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Watershed Regions and Districts

The Subwatershed Regions

The MWCD was created in 1933 and is the largest conservancy district in Ohio, serving more than 2 million residents in an 18-county jurisdictional area. It manages 57,000 acres for public use, comprised of 16,000 acres of water surface at 10 lakes and 41,000 acres of land.

The Walhonding and Tuscarawas rivers meet in Coshocton in Coshocton County to form the Muskingum River, which flows south to the Ohio River at Marietta in Washington County. The Muskingum River Watershed is the largest watershed in Ohio, covering one-fifth of the State of Ohio and provides flood reduction and water conservation benefits through a system of dams and reservoirs. Through a partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), which owns and operates the dams in the region, the system of reservoirs and dams has prevented more than $8 billion in potential property damage and saved countless lives. The system is divided into three subwatershed regions: the Walhonding River Watershed in the northwest area, the Tuscarawas River Watershed in the northeast area, and the Lower Muskingum River region in the southern area.

The Walhonding Region

The Walhonding Region is comprised of Ashland, Richland, Knox and portions of Wayne, Holmes and Coshocton counties. The reservoir system in this region includes Charles Mill, Mohicanville, Mohawk, North Branch Kokosing, and Pleasant Hill.

The Tuscarawas Region

The Tuscarawas Region is comprised of Carroll, Stark, Tuscarawas, Harrison and portions of Summit, Wayne, Holmes, Belmont, and Coshocton counties. The reservoir system in this region includes Atwood, Beach City, Bolivar, Clendening, Dover, Leesville, Piedmont, and Tappan.

The Lower Muskingum Region

The Lower Muskingum Region covers Licking, Muskingum, Guernsey, Morgan, and portions of Coshocton, Noble, and Washington counties. The reservoir system in this region includes Dillon, Senecaville, and Wills Creek.

Subdistricts

Subdistricts are smaller organizations located within the boundaries of a conservancy district
that are operated through the resources of the larger conservancy district. They are provided for in the state law that oversees conservancy districts – Section 6101 of the Ohio Revised Code – and usually are created through landowner initiative and petition.

There is one active subdistrict in the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District – the Chippewa Subdistrict located in portions of southern Medina and northern Wayne counties.

The Chippewa Creek Watershed Project is a flood-control program that began in 1956 and was completed in 1980 with the construction of eight dams. It encompasses 188 square miles (more than 120,000 acres).

The watershed project was established to reduce the acreage prone to flooding and to decrease the time periods of inundation. The Chippewa Creek flows to the Tuscarawas River and has been a source of major flooding in the watershed.

The subdistrict has an office located in the Seville area of Medina County. A watershed specialist staffs the office and oversees maintenance of the system of dams and reservoirs, as well as responding to inquiries from property owners and residents of the Watershed.

Four other subdistricts have been operated through the assistance of the MWCD, but are not currently active. They are the Black Fork Subdistrict, the Buffalo Creek Subdistrict, the Clear Fork Subdistrict, and the Duck Creek Subdistrict.

Muskingum Watershed Subdistricts

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