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 Area Officials Provide Ideas for MWCD Project Selection As county leaders in the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District region identify proposals to promote flood reduction and water quality benefits, the MWCD is working with several officials to develop a fair and equitable system to prioritize and select projects for funding. Officials offering advice and guidance to the MWCD say numerous issues must be considered before the Conservancy District will be prepared to properly consider proposals as part of its plan to maintain its reservoirs and protect and improve water quality. During a meeting held today (Jan. 5) in Bolivar, the officials from throughout the MWCD region who have agreed to serve as a steering group for the Conservancy District discussed various methods that could be utilized to develop one or more committees to review and make recommendations for proposed projects. No final decisions were made and future meetings of the officials are planned. Officials and the MWCD have agreed to work together this year to establish a system for project prioritization and selection. As part of a $270-million, 20-year maintenance and improvement plan approved earlier this year by the MWCD’s Conservancy Court and Board of Directors, the Conservancy District also has met with officials in its 18 counties of jurisdiction and asked them to identify projects that can improve flood reduction and water quality in the region. The Conservancy District has established numerous categories of work as part of its budgeted plan, and is seeking input for local projects. Currently, an estimated $75 million worth of proposed projects has been suggested by local officials, said Richard A. Bible, MWCD chief engineer, with a few counties still finalizing their proposals. During the meeting, the steering group members considered the structure for formation of one or more committees to study proposed projects, including discussion of how many members should be part of the committees, who would be involved, how they would be selected, the role of the MWCD in the process and establishment of a meeting schedule. Other items that were discussed were project categorization, application cycle(s), methodology for project prioritization and selection, criteria and establishment of a scoring system. Officials who attended the meeting were the following:
Numerous other officials from various counties also have been invited to participate at upcoming meetings. The MWCD’s maintenance and improvement plan (which is the Amendment to the Official Plan of the MWCD) will be funded through an assessment of owners of property in the 18-county MWCD region. The assessment, which has been estimated to cost $12 per year for owners of residential and agricultural properties (with industrial/commercial still being developed), has been projected to begin collection in 2007 and include the combination of parcels with the same owner and use code. Ohio law authorizes the state’s conservancy districts to levy assessments. Three basic classes of parcels are subject to the assessment: residential, agricultural and commercial/industrial. Since its inception, the MWCD has operated on revenue 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, which are showing the effects of sedimentation, erosion and other issues that can have a negative impact on flood reduction and water quality benefits. The MWCD, the largest of the estimated 21 conservancy districts in the state, is believed to be the only one active district that does not collect an assessment for maintenance of its flood-reduction facilities. 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, 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.
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