The Miami Conservancy District is a river management agency operating in Southwest

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

to control flooding of the

Great Miami River The Great Miami River (also called the Miami River) (Shawnee language, Shawnee: ''Msimiyamithiipi'') is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe Nat ...

and its tributaries. It was organized in 1915 following the catastrophic

Great Dayton Flood The Great Dayton Flood of 1913, part of the Great Flood of 1913, resulted from flooding by the Great Miami River reaching Dayton, Ohio, and the surrounding area, causing the greatest natural disaster in Ohio history. In response, the Ohio Gener ...

of the Great Miami River in March 1913, which hit

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

particularly hard. Designed by

Arthur Ernest Morgan Arthur Ernest Morgan (June 20, 1878 – November 16, 1975) was a civil engineer, U.S. administrator, and educator. He was the design engineer for the Miami Conservancy District flood control system and oversaw construction. He served as the ...

, the Miami Conservancy District built

levee A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural ...

s, straightened the river channel throughout the

Miami Valley The Miami Valley is the land area surrounding the Great Miami River in southwest Ohio, USA, and includes the Little Miami, Mad, and Stillwater rivers as well. Geographically, it includes Dayton, Springfield, Middletown, Hamilton, and other c ...

, and built five

dry dam A dry dam is a dam constructed for the purpose of flood control. Dry dams typically contain no gates or turbines, and are intended to allow the channel to flow freely during normal conditions. During periods of intense rainfall that would otherw ...

s on various tributaries to control flooding. The district and its projects are unusual in that they were funded almost entirely by local tax initiatives, unlike similar projects elsewhere which were funded by the

federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

and coordinated by the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

Historical perspective

The 1913 flood has been ascribed in part to the 1912 eruption of

Mount Katmai Mount Katmai () is a large active stratovolcano (composite volcano) on the Alaska Peninsula in southern Alaska, located within Katmai National Park and Preserve. It is about in diameter with a central lake-filled caldera about in size, formed ...

and its daughter volcano Novarupta in Alaska. In one of the greatest recorded volcanic events, Novarupta emitted enough fine ash into the atmosphere to block sunlight and cool the climate of the Northern Hemisphere that winter. The success of the Miami Conservancy District helped to inspire the development of the much larger

Tennessee Valley Authority The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation in the United States. TVA's service area covers all of Tennessee, portions of Alabama, Mississippi, and Kentucky, and small areas of Georgia, North Carolin ...

during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. The district was designated as a

National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark __NOTOC__ The following is a list of Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks as designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers since it began the program in 1964. The designation is granted to projects, structures, and sites in the United Stat ...

by the

American Society of Civil Engineers The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is a tax-exempt professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, it is the oldest national engineering soci ...

in 1972.

Dams

The district manages five

s. They are hydraulic fill dams constructed from 1919 to 1922 using fill trestles.

Englewood Dam

Located near Englewood, Englewood dam is the largest of the dams maintained by the district. It regulates the flow of the Stillwater River into the

. It consists of of earth, is high and stretches .

U.S. Route 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America (a nickname shared with U.S. Route 66), is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid- ...

crosses the top of the dam. The dam can contain of flood water over . It was constructed in 1919 and consists of as much earth as the

Great Pyramid of Giza The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid. It served as the tomb of pharaoh Khufu, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom. Built , over a period of about 26 years ...

Germantown Dam

Located near Germantown, Germantown Dam regulates the flow of Twin Creek into the

. It consists of of earth, is high and wide. The dam can contain of flood water over (12 km²). It was constructed in 1920.

Huffman Dam

Located near

Fairborn Fairborn is a city in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 34,620 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, Dayton and part of the Dayton metropolitan area. The city is home to Wright State University, which serves nea ...

, Huffman Dam regulates the flow of the Mad River into the

. It consists of of earth, is high and spans . The dam can contain of flood water over .

Lockington Dam

Located north of Piqua outside the village of Lockington, Lockington dam regulates the flow of

Loramie Creek Loramie Creek is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 19, 2011 tributary of the Great Miami River in western Ohio in the United States. Via the Great Miami and Ohio rive ...

into the

. It consists of of earth, is high and spans . The dam can contain of flood water over (15 km²). It was constructed in 1919.

Taylorsville Dam

Located near Vandalia, Taylorsville Dam regulates the

. It consists of of earth, is high and spans . When full, the dam would inundate (39 km²). It was constructed in 1919.

US 40 U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America (a nickname shared with U.S. Route 66), is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid- ...

also runs across this dam.

Recreation

The Miami Conservancy District (MCD) actively promotes and develops recreational amenities throughout the Great Miami River Watershed. MCD owns and/or maintains an extensive recreation trail system (nearly 34 miles) throughout Montgomery County. The trail system is part of a network of 340 miles of multi-use, paved path that connect

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

east to

Xenia Xenia may refer to: People * Xenia (name), a feminine given name; includes a list of people with this name Places United States ''listed alphabetically by state'' * Xenia, Illinois, a village in Clay County ** Xenia Township, Clay County, Il ...

and near Chillicothe and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, south to Franklin, west to near Greenville, and north to Piqua.https://www.mcdwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/TRAILS_MAP_2017-WEB.pdf MCD maintains several boat ramps to encourage recreation on the Great Miami River Watershed waterways. MCD also offers river recreation maps to the Great Miami, Mad and Stillwater rivers which make up the national and state-designated Great Miami River Watershed Water Trail – the largest water trail system in Ohio. The trail collectively offers 291 miles of waterway accessible to recreational boaters, fishermen and wildlife watchers. Low dams: MCD owns three low dams. Only Two-mile Dam in Hamilton is part of the flood protection system. The other low dams create a pool of water upstream of each dam for recreation, including boating and fishing. The cities of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, West Carrollton, and

Moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...

pay an assessment for MCD to maintain the recreational dams. RiverWalk: The Dayton RiverWalk runs along the levee-top between the Main Street Bridge and the Monument Avenue (Dayton View) Bridge on each side of the Great Miami River. The total length of the lighted, crushed gravel walkway loop, including the two bridges, is about 1 mile. The walkway is easily accessible from the end of either bridge. All of these projects were constructed and are maintained by funds separate from flood protection or groundwater assessments. Assessments to cities – as well as grants and other revenue sources – pay for the construction and maintenance of MCD recreation amenities.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Miami Conservancy District HomepageThe Miami Valley and the 1913 Flood, State of Ohio, Miami Conservancy District, Arthur E. Morgan, Chief Engineer, Technical Reports Part I, 1917What a Dam Sight (Geocaching.com)Miami Conservancy District (ASCE)
Greene County, Ohio Miami County, Ohio Montgomery County, Ohio Shelby County, Ohio Warren County, Ohio Dams in Ohio Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks