filter-project/
tags: drainage, filter, grant-funded, Lake Erie, lakes, Maumee River Watershed, P-Filter, phosphorus, Project, rivers, runoff, streams, water quality
