Frequently Asked Questions
Flood Protection Assessments
What is an assessment? Is this a tax?
Properties that flooded in 1913 and are now protected by the Miami Conservancy District flood protection system pay an annual assessment calculated using several factors including property tax values established by the county auditor.
- Assessments are different from taxes because assessments provide a benefit such as when you are assessed for sidewalks or streetlights in your neighborhood.
- You receive a benefit in the form of reduced risk of flooding by the Great Miami River and certain tributaries.
Who pays to be protected?
- Individual properties pay an annual Individual Assessment
- Municipalities and counties pay a Unit Assessment. Property owned by a municipality or county is exempt if the property is used expressly for a government purpose such as a city hall, water treatment plant, or fire station.
Why do I pay a flood protection assessment?
Where does the Miami Conservancy District get the authority to charge this assessment?
MCD is organized under the Ohio Revised Code sections 6101.01-6101.90.
Helpful links: Organization | Governance | Funding | History | The Conservancy Act
How much is my assessment?
Your assessment appears on the bill you receive from the county auditor. You can see the amount of your assessment by visiting your county auditor’s website.
How is the assessment calculated?
The methodology was developed in 1917 and has been used for over 100 years. The assessment is calculated by multiplying a rate and benefit, which is comprised of several factors.
My assessment has not changed in 10 years, why is my assessment increasing now?
Assessment rates can be adjusted annually by the Board of Directors and are subject to approval by the Conservancy Court.
Is this increase related to the readjustment of the appraisal of benefits?
No, the update to the assessment rate is not the same as the readjustment. Your assessment is currently based on 2011 property values, but the rate update will affect the total amount of your assessment.
Is this related to the county’s reappraisal?
No, it is an entirely different process, but the assessment is based partly on the value of your property.
Why are there two (or three) assessments from the Miami Conservancy District on my bill?
- To fund critical capital improvement projects, the Conservancy Court approved a capital authority for 2025 – 2032, which will result in a second assessment in 2025, called the Capital Assessment, in addition to the Maintenance Assessment.
- Some communities also participate in the Aquifer Preservation Subdistrict which may appear as a small assessment on your real estate tax bills. That amount did not change from 2024 to 2025.
What is the Capital Assessment, and how is that different than the Maintenance Assessment?
- In February 2024, the Court approved a capital spending authority of $34.5M for the rehabilitation of 55 miles of levees and five flood protection dams. The revenue from the Capital Assessment will be used to rehabilitate the aging infrastructure and ensure the unfailing protection of the region. This replaces the Dam Safety Assessment, which paid for capital improvements from 1999-2022.
- The Maintenance Assessment is used to operate and maintain the entire flood protection system of dams, levees, storage basins, and other parts of the system.
I’m from a church/non-profit. We should be exempt.
Your property may be exempt from taxes, but it is not exempt from assessments.
My property floods so why do I pay an assessment to Miami Conservancy District? You aren’t protecting me.
- If partially protected: If your property is not within a city that has levees and channel improvements, your property still receives partial protection from the work of the dams. This means that the frequency or intensity of flooding is reduced. You are charged at a partial rate not a full protection rate.
- If fully protected: Some properties experience minor flooding because their storm sewers lack capacity or sometimes the water is rising levels from groundwater. Miami Conservancy District protects from flooding from the river.
Full & Partial Protection Maps By County:
Why do I pay twice as much as my next-door neighbor?
- Your house—because of a difference in ground elevation—may have flooded more or less than your neighbors in 1913.
- The 1913 flood level at each property is used to calculate the benefit and could impact the amount you pay.
- Also, property tax values are used to calculate the benefit, so if your house’s appraised value is more than your neighbor’s, you could pay more.
- Learn more about the calculation formula and view example assessment calculations
My building wasn’t here in 1913. How can you assess me?
The property flooded during the Great Flood of 1913 and it is now protected by the Miami Conservancy District flood protection system. Properties protected by the flood protection system are assessed for the maintenance of the system.
How do you know how deep the flood was on my property in 1913?
Information from topographic mapping (property elevations) and high water elevations surveyed and recorded immediately after the Great Flood of 1913 is used to determine flood depth.
What is the flood factor/How do you determine percentage for my flood factor?
The flood factor is a percentage that is applied to your benefit calculation. It is based on the 1913 flood depth on your property and the type of protection you receive: either full or partial.
- Partial protection has a “flood factor” of 3% - this is property not protected by levees. Typically, this is land outside cities that is not protected by levees but have reduced risk of flooding because of the dams.
- Full protection “flood factors” range from 6% to 30% and is based on the depth of flooding in 1913. This land is usually in cities that are protected by both the dams and levees to the full design of the system.
- Learn more about the calculation formula and view example assessment calculations
Why do I have to pay both flood insurance and a Miami Conservancy District assessment?
- Your assessment helps pay for the maintenance of the flood protection system.
- Insurance pays in the event you were ever flooded.
- Some people are subject to mandatory flood insurance, but flood insurance is something that Miami Conservancy District has no control over. We only have authority over the flood protection system.
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