Dean Otworth, project engineer for the Mill Creek logjam cleanup, outlines the creek’s watershed area and the waterway itself, represented on the map as the red, centerline. Union County officials held the first viewing of the project Wednesday, which affects some 60,000 acres of land across the county.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Michael Williamson)
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Union County officials spoke to residents during the first viewing of the Mill Creek logjam project Wednesday. Officials held three separate sessions to relay information about the large-scale cleanout project, which affects nearly 12,000 parcels across five townships.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Michael Williamson)
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The first in a series of official steps to tackle the Mill Creek logjam project concluded this week, paving the way for an approval from Union County.
On Wednesday, officials from the Union County Engineer’s Office and the county Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) were on hand at the county building at 940 London Ave. for the viewing of the project scope.
The county held three separate, hour-long sessions for residents to get project information and ask questions.
Viewing the logjam, done through the use of drone footage, is the first step in a set of requirements from the state for a cleanout project.
Dean Otworth, project engineer for the logjam, said the cleanup will eliminate a whole host of issues for affected residents.
“Cleaning out Mill Creek should improve drainage throughout the watershed, alleviate stream, bank erosion and minimize the re-routing of creek channels that lead to flooding in fields and properties,” he said.
Otworth explained in the presentation that several area officials contacted the SWCD in 2017, asking the department to investigate recurrent flooding north of Marysville.
“Upon investigation, a massive logjam was discovered in Mill Creek. It was 1,600 feet long, 80 feet wide, and five feet tall at its highest point,” Otworth said in the presentation. “A committee was formed to study this issue and to determine if this was an isolated logjam or if there were more of these along Mill Creek. The committee used drones, satellite imagery and walking staff members to investigate
the entire length of Mill Creek.”
Over the course of the last few years of investigation, the SWCD found more than 750 logjams or piles of debris in the creek.
“Most of these are smaller, but all of them either block a portion of the channel or could grow and do so in the future,” Otworth said. “The plan would be to remove all of them.”
While Mill Creek runs through parts of Logan and Delaware counties, the majority of the impacted watershed area runs through Union County. It passes through Liberty, Taylor, Paris, Dover and Millcreek townships.
There are nearly 12,000 parcels that will directly benefit from the cleanup.
Otworth said there is a total of 8,452 distinct benefitted parcels that are also within the corporate limits of Marysville.
While the project will be paid for through American Rescue Plan Act money, some estimated $2 million, residents will receive an ongoing maintenance fee, assessed after work is done.
“We did calculations based on other projects and came up with that number,” Otworth said. “It’s certainly possible it could be more than that, it’s just difficult to tell.”
Residents asked questions about the assessments they would receive but officials said it would be difficult to tell until the full cost is calculated.
“Ohio Revised Code says approximately 10% of the project construction cost would be divided amongst acres in the benefitted watershed and assessed to property owners in the benefitted watershed,” Otworth added. “This would appear on the tax duplicate as a ‘special assessment.’”
The ORC requires the minimum assessment to be $2 per parcel and after construction, the balance for maintenance would be examined annually.
“If there are funds remaining for the year’s upcoming work, there would be no maintenance assessments,” Otworth said. “Whenever the maintenance fund is running low, the county commissioners would determine what maintenance collection is required. This amount would then be divided amongst the acres in the benefitted watershed and assessed to property owners in the benefitted watershed.”
According to information from the county, the next item of business is an official public hearing scheduled for Dec. 20. Beyond that, the county will finalize all plans, assessments and maintenance information.
Construction is set to start sometime early next year with estimated completion time of late summer 2025 or the beginning of 2026.