Our water was not impacted by East Palestine

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 …

MCD works hard to protect our water

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 enhance the region’s economy and quality of life. Highlights …

Water protection is more important than ever

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 …

Private well owners need to test their drinking water

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, …

Why do some bike trails go under water?

Fortunately, the Miami Conservancy District’s flood protection system keeps high river water levels in the river channel – and out of our communities. The managed lands that are part of this system are also available to locate the bike trails – so trail users don’t have to walk, run, or ride on the roads. MCD’s riverfront levees and preserved floodplains provide a unique venue for recreation such as bike trails, riverfront parks, and boat launches. But that also means these places store water to safely pass through the city during heavy rains.

MCD General Manager Janet Bly to retire May 6

Like the organization she led, Janet Bly has had an understated but powerful impact on Ohio’s Miami Valley. On May 6, she retires as the Miami Conservancy District’s general manager. With a background in human resources, Ms. Bly joined the Miami Conservancy District (MCD) in 1994 after holding positions in manufacturing, health care, and city government. In 2002, she was named MCD’s general manager, responsible for leading the organization that provides flood protection, water stewardship, and outdoor recreation for communities along the Great Miami River.

Behind-the-scenes with MCD’s staff during high-water

By Ben Casper, operations and maintenance manager Great Miami River cities don’t flood, though average annual precipitation has been increasing. The MCD 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 dams have been trending up for the past three …

Are you building for yesterday’s storm, or tomorrow’s?

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 rainfall and runoff. In …

The Year 2021: Redefining “Normal”

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 resources. Water enters …

This year marks 100 years of flood protection by MCD

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, retarding basins, 55 miles of levees, and …