Findlay flood-control project tab: $66M

FINDLAY, Ohio (AP) — A plan to reduce flooding along the Blanchard River in northwestern Ohio, which includes building a 10-mile channel to divert water away from downtown Findlay, would cost nearly $66 million, according to the federal agency overseeing the project.

The price tag, though, is much less than earlier estimates of well over $100 million.

Much of the cost would go toward constructing the diversion channel southwest of Findlay that would send floodwater away from the city before slowly sending back into the river.

A levee stretching for 1.5-miles to keep the river’s floodwater from spilling over also is a part plan released Friday by The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The project would not be finished until at least 2027, The Courier reported.

Controlling flooding along the river is a top concern in Findlay, where five major floods have caused millions of dollars in damage since 2007. Government funds have been used already to buy flood-prone property and homes along the river, but city leaders say a long-term solution is needed.

The Army Corps is planning a public meeting on April 22 in Findlay to discuss the project. It said that flood control will save the area about $3.8 million a year.

“The problem is expected to worsen with time as a result of climate change, as well as changes in land use within the watershed, which would increase flows and flood damages,” the Army Corps said in its report.

A final flood-control plan expected by next March will be handed over to Congress, which will be asked to provide up to 65 percent of the funding for construction.

Voters in Hancock County approved a sales tax increase in 2009 to pay for flood relief projects.

Almost 300 acres of farmland would be impacted by the diversion channel and levee.

The Hancock County Farm Bureau has voiced opposition against the idea because it believes the project will take up too much cropland and bring more flooding to the fields.

———

Information from: The Courier, http://www.thecourier.com