Rural drainage systems are a too often forgotten and failing infrastructure. The situation leaves Ohio’s agricultural producers, rural residents and communities, as well as our economy and environment at risk. This was the conclusion of a broad based group that tackled rural drainage issues with its report that was recently presented at the 65th annual meeting of the Ohio Federation of Soil and Water Conservation Districts ( OFSWCD ). In late 2005, both the Division of Soil and Water Conservation and the OFSWCD recognized that they were among the entities that had allowed rural drainage to become a “forgotten” infrastructure. The division had lost the capital improvements funding for projects that had been appropriated in the ’70s and ’80s. The United States Department of Agriculture eliminated most financial support for drainage projects and the focus was shifted to Farm Bill conservation practices and Ohio’s agriculture pollution abatement programs.