Flood Protection System

Whatever the problems of the Miami Valley and its people will be in the future, floods will not be one of them. But I hope the lessons learned in those harrowing days of the flood itself and in the years which followed will never be forgotten. For they teach far more than how to bridle angry waters... they provide at least one example of what men and women can accomplish when they work together with unconquerable spirit toward a common goal. - Edward A. Deeds, The Miami Conservancy District Board of Directors, 1915-1954

The Miami Conservancy District flood protection system is ingeniously simple. The drainage patterns of the entire Great Miami River Watershed are incorporated into its design. The dams and levees operate without human intervention and have no moving parts, except floodgates on storm sewers along the levees. 

The system includes:

• 5 dry dams
• 35,000 acres of land that store floodwaters
• 55 miles of levees and floodwalls in riverfront cities
• 10,000 acres of natural floodplains
• Improved channels in cities

If a property is protected by dams, storage basins, and levees, it is considered fully protected. If a property is protected by dams and storage basins (no levees in your community), it is considered partially protected, and receive less benefit. Properties that flooded in 1913 and are now protected by the Miami Conservancy District flood protection system pay an annual assessment calculated using several factors including property tax values established by the county auditor. Full & Partial Protection Maps by County:

• • • • Butler County
        
      • Hamilton County
      • Miami County
      • Montgomery County
      • Warren County

The flood protection system was the first of its kind. The system includes five dry dams. They are called dry because the dams are used only to store floodwaters after heavy rainfall. The remainder of the time, the storage land upstream of each dam – 35,650 acres – is used predominantly for parkland and farmland.

The levees and improved river channels in the 11 cities along the river work together with the dams to protect downstream cities from floodwaters. The levees and channels are designed to carry the flows released by the dams, keeping floodwaters out of the cities.

The flood protection system also utilizes floodplains along the rivers, allowing room for the floodwater flow. Many floodplain areas are preserved so development does not encroach into the floodplain, causing the water to flow faster or deeper.

Throughout the Great Miami River Watershed, the integrated flood protection system protects 22 cities, 5 counties, and 18 townships, and provides multiple benefits. 

Learn more about MCD History and view historical construction photos of the system.

Did You Know? 
From 1927 to 1944, the Miami Conservancy District planted over 405,000 trees in the dam storage basins to help restore the land from the construction of the flood protection system.