The 7th high water event of the year was recorded April 11-15 when as much as 2.5 inches of rain fell across Miami Valley. By Wednesday evening four of the five Miami Conservancy District dams were storing water that would otherwise pose a flood risk to cities along the Great Miami River.
The dams at Germantown, Englewood, Lockington, and Taylorsville stored floodwaters in the upstream storage basins. The “first action stage” was reached at the levees in the cities of Dayton, West Carrollton, Franklin, Middletown, and Hamilton. The first action is more frequent monitoring of river levels, groundwater levels, floodgates, and other critical infrastructure. If water continues to rise, action may be required to close floodgates or floodwalls.
Peak water storage was 16,495 acre-feet or about 5.4 billion gallons. This event ranks 126th of the largest Miami Conservancy District storage events. Englewood Dam is still storing water as of Monday, April 15.
The Miami Conservancy District has seen an increase of 228% for storage events over the last several decades. Put simply, the Miami Conservancy District’s dams and levees are holding back a lot more water. This increase, coupled with the age of the critical infrastructure, was a factor in the Conservancy Court’s approval of a new capital assessment in February.
Properties that flooded in 1913 and now receive protection from the Miami Conservancy District’s flood protection system pay an annual assessment. These funds cover the necessary, ongoing maintenance and periodic rehabilitation of the dams, levees, storage basins, and related parts of the flood protection system.
“Currently, the benefits can be reviewed on our website,” said MaryLynn Lodor, General Manager of Miami Conservancy District. Under state law, the assessments must be allocated in proportion to the benefits provided.” A Readjustment of the Appraisal of Benefits is now underway.
The Miami Conservancy District has been meeting with communities since 2022 to discuss the critical maintenance and capital investment needed to keep the system strong. Annual assessments have been collected since 1921.
The dams and levees of the Miami Conservancy District have been recognized as a regional priority for state and federal funding through a competitive process led by the Dayton Development Coalition. “We are requesting $9.6M to the State Capital Bill to make critical improvements to Germantown, Englewood, and Taylorsville dams. MCD designed the project with a grant obtained by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. If we are successful with the State Capital request, those funds would construct those shovel ready projects,” said Lodor. If state funds are secured for construction, that would be considered in future rate evaluations.
This event marks more than 2,149 times one of Miami Conservancy District’s dams have stored floodwater since the system was completed in 1922.
The Miami Conservancy District’s flood protection system significantly reduces flood risk for riverfront cities along the Great Miami River. Following the 1913 Flood, the Miami Conservancy District designed the integrated flood protection system you see along the Great Miami River and tributaries. For nearly 100 years, these structures have protected cities from dangerous and destructive floodwaters.
