The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) is a political subdivision of the
State of Ohio organized in 1933 to develop and implement a plan for flood reduction and water conservation in the
Muskingum River
The Muskingum River ( ; ) is a tributary of the Ohio River, approximately long, in southeastern Ohio in the United States. An important commercial route in the 19th century, it flows generally southward through the eastern hill country of Ohio ...
watershed, the state's largest wholly contained
watershed
Watershed may refer to:
Hydrology
* Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins
* Drainage basin, an area of land where surface water converges (North American usage)
Music
* Watershed Music Festival, an annual country ...
, covering more than . Since the original construction of fourteen reservoirs and dams in the 1930s (two more were built later), more than $7 billion worth of property damage has been saved from flooding.
Projects
After its formation, the MWCD began planning an extensive system of flood-reduction reservoirs and dams in the Muskingum River watershed, which covers all or portion of 27 counties (about 20 percent of the state). By 1938, a network of fourteen reservoirs and dams was constructed. The ten permanent reservoirs attract more than five million visitors annually.
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Atwood Lake
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Beach City Lake
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Bolivar Dam
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Charles Mill Lake
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Clendening Lake
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Dover Dam
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Leesville Lake
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Mohawk Dam
Mohawk Dam, located in Jefferson Township, Coshocton County, Ohio northwest of Nellie, is a dry dam constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in the mid-1930s for the purpose of flood control on the Walhonding River. The d ...
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Mohicanville Dam
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Piedmont Lake
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Pleasant Hill Lake
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Seneca Lake
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Tappan Lake
Tappan Lake, also known as Tappan Reservoir, is a reservoir in Harrison County, Ohio, United States.
The lake covers of water and of surrounding land, as part of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District. Normal pool elevation is above s ...
*
Wills Creek Lake
Two additional dams and lakes were added at a later date: Dillon Lake (1960)
and North Branch Kokosing.
The operation of the lakes and dams, along with the property immediately surrounding the dam sites, was transferred to 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 ...
,
Huntington District, after the approval of the
Flood Control Act of 1939 by Congress. The MWCD continues to be responsible for the management of much of the reservoir areas behind the dams, serving as a partner to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for flood reduction. The reservoirs also serve as sources of public water supply and the MWCD manages about of water and property, most of which is open for public access. In addition to operating a number of recreation facilities, the MWCD cooperates with the
Ohio Division of Wildlife for fishing and hunting management.
References
External links
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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District
{{Authority control
Government of Ohio
Muskingum River