Projected MWCD Improvements to Generate Large Benefits
The investment in maintenance and improvements for the reservoirs and dams in the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District system will yield substantial economic benefits for the region's residents.
The proposed 20-year, $270-million program to protect and improve flood reduction and water quality in the 18-county MWCD region should provide slightly more than $2.5 billion in benefits.
The estimated cost-benefit ratio structure is contained in a preliminary benefit analysis report of the project compiled by Jack Faucett Associates of Maryland. Faucett prepared the report for the MWCD Board of Appraisers, which by Ohio law is the three-member body that develops the methodology for assessments for conservancy districts.
During a meeting today (Feb. 8), members of the Board of Appraisers received copies of the report and discussed some of the information it detailed.
“This cost-benefit ratio is very high and much larger than others I have seen and worked with,” said James Rozelle of the engineering firm Fuller, Mossbarger, Scott & May, which is the consultant to the MWCD on its assessment program. “I have never, in more than 40 years of watershed management, heard of a project with this magnitude of benefit. There is a tremendous amount of benefits coming out of this program.”
According to state law, the dollar value of the benefits must be greater than the costs of maintenance and improvement projects for conservancy districts to move ahead with the work and the collection of assessment dollars to fund the work. The Faucett report is expected to be presented to the MWCD Board of Appraisers for discussion and consideration of adoption during its next meeting scheduled Feb. 16 at 9 a.m. at New Philadelphia.
The MWCD, the largest of 21 conservancy districts in the state of Ohio and believed to be the only one that does not levy and collect an assessment for its flood-reduction structures, has spent more than a year in development of a maintenance and improvement plan for its 14 reservoirs that reduce flooding in the Muskingum River Basin. During the last eight months, meetings have been held by the Board of Appraisers to develop the assessment plan to fund the proposed work.
Two public meetings to permit residents of the region to review the work of the Board of Appraisers and provide comments will be held Feb. 16 at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. in the McDonald-Marlite Center at New Philadelphia. Information about the MWCD’s Amendment to the Official Plan (which details the $270 million worth of proposed projects), the assessment plan as developed by the Board of Appraisers and the Faucett report will be available for review.
Written comments also can be provided to the Board of Appraisers by sending them to the MWCD Board of Appraisers, P.O. Box 349, New Philadelphia, OH 44663, or by sending an e-mail to info@mwcdlakes.com with the words “Board of Appraisers comments” in the subject line. Comments must be received by Feb. 16.
The Faucett study reports that the benefits of the proposed MWCD project will provide a dollar return of 16-to-1 for the initial MWCD investment, and more than 5-to-1 when other potential state, federal and private resources are included.
MWCD officials have estimated the assessment will cost the owners of residential and agricultural properties in its 18-county jurisdiction about $12 per parcel annually. This compares favorably to the average annual assessment for the same class of property in the Maumee Conservancy District of $13.26, in the Miami Conservancy District of $86, and in the Hocking Conservancy District of $126. An estimate for commercial/industrial parcels in the MWCD plan continues to be developed.
The MWCD proposal also provides for adjacent parcels with the same owner and similar property use codes to be combined for the assessment computation, reducing the overall financial burden on owners of multiple properties. Since its inception, the MWCD system of dams and reservoirs has prevented more than $6 billion worth of potential property damage, according to federal government estimates.
The MWCD Court will meet again Feb. 25 at 9 a.m. in the Tuscarawas County Courthouse at New Philadelphia to review the final methodology report of the Board of Appraisers. It is expected that shortly thereafter the MWCD Board of Appraisers will file the Conservancy Appraisal Record, which contains the legal information for the assessment process. After a required legal review period and an opportunity is provided for property owners to formally object to the assessment on their individual parcels, the MWCD will present the assessment report to the Conservancy Court to consider in June or July.
If it is approved by the Conservancy Court, the MWCD Board of Directors may then levy the assessment. Collection of the assessment has been projected to begin in 2007. Funds generated through collection of the assessment will be used for maintenance and improvements of the flood-reduction system originally constructed in the 1930s, as well as water quality projects. By law, funds cannot be used to pay for improvements related to recreation programs, such as boat launch ramps, camping facilities and others.
Through its 70-plus-year history, the MWCD has operated on revenue generated primarily from the use of its facilities through various fee structures and the stewardship of its natural resources. However, this funding alone cannot address the large-scale needs and costs associated with the aging system.
The 14 MWCD reservoirs are: Atwood in Carroll and Tuscarawas counties; Beach City in Tuscarawas County; Bolivar in Stark and Tuscarawas counties; Charles Mill in Ashland and Richland counties; Clendening in Harrison County; Dover in Tuscarawas County; Leesville in Carroll County; Mohawk in Coshocton and Knox counties; Mohicanville in Ashland and Wayne counties; Piedmont in Belmont, Guernsey and Harrison counties; Pleasant Hill in Ashland and Richland counties; Seneca in Guernsey and Noble counties; Tappan in Harrison County; and Wills Creek in Coshocton and Muskingum counties. Two other reservoirs in the system, Dillon in Muskingum County and North Branch Kokosing in Knox County, were constructed after the original 14 and are operated exclusively by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The 18 counties wholly or partially contained in the MWCD region are Ashland, Belmont, Carroll, Coshocton, Guernsey, Harrison, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Richland, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas, Wayne and Washington.
For more information, visit www.mwcd.org on the Internet.
