A 20-year plan to ensure the continued protection of residents and property from the potential ravages of flooding and improve water quality in the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District region is moving forward.
An amendment to the Official Plan of the MWCD, the legal document that guides the mission and work of the Conservancy District, was adopted Saturday (June 11) by the MWCD Conservancy Court. As required, the plan that includes nearly $270 million worth of estimated projects and partnering ventures to be conducted in the watershed, previously was adopted by the MWCD Board of Directors.
The approval of the Official Plan by the Board and Court sets into motion the job of the MWCD to develop an assessment proposal collected from owners of property in the watershed to fund the projects. MWCD officials have said they expect to seek approval of an assessment in 2006, with collection to begin in 2007.
“The assessment is absolutely necessary to protect residents and property in the District and to improve water quality in the District,” said James L. Rozelle of Fuller, Mossbarger, Scott and May Engineers of Cincinnati, which is serving as a consultant to the MWCD. Rozelle also is the former general manager of the Miami Conservancy District in southwestern Ohio.
“Very careful thought must be given regarding the best way to put the assessment in place to ensure fairness to District residents,” Rozelle added.
Conservancy District officials said they plan to meet with elected officials and leaders in the 18-county MWCD region to discuss the watershed plan and gather input on critical projects needed in the local areas, as well as to discuss the numerous partnering opportunities that can be developed on federal, state, local and individual levels.
“The work to be done under this plan and the money generated by this assessment will serve the residents of this District for generations to come,” said John M. Hoopingarner, MWCD executive director/secretary. “Our highest priorities remain flood reduction and water quality in the Muskingum River Watershed, and this Amendment to the MWCD Official Plan addresses those needs.”
Hoopingarner discussed details about the plan during a presentation to the 18-member Court – consisting of one common pleas court judge from each of the counties in the MWCD region – during its annual meeting in the Tuscarawas County Courthouse at New Philadelphia.
The amendment to the MWCD Official Plan, a document required for conservancy districts by Ohio law, details projects in six major categories that the MWCD proposes to identify and assist in with other federal, state, local and/or private agencies:
- Upgrades to dams in the system for safety and flood protection through the expertise and planning of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which owns and operates the structures. The MWCD would provide a portion of the funding for the work – 3.45 percent – with the federal government paying for the balance. Other related projects include upgrades to culverts and bridges, raising and relocating critical roads and other infrastructure projects.
- Sediment removal through dredging operations.
- Shoreline protection to reduce erosion damage.
- Water quality improvements including by monitoring water quality, reducing pollution, addressing acid mine drainage problems, providing environmental education and improving sewer systems.
- Watershed management through planning and assistance for local interest groups and private property owners with programs to reduce sediment and pollution.
- Reservoir maintenance and inspection on a regular schedule.
Since its inception, the MWCD has operated primarily from the use of its facilities through various fee structures and the stewardship of its natural resources. However, this funding alone cannot address the large-scale needs and costs associated with the aging system, which are showing the effects of sedimentation, erosion and other issues that can have a negative impact on flood reduction and water quality benefits.
The MWCD system was the first in the United States to use permanent impoundments of water – or lakes – as part of a comprehensive flood reduction and water conservation plan.
The 14 MWCD reservoirs are Atwood in Carroll and Tuscarawas counties; Beach City in Tuscarawas County; Bolivar in Stark and Tuscarawas counties; Charles Mill in Ashland and Richland counties; Clendening in Harrison County; Dover in Tuscarawas County; Leesville in Carroll County; Mohawk in Coshocton and Knox counties; Mohicanville in Ashland and Wayne counties; Piedmont in Belmont, Guernsey and Harrison counties; Pleasant Hill in Ashland and Richland counties; Seneca in Guernsey and Noble counties; Tappan in Harrison County; and Wills Creek in Coshocton and Muskingum counties.
The 18 counties wholly or partially contained in the MWCD region are Ashland, Belmont, Carroll, Coshocton, Guernsey, Harrison, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Richland, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas, Wayne and Washington.
The MWCD, the largest of the 20 conservancy districts in the state, is believed to be the only one active district that does not collect an assessment for maintenance of its facilities. Founded in 1933 for flood reduction and water conservation in the Muskingum River Watershed – an area that stretches from Akron to Marietta and from Mansfield to eastern Harrison County – the MWCD system of 14 reservoirs has been credited by the federal government with saving property owners around $6 billion in potential flood damage and saving countless lives.
The MWCD system also has long been a source of outdoor recreation, attracting more than 5.5 million visitors annually to its 54,000 acres of property devoted to public use. However, none of the funds developed through a maintenance assessment program can be used for recreational facilities and development.
The MWCD has estimated a proposed assessment plan would cost the owners of residential and agricultural properties a total of around $12 per year, with an estimate for commercial and industrial parcels still being developed.
The assessment would generate around $12 million to $13 million annually if it is implemented, and many of the dollars will be reinvested in the Conservancy District region through partnering opportunities that will “stretch those initial dollars even further,” Hoopingarner said.
“Protecting this tremendous asset will create and protect jobs in the region and maintain the high quality of life important to each of us,” he said.
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