The projects to be funded with assessment dollars collected by the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District are designed to ensure the safety of residents and property in the region.
Up to $135 million of the estimated $210 million to be collected over the next couple of decades from owners of property in the Muskingum River Watershed will be used to assist with repairs at four dams and one levee that are among the nation’s most critical for safety concerns. Other projects will include implementation of a more accurate flood-warning system in the watershed, dredging of reservoirs and to protect and improve flood reduction and water conservation in the 18-county MWCD region.
Members of the MWCD Board of Directors approved the updated plan during a meeting today (July 20) in New Philadelphia.
“This work plan is a very positive step in the evolution of the process to properly maintain the reservoirs and dams for present and future generations,” said John M. Hoopingarner, MWCD executive director/secretary. “The MWCD is committed to protect the public through the continued safe operation of the reservoirs and dams that have spared residents of the watershed from billions of dollars worth of potential damage from flooding and helped in economic development.”
The MWCD, a political subdivision of the state organized in 1933 to develop and implement a plan for flood reduction and water conservation in the Muskingum River Watershed. By 1938, 14 reservoirs and dams were constructed. According to the MWCD’s plan, an estimated $10.5 million annually would be generated from property owners in the MWCD region for projects to safeguard the system of reservoirs and dams originally constructed in the 1930s.
In a study of the watershed, national, state and local experts and agencies identified about $270 million worth of needed projects in the system that are the responsibility of the MWCD.
The MWCD reports that the assessment and projects, including partnering programs with the federal government and other agencies and participants, will begin as early as 2008.
A large portion of the collected assessment funds would be used to meet federal cost-share obligations for safety repairs at several dams. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), which owns and operates the dams in the Muskingum River Watershed, estimates safety costs for maintenance of four dams (Beach City, Bolivar, Dover and Mohawk) and one levee (Zoar) on a federal priority list is between $510 million to $680 million, with a federally mandated cost-share obligation from the MWCD of between $95 million to $135 million.
The MWCD manages the reservoir areas behind the dams in the Muskingum River Watershed. The reservoirs, some of which have permanent pools of water (lakes) for water conservation and recreation programs, hold floodwaters temporarily for safe release downstream during flooding conditions.
Most of the remaining work to be completed in the MWCD maintenance plan also would be cost-shared with other agencies and would lead to the protection and creation of jobs in the region.
The work plan details the estimated costs and locations for projects to be completed in many categories, including:
- Dam Safety and Dam Safety Assurance
- Flood Warning and Dam Operations System
- Debris removal in streams
- Road relocation and elevation
- Property boundary survey
- Dredging reservoirs
- Reduction of shoreline erosion
- Assist with solutions to hydrogen sulfide production at the reservoirs
- Water quality monitoring
- Correction of acid mine drainage issues
- Reservoir inspection and maintenance
Ohio law requires that conservancy districts demonstrate that the benefits resulting from the Official Plan of the MWCD will exceed the costs before a maintenance assessment may be levied. A formal benefit analysis prepared by a national watershed expert has reported that the estimated future benefits resulting from the Official Plan of the MWCD could reach as high as $2.5 billion, and up to a 16-to-1 ratio of economic return on the initial investment in specific projects. Estimated benefits accruing to date exceed that amount for flood reduction alone.
The Conservancy Court of the MWCD, which has jurisdiction over the conservancy district, will hold a session Aug. 1 to hear evidence to determine whether to confirm the appraisal of benefits in the MWCD’s plan. The Conservancy Court is comprised of one common pleas court judge from each of the 18 counties in the MWCD’s jurisdiction. A ruling by the Conservancy Court that OKs the MWCD’s appraisal of benefits will permit the MWCD Board of Directors to consider and vote on levying the assessment to begin in 2008.
The MWCD has projected that 94 percent of the estimated 500,000 parcels subject to the assessment would pay an annual fee of $12 per year.
Projected assessments can be reviewed online at the MWCD website at www.mwcd.org, and the MWCD also can be contacted toll-free at (877) 363-8500.
Because of its relationship with the USACE and the income derived primarily from the recreational use and natural resources stewardship of its lands and waters, the MWCD has not experienced the need to levy an assessment over the past 70 years. However, the rising costs associated with safety upgrades and maintenance in the system of reservoirs and dams are much more than the MWCD routinely can generate from its traditional revenue sources.
The counties wholly or partially contained in the MWCD jurisdiction are Ashland, Belmont, Carroll, Coshocton, Guernsey, Harrison, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Richland, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas, Washington and Wayne.
For more information about the MWCD, visit www.mwcd.org.
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