Levee System

Levees keep floodwaters out of the cities

Dams and storage basins work in conjunction with levees in the downstream cities. MCD's 55 miles of levee keep floodwaters within the river channel through the riverfront cities of Piqua, Troy, Tipp City, Huber Heights, Dayton, Moraine, West Carrollton, Miamisburg, Franklin, Middletown and Hamilton.

Levees must be maintained to ensure their effectiveness. Maintenance includes:

• Mowing grass to ensure proper turf cover.
• Filling groundhog holes to eliminate seepage paths.
• Controlling vegetation growth on and around the levees.
• Repairing riverbank erosion.
• Removing gravel deposits in the channels.
• Operating more than 218 floodgates to keep the river from backing up into city streets.
• Removing drift and debris. Drift and debris can inhibit turf growth, cause erosion and obstruct maintenance activities.

Together, with the dams, the entire system reduces flood risk for about $10 billion worth of land and buildings.

Levee Accreditation: Safeguarding Our Communities

As part of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) floodplain mapping updates, levees must be reaccredited to ensure they are recognized as providing flood protection. The Miami Conservancy District (MCD), as the levee owner, must demonstrate compliance with FEMA’s accreditation requirements through certified documentation from a professional engineer.

In 2020, FEMA began updating hydrologic and hydraulic analyses for the Great Miami River in Montgomery County. These updates may require levee reaccreditation in Huber Heights, Dayton, Moraine, West Carrollton, and Miamisburg. To prepare, MCD collected data in 2023 and 2024, with plans to submit findings to FEMA in 2025.

Accreditation helps protect against devastating floods and supports lower long-term flood insurance costs through FEMA's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). While accredited levees reduce risk, they do not eliminate it, and FEMA encourages communities to maintain awareness of flood risks, follow local regulations, and invest in flood insurance.

Read more

• FEMA fact sheet
• MCD blog on How Regional Flood Insurance Premiums are Positively Influenced by Miami Conservancy District

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