Anna Kamnyev Named as Successor
July 2, 2026
The Miami Conservancy District today announced the retirement of Mike Ekberg, Manager of Water Resources & Hydrology, following 26 years of distinguished service. Ekberg, who joined Miami Conservancy District in February 2000 as an Assistant Program Manager, leaves as one of the region's most respected water resource scientists and a foundational figure in the organization's monitoring and data programs.
"Mike leaves this organization, our region, and all of us better than he found us," said MaryLynn Lodor, Miami Conservancy District General Manager. "His fingerprints are on the data we rely on, the partnerships we value, the systems that protect this community, and the people he has mentored over the past 26 years."
Over the course of his career, Ekberg led the expansion of Miami Conservancy District's groundwater monitoring network from a handful of counties to a comprehensive system spanning the entire Aquifer Preservation Subdistrict — now comprising hundreds of thousands of records and 198 live monitoring stations accessible to the public through MCD's Water Data Portal. He also oversaw Miami Conservancy District's real-time ALERT flood gage network, which provides critical rainfall and river-level data to emergency managers, the National Weather Service, and regional partners during high-water events.
Ekberg's influence extended well beyond Miami Conservancy District’s walls. He partnered with the U.S. Geological Survey on research into arsenic, PFAS, salinity trends, and nitrogen loading in the Great Miami River watershed. He served on Ohio's Salt Storage Workgroup, co-authoring the state's guidance on protecting groundwater from road-salt contamination — a document subsequently referenced by transportation agencies in other states. He was also a longtime voice for water science in our region, conducting public education events, presenting at regional and national conferences, and providing expert commentary to media outlets across the region for more than two decades.
Among his final contributions, Ekberg helped launch a study examining the vulnerability of the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer to future water export demands — research that could help protect the drinking water supply of more than one million people for decades to come.
Miami Conservancy District is pleased to announce that Anna Kamnyev, M.S., will succeed Ekberg as Manager of Water Resources & Hydrology. Kamnyev brings more than 10 years of water resources and aquatic science experience to the role, with deep expertise in hydrologic data interpretation, watershed assessment, and translating complex data into clear, actionable insights for decision-makers and the public. A Certified Ecologist through the Ecological Society of America and a Wright State University graduate, she is well positioned to build on the water resources and hydrology program Ekberg spent 26 years developing.
Ekberg holds degrees from Lehigh University, the University of Cincinnati, and Wright State University, and worked previously at the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and Dames & Moore before joining MCD. He and his wife Kathy will relocate to Pennsylvania, in retirement.
About the Miami Conservancy District
Miami Conservancy District (MCD) is a pioneering organization at the forefront of flood protection, water stewardship, and recreation since 1915. Established after the disastrous 1913 flood that caused widespread destruction and loss of life in the Miami Valley region, the organization's founders recognized the urgent need for a coordinated approach to managing the region's water resources and preventing future floods.
