Flood control plan in northwestern Ohio upsets farmers

FINDLAY, Ohio (AP) — A federal agency’s plan for reducing repeated river flooding that has caused millions of dollars of damage over the years in northwestern Ohio has upset some area farmers.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has proposed spending more than $60 million to reduce flooding along the Blanchard River. The current plan calls for building a nearly 10-mile channel to divert water away from downtown Findlay. Controlling flooding along the river is a priority in Findlay, where five major floods have caused millions of dollars in damage since 2007.

But farmers at a recent public meeting told agency officials that the plan would transfer the problem to landowners along the Eagle Creek diversion channel.

“You want me to pay to drain Findlay,” said Matt Hartman, an Eagle Township farmer, who wants the river cleaned of trees and other obstacles he believes contribute to the flooding.

The federal agency dropped an earlier plan for a 1.5-mile levee near the city’s reservoir, saying it would have increased flooding on about 1,500 acres of farmland.

Lt. Col. Karl Jansen, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Buffalo District, said enlarging the Blanchard River through Findlay is not a viable alternative.

Corps officials did take a second look at dredging and clearing the river, but Jansen said it’s been ruled out.

“For environmental reasons alone, we can screen out” the option of dredging and deepening the Blanchard, Jansen said

Such a project would nearly double the Blanchard’s width through the city and affect natural habitat, disturb potentially contaminated areas, and affect numerous buildings and archaeological sites, he said.

The diversion channel is the least expensive and less invasive plan, according to Jansen.

The proposed project is now going before the Civil Works Review Board. If it moves forward, construction isn’t expected to start before 2022.