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Local News

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

New $1M watershed study starts
Diamond Mine Direct
By JOY BROWN

STAFF WRITER

A $1 million Blanchard River watershed study, separate from those already being conducted for Findlay and Ottawa, was announced Monday at an invitation-only meeting for elected officials.

Northwest Ohio Flood Mitigation Partnership President Tony Iriti, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials, and representatives from the engineering design firm URS Corp. said the "general investigation feasibility study" will result in flood control and ecosystem preservation ideas for the watershed's southern villages and countryside, or the "headwater areas," many of which have also experienced severe flooding.

Half of the project will be funded with federal money and 25 percent will come from in-kind work conducted by officials.

Hancock County sales tax revenue, and a portion of the $3 million flood control grant the Partnership received from the state on Monday, will pay for the remaining 25 percent, Iriti told the officials gathered in Findlay City Council chambers.

According to Philip Berkeley, a planner from the Army Corps of Engineers' Buffalo District, officials are just now getting around to starting this study because of the government's complicated funding formula.

"We didn't know how long it would take to get" the federal share of money for the study, Berkeley said, so in the meantime officials secured funding and worked on the ongoing Findlay and Ottawa flood studies.

Now the Army Corps has "a ton of money," Berkeley said, thanks to federal stimulus funding that took its budget from $4.5 billion to $9 billion. Because the Army Corps already has plenty of work on its plate, it hired URS Corp., which often contracts for federally-funded projects, to do the "general investigation feasibility study."

Some potential flood reduction projects and cost estimates for Findlay and Ottawa, derived from a hydraulics and hydrology study, are still expected to be released in September. But the general investigation study announced Monday will be "the vehicle that brings this all together," said Iriti, referring to a flood control solution for the entire watershed.

URS officials will use aerial and topographical maps to derive possible solutions dealing with issues like flooding, wetlands restoration and erosion prevention.

For the next several weeks, URS representatives will also be collecting data such as land use maps, zoning regulations and building square footages from officials; asking them about potential improvements and solutions for their areas; and soliciting ideas.

Ideas could involve structural solutions like reservoirs and channel modifications, and non-structural options like building on elevated ground or proposing ways to hold and slow water flow.

Some options that have worked in other parts of the country, like widening streams, may not be practical here because of productive farmland and other land uses, said Tom Denbow, URS project manager.

URS employees will not be going on private property unless accompanied by local officials, said Denbow.

Seeking to ease concerns from the agricultural community, Berkeley emphasized the Army Corps "is not a land use agency. We do not make drastic changes to farmland" to ease flood problems.

But the Corps is interested in finding out about agricultural damage that has occurred from flooding. "We have not talked about that. Maybe there's something out there we're not seeing," he said.

Analyzing data, undergoing rigorous reviews, and coming up with viable flood reduction solutions to present to Congress, solutions that also are agreeable to residents, could take up to two years, Berkeley said. He said federal funding and planning mechanisms are "convoluted and complicated."

"It's very difficult for me to explain it to myself sometimes," Berkeley said.

"It's something that's uniform across the U.S. for the Corps," said Denbow. "That's how it does business when it's looking for a project that makes sense from a cost/benefit perspective."

"We really want to get the right answers that make sense," said Denbow. Those answers will be formulated with public input derived from two meetings.

But Monday's meeting began with confusion among some watershed residents and elected officials, particularly those who were not invited.

It was stated during the meeting that officials were invited from areas of the watershed that Army Corps representatives thought might offer solutions to ease the flooding problem and improve the ecological system. Mayors from villages like Arlington and Jenera attended.

But prior to the meeting, Wyandot County Commissioner Michael Wheeler wondered why he and his colleagues were not invited.

Wheeler said he was concerned that if no Wyandot County commissioners attended, constituents would interpret it as disinterest.

"When it comes to my constituents here, I think they should have a voice," Wheeler said, even though much of that voice is in opposition to any flood control measures that would require Wyandot County assessments.

"It was never intended to keep anybody out," Iriti said after the meeting. "This was just a beginning information meeting" for officials whose constituencies could eventually be topographically altered by projects. "The whole key was to get information to people rather than people going off on tangents."

"There will be the opportunity for public input when they get down to presenting solutions," said Partnership assistant Lee Esper.

To offer suggestions or solutions for possible inclusion in the general investigation study, watershed residents can contact Denbow at 1-216-622-2334 or by e-mail at ; Jay Mosley, URS project engineer, at 216-622-2350 or ; Byron Rupp, Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District, at 716-440-5380 or at ; Craig Forgette, Army Corps Buffalo District, at 716-879-4187 or at

Brown: 419-427-8496,

Send an e-mail to Joy Brown
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3 Comments

Latest comments listed first.
Kyle wrote:
Call him
“ Citizen - Call Iriti. Hopefully he can clear some stuff up for you. I don't think you'll get many answers complaining on thecourier.com. ”
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 12:19:54 PM
Citizen wrote:
What a waste.
“ Why are they wasting sales tax and city income tax on another study, when all we read about is we will have to lay off city and county employees? This does not make any sense at all. ”
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 10:00:00 AM
J wrote:
How
“ Meetings are O.K. But when it comes time to pay for all of this the results will be the same as after all other major floods, people memory will grow dim and as Wyandot commissioners are already indicating everybody will think flood control is necessary and has to be done. But don't expect me to pay for it. Don't be surprise if after years of study and the wasting of millions of dollars, the next major flood will come and nothing will have chance. Just like after the 1913,1959 and the 1981 floods. You CAN'T stop floods, you have to get out of their way. STOP building in the flood plain and do not allow REBUILDING within the flood plain. But that will not be popular, so NOTHING will be done. Of course that won't stop a group of people from making a good living at taxpayer expense, at least till the taxpayers catch on. ”
Tuesday, August 25, 2009 4:36:47 AM
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This video, released by the Hancock County Prosecutor's Office, shows the shooting of a Lima man who led authorities on a three-county chase ending Aug.24 in Benton Ridge. Be cautioned, the video contains graphic content.
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Police seized all 20 plants, and Hendren said charges are pending.

High-powered growing lights, fans, and a box filled with dried marijuana were also found in the house, according to a police report.

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Fletcher began his patrol career in 2002 after graduating from the 139th Academy class and has been assigned to the Findlay post since.

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The Toledo and Findlay campuses of Owens Community College will be closed Saturday through Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

There will be no classes and the college offices will be closed.

Classes will resume and offices will open again on Tuesday.

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Courier business and advertising offices will close at 3 p.m. Friday for the holiday.