Water is a precious resource, and in Ohio, it's not just about turning on the tap. From the shores of Lake Erie to the banks of the Ohio River, water rights play a crucial role in our daily lives. Let's dive into the world of Ohio water rights and explore what it means for you as a resident. The Riparian Doctrine: Your Stream, Your Rig ...

Drought in Ohio: 2024 Overview  Southwest Ohio faced severe drought this year, with dry conditions lingering from mid-June through October. As the heat intensified in September, parts of Ohio, especially southeastern Ohio, slipped into extreme drought. For Ohio’s agricultural sector, the timing couldn’t have been worse& ...

For over 100 years, Lockington Dam has stood strong, protecting downstream communities in Southwest Ohio from destructive floodwaters including Piqua, Troy, Dayton, and Hamilton. Despite the ravages of time and weather extremes, the dam has never failed in its mission. However, like all aging structures, it requires attention to keep it s ...

MCD Levee in Dayton, OH FEMA adopted the National Flood Insurance Program's (NFIP) pricing approach called Risk Rating 2.0 starting April 1, 2023. This allowed FEMA's rates to become more equitable and flexible (fema.gov). Their 1970s legacy methodology was based on relatively static property elevation data within flood zones on a&nb ...

Why Miami Conservancy District Uses Turf  Maintaining the levee embankments is essential to reducing flood risk. Properly managing turf and other vegetation plays a critical role in protecting the integrity of dams, levees, and flood channels. With over 1,500 acres to inspect and maintain, grass is both an effective and affordable ...

Year in review - 2023 was drier than normal The U.S. Drought Monitor shows most of our region remains in abnormally dry conditions. Total precipitation and snowfall at Dayton are tracking well below the 1991 – 2020 average.  The year 2023 will go down as a warmer and drier than normal year. The charts below show how temper ...

Map focused on areas near the cities of Franklin and Carlisle, Ohio To understand the flood impacted areas at different river stages along the Great Miami River a new Flood Inundation Map was initiated by the Miami Conservancy District and the Ohio Silver Jackets to help people understand the risk of flooding in the Franklin and Carlisle ...

by Emma Allington, MCD engineering associate With their historic economic power, everlasting natural beauty, and surging recreation appeal, Dayton’s rivers are the crowning jewel of the Gem City. However, challenges along these great rivers, such as deteriorating trail infrastructure and dangerously steep levees, continue to restri ...

MCD announces a naming contest - you can suggest names for a new remote-operated robotic mower. The contest kicks off Friday, July 28 and will accept names until August 11. To properly maintain a large integrated flood protection system that includes five dams and 55 miles of levees - there are lots of steep slopes and difficult places ...

With its abundant supply of high quality groundwater, the buried valley aquifer system is the most important aquifer in southwest Ohio. MCD works to study and protect groundwater through testing, reporting, educating, and stewardship activities. Proper management of this resource will ensure the aquifer continues to support and ...

Every public water system in Ohio that relies on groundwater has a defined source water protection area. A source water protection area is a map of all the land area over the aquifers which provide drinking water to a particular public water system.  It is the responsibility of each municipal public water system to develop a plan to ...

The good news is that our rivers, streams, and groundwater are not connected with the runoff from the train derailment site in East Palestine, Ohio. In fact, they drain a totally different direction. The Great Miami River Watershed drains INTO the Ohio River – not the other way around. Water in the Ohio River is not physically able ...

By Mike Ekberg, manager of water resources monitoring and analysis Municipal public water systems in Ohio are required to test drinking water for contaminants on a regular basis. For many parameters, that is daily. This helps to ensure the water they produce is safe for consumers to drink. Private well owners, on the other hand, are n ...

If you plan to go on a bike ride, we understand you may be disappointed when a section of the trail is covered by river water after heavy rains. We‘ve all been there! But we want you to know that some trails were actually built as an additional amenity as part of an integrated flood protection system and trails are meant to go under ...

By Ben Casper, operations and maintenance manager Great Miami River cities don’t flood, though average annual precipitation has been increasing. The Miami Conservancy District flood protection system was designed to protect 47,000 properties and keep 1 million people safe. The number of annual high-water events at MCD flood-control ...

By Mike Ekberg, manager of water resource monitoring and analysis Any community that needs to replace or build a bridge, culvert, stormwater system, or conduct a floodplain analysis must compute peak stream flows during the design process. Understanding peak stream flows ensures the infrastructure will be designed large enough to handle ...

By Mike Ekberg, Manager of water resource monitoring and analysis At MCD, we track water movement into and out of the Great Miami River Watershed over long periods of time, spanning decades. The records generated at precipitation stations, stream gages, and observation wells enable MCD staff to track long-term trends in water resource ...

By Don O'Connor, Chief Engineer While there is a persistent fear of flooding in cities around the world, people and businesses along the Great Miami River go confidently about their lives hardly giving flooding a thought. Since 1922, homes and businesses have been protected by MCD’s system of five dry dams, storage basins, 55 miles ...

By Mike Ekberg, manager of water resources monitoring and analysis Are PFAS compounds present in our rivers and if so at what levels or concentrations are they present?  Recent river water sampling by the Miami Conservancy District (MCD) shows some Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) compounds present in all of the major r ...

By Mike Ekberg, manager of water resources monitoring and analysis It’s the beginning of November and winter is right around the corner. What will winter 2021–2022 be like? Will the Miami Valley experience a mild winter or can we expect frigid temperatures and lots of snow? Here are some predictions based on MCD’s research and e ...