MWCD awards $205,000 in grants for 5 community projects

Five community projects located throughout the 18-county Muskingum River Watershed region in Eastern Ohio will receive a total of more than $205,000 in funding this year from the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District’s (MWCD) “Partners in Watershed Management” grant program.

The MWCD Board of Directors recently approved the grants that assist local groups, organizations and communities in implementing water quality projects, flood reduction and mitigation programs and watershed education efforts throughout the region.

Since the inception of the Partners in Watershed Management program, a total of 42 projects have received more than $3 million worth of grant funding. The goal of the program is to provide a portion of the overall funding needed for approved projects, permitting eligible recipients to access other grants and partnering opportunities.

“We have been able to assist very worthy projects throughout the 18-county watershed region through the Partners in Watershed Management grants,” said Boris E. Slogar, MWCD chief engineer. “These projects also have a positive benefit to the entire watershed in areas such as water quality and flood reduction.”

Projects scheduled to receive funding from the MWCD this year include:

• Camp Presmont located along Piedmont Lake in Belmont County, $65,968 as part of a $131,936 replacement wastewater treatment system.
• Village of Leesville in Carroll County, $117,340 as part of a $2.54 million mandated wastewater system installation.
• Ohio FFA Camp Muskingum located along Leesville Lake in Carroll County, $6,170 as part of a $15,170 “Cleaner Water Brighter Future” educational program.
• Ohio State University Extension Service in Muskingum County, $1,000 as part of a $4,600 soils study program.
• Ohio Valley Conservation Coalition in Summit County, $15,000 as part of a $54,000 Tuscarawas River and floodplain protection project.

Project grants are funded through proceeds from the assessment of property owners collected by the MWCD to provide for the safe and effective operation of the system of reservoirs and dams in the Muskingum River Watershed for flood reduction and water conservation.

Applications for Partners in Watershed Management projects are accepted by the MWCD with a deadline of Dec. 1, 2014, for projects seeking assistance in 2015. For details and application materials, visit the MWCD’s website at www.mwcd.org.

The MWCD, a political subdivision of the state, was organized in 1933 to develop and implement a plan to reduce flooding and conserve water for beneficial public uses in the Muskingum River Watershed, the largest wholly contained watershed in Ohio. Since their construction, the 16 reservoirs and dams in the MWCD region have been credited for saving an estimated $10.7 billion worth of potential property damage from flooding, according to the federal government, as well as providing popular recreational opportunities that bolster the region’s economy. A significant portion of the reservoirs are managed by the MWCD and the dams are managed for flood-risk management by the federal U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

For more information about the MWCD, visit www.mwcd.org and follow the MWCD on Facebook and Twitter.

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