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 Judge, Commissioner Stress Safety Needs for MWCD System DA retired judge and county commissioner each say they have major concerns about the safety of residents and property in the Muskingum River Watershed if a state bill that proposes changes to the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) is successful. Judge William J. Martin, who retired this year after nearly 25 years on the bench of the Carroll County Common Pleas Court, also spent more than 20 years as the county’s representative on the MWCD Conservancy Court. Martin, who served the last eight years as presiding judge of the Conservancy Court, told members of an Ohio House of Representatives committee hearing testimony that portions of the bill appear to have legal and other problems that could create stalemate in the MWCD and deter identified safety upgrades in the system of dams and reservoirs in the region. "The people in the district, 500,000 parcel owners of property, have not paid a nickel for their own safety," Martin said. "The times have changed. There has been no assessment in 74 years. People now have to step up and pay for their safety. Martin and Washington County Commissioner Larry Steinel each offered testimony before the Economic Development and Environment Committee in opposition to House Bill 47, Committee members have been hearing testimony the past few weeks on the bill introduced by Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Lakeville, that would change the way the MWCD is governed and limit its ability to levy an assessment of property owners in the watershed to fund maintenance projects. Martin said that members of the Conservancy Court, which function as a court in exercising oversight of the MWCD, are independent of the Board of Directors and administration of the conservancy district. He stressed that the judges’ duty, by oath, is to the law. He added that a portion of the bill that calls for county commissioners in the MWCD region to take over selection of members of the Board of Directors from the judges would add more politics to the process than currently exists. The MWCD, organized in 1933 to develop a flood-reduction and water conservation plan for the Muskingum River Watershed, has never levied an assessment. But expert studies have shown that the system of dams and reservoirs that has prevented billions of dollars worth of potential property damage from flooding in the watershed is in need of maintenance and safety upgrades. To fund an estimated $270 million worth of projects to protect the system, the MWCD has proposed an assessment of property owners as authorized by Ohio law. Steinel, who is originally from Summit County at the northern limit of the MWCD region and now resides in Marietta at the district’s southern limit where the Muskingum River empties into the Ohio River, urged lawmakers to consider the entire watershed as a whole unit. "It’s easy to say if your feet don’t get wet, you shouldn’t be faced with the proposed assessment is ludicrous," Steinel said. "If your city or county has a creek, stream or river that joins up with the Muskingum, you are part of the cause of downstream flooding." Steinel said he believes that repairs to the dams and reservoirs are needed in order to safeguard the system, especially in light of the heavy flooding that occurred in the region in 2004 and 2005. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), which owns and operates the dams in the Muskingum River Watershed, estimates safety costs for maintenance of four dams (Beach City, Bolivar, Dover and Mohawk) and one levee (Zoar) on a federal priority list is between $510 million to $680 million, with a cost-share obligation from the MWCD of between $95 million to $135 million. The MWCD, a political subdivision of the State of Ohio, manages the reservoir areas behind the dams in the Muskingum River Watershed, while the USACE owns and operates 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 MWCD’s assessment plan in the 18-county region would fund its portion of the repairs and maintenance for the dams, as well as related projects that would lead to improved performance of the system of reservoirs and dams. Most of the work to be completed in the MWCD plan would be cost-shared with other agencies and would lead to the protection and creation of jobs in the region. The MWCD estimates the assessment would generate between $10 million and $11 million annually, with collection and projects that would begin as early as 2008. According to the MWCD, 94 percent of all of the parcels to be billed under the assessment would be for $12 per year, and 96 percent would be for less than $50 annually. For more information about the MWCD, visit www.mwcd.org.
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