A Columbus-area professional engineer with extensive experience in dam safety repair and construction project management has been hired as the new chief engineer for the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD).

The employment of Boris E. Slogar was approved by members of the MWCD Board of Directors during their meeting today (Oct. 19) in New Philadelphia.

Slogar began his career in 1989 with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Water-Dam Safety Engineering Program, managing dam safety projects across Ohio, implementing Ohio’s dam safety repair program and working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Natural Resource Conservation Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and Soil and Water Conservation District on shared projects.

In 2001, he was appointed Deputy Tax Commissioner and Chief of Staff for the Ohio Department of Taxation, an executive leadership position directing operations for an agency of 1,420 employees with an annual operating budget of $155 million. He currently serves as the executive director of the Ohio Partnership for Excellence, a not-for-profit organization focused on improving Ohio’s schools, hospitals, businesses and government agencies.

Slogar is a graduate of The Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, majoring in hydraulic/hydrologic engineering and fluid mechanics. He also holds a master’s degree in project management from DeVry University.

He is well known in the water management field in Ohio, having served on the executive board of the Water Management Association of Ohio and as a member of the Association of State Dam Safety Officials.

“Boris has the knowledge and experience to lead the MWCD in its participation in projects to assure the safety of the system of dams and reservoirs in the Muskingum River Watershed,” said John M. Hoopingarner, MWCD executive director/secretary. “He has managed 218 dam repair projects totaling more than $10 million in construction costs. We are very fortunate to have Boris Slogar join our effort.”

Slogar replaces Richard A. Bible, who left the MWCD earlier this year to become the deputy director for the Ohio Department of Transportation’s District 11 operations headquartered at New Philadelphia.

“I am both honored and committed to serve as chief engineer for MWCD during this crucial time of upgrading MWCD’s complex system of flood-reduction structures,” Slogar said. “I look forward to the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead in furthering the mission and legacy that is the MWCD.”

The MWCD Board of Directors recently approved a plan of maintenance and major rehabilitation of the aging infrastructure of reservoirs and dams that reduces flooding and conserves water for public uses in the Muskingum River Watershed. The $210 million plan will be funded by an assessment of nearly 500,000 property owners in the watershed beginning next year. The MWCD projects that an estimated $10.5 million annually would be generated from the assessment of property owners for public health and safety projects to safeguard the reservoirs and dams.

The system of reservoirs and dams constructed in the 1930s in the MWCD region has prevented billions of dollars worth of potential property damage and saved countless lives.

The MWCD projects that 94 percent of the nearly 500,000 parcels subject to the assessment would pay an annual fee of $12. According to Ohio law that oversees conservancy districts, the assessment fee is collected as part of a property owner’s regular county property tax collection. Projected assessments can be reviewed online at the MWCD website at www.mwcd.org, and the MWCD also can be contacted toll-free at (866) 755-6923.

The MWCD, a political subdivision of the state, was organized in 1933 to develop and implement a plan for flood reduction and water conservation in the watershed that spans all or portions of 18 counties. By 1938, 14 reservoirs and dams were constructed.

The MWCD manages the reservoir areas behind the dams in the watershed, while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) owns the dams. The reservoirs, some of which have permanent pools of water (lakes) for water conservation and recreation programs, hold floodwaters temporarily for safe release downstream during flooding conditions.

The counties wholly or partially contained in the MWCD jurisdiction are Ashland, Belmont, Carroll, Coshocton, Guernsey, Harrison, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Richland, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas, Washington and Wayne.