A $1.5 million loan from the city of Cincinnati aims to keep the Mill Creek Valley Conservancy District afloat, as it prepares to take responsibility for major flood control infrastructure.
Council approved funding for the conservancy district Wednesday.
Council member Mark Jeffreys says the organization will oversee the barrier dam and Mill Creek Channel once the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completes construction.
But the conservancy district doesn’t have the revenue to meet its responsibilities, potentially endangering infrastructure that protects tens of thousands of people from flooding.
“It has no money,” Jeffreys said. “So, the Mill Creek [Valley] Conservancy [District], absent us doing something, will dissolve. And then ... we will be obligated to millions of dollars a year.”
Maintaining and operating the barrier dam and Mill Creek Channel is expected to cost approximately $7 million annually.
The conservancy district will use the loan to develop a sustainable revenue stream, hire an executive director and do outreach with the community.
“This is essentially providing them a loan over several years to make sure that they can do the work to figure out what is a fair and equitable revenue source for maintaining this infrastructure,” Jeffreys said.
According to the loan terms, there would be no repayments in the first six years. Repayment would start during year seven, for a period of 10 years.
Mill Creek Alliance Executive Director Dave Schmitt says funding the conservancy district will also support the ongoing revitalization of the Mill Creek corridor.
In the past year, a kayak kiosk has been installed in Salway Park in Northside and a pocket park has opened near the yellow bridge between Camp Washington and Millvale.
“None of that would be possible without the conservancy district,” Schmitt said. “All of that is on their property. So without their cooperation, without their existence, so much of what we've been able to do to revitalize our neighborhoods in the lower Mill Creek would not have been possible.”
City and nonprofit leaders are considering more plans to foster recreation and spur economic development along the waterway through the Experience Mill Creek project.
What is the Millcreek Valley Conservancy District?
The Mill Creek flooded frequently during the 1900s, both from the Ohio River backing up into the creek and flash flooding in the Mill Creek Valley.
Greater Cincinnati Water Works Executive Director Andrea Yang says that caused a lot of damage.
“The average annual flood damage between 1910 and 1959 was $524,000 or $17 million a year in today's dollars,” Yang said. “Local leaders really wanted to get something done to address that.”
So, nine local governments petitioned the courts to form the Mill Creek Valley Conservancy District. It was established in 1962 to provide flood protection, water stewardship and recreational use for communities along the Mill Creek.
In the 1970s, the conservancy district undertook a $100 million flood management project in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It involved constructing a 17-mile flood channel.
“It runs from the Butler County line with Hamilton County down to the barrier dam,” Yang said.
The conservancy district agreed to assume responsibility for operation and maintenance of the Mill Creek Channel Project once the Army Corps of Engineers completed construction. It also agreed to take over operation and maintenance of the barrier dam.
“Where we are right now is the Army Corps is about to turn it over,” Yang said.
The conservancy district is overseen by a board composed of three members. They aren’t elected; rather appointed by Hamilton County Conservancy Court judges.
There are more than 20 conservancy districts in Ohio. They are governed by the Ohio Revised Code and are political subdivisions.
Conservancy districts serve various purposes including flood control, reservoir development for water conservation and wastewater treatment. They can also assess property taxes on parcels near waterways.
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