MWCD sets drawdown schedule

BY JD LONG (jim@harrisonnewsherald.com)

NEW PHILADELPHIA—Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District Chief Engineer Boris Slogar recently informed the board of the yearly drawdown schedule for their waterways. He announced four reservoirs would be drawn down “further than normal.”

Atwood, Charles Mill, Seneca, and Tappan Lakes are scheduled for “shoreline stabilization” with Leesville being drawn down even farther “in order to accommodate a fire department that wants to rehab a dry hydrant.” In addition, Clendening and Pleasant Hill will be drawn down to their normal depth. He said the information is to be shared soon after with the Army Corps of Engineers and stated they have been accommodating.

“This is typically the schedule we keep,” Slogar explained. “Although, I will say this is — not to be funny — fluid, in the sense that if we do need to maintain a drawdown a little longer, the Army Corps has been very good to work with in that regard.” He stated sometimes start dates would be altered due to weather. When asked how long a refill would take, Slogar said it depends on the weather, especially for Charles Mill and Pleasant Hill in the northwest sector of their territory.

“The one we’re concerned about usually is Tappan,” Slogar said. “While we’ve never not hit a refill in my time, you know, it’s just the ratio of drainage area, it’s a reservoir size and the characteristic of that watershed. It can react slowly if there isn’t enough precipitation. So that’s the only one we really look at, but everyone’s different.”