WASHINGTON — Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville, joined representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other advocates Thursday for Ohio River Basin Day on Capitol Hill.  

“The Ohio River is one of the most valuable resources we have in Kentucky and in Louisville,” McGarvey said. “We get our fresh water from the Ohio River. We have commerce on the Ohio River.”  

McGarvey is co-chair of the Ohio River Basin Caucus, a bipartisan group that also includes Rep. Brett Guthrie, R-Bowling Green; Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Crescent Springs and Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Somerset.

According to the Ohio River Basin Alliance, more than 30 million people depend on the basin’s waters for drinking water, jobs and more.

“I’m a lifelong Louisvillian, and for my whole life, I’ve heard, ‘Don’t go swimming in the Ohio River,’” McGarvey said. “We’ve got to change that, and we can. We’ve seen success in other projects like this, with the Great Lakes, with the Chesapeake Bay, with other water resources around the country.”

The alliance’s restoration plan includes cleaning up pollution, updating infrastructure and mitigating flooding, but McGarvey said Congress needs to invest in the river.

“It’s the largest body of water in the country, though, that doesn’t receive a dollar in dedicated federal funding," McGarvey said. "We’re really trying to change that so that we can enjoy the Ohio River for decades to come."

McGarvey added he is working on legislation he views as a legacy project dedicated to protecting and preserving the river and expects to file it later this year.