Storms, release of water leave Riverview Golf Club submerged

July 3, 2015 at 12:05a.m.

It has often been said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result.

Unfortunately for Riverview Golf Club co-owner Scott Gintert, he doesn’t have much control over his piece of mind when it comes to his business.

The family-owned golf course located along the Mahoning River in Braceville has been dealing with flooding issues since it opened in 1962. The problems arise during periods of heavy rainfall, which much of the Mahoning Valley has been struggling with for the past month. But Gintert says it’s not the water that falls from the sky that’s put his course in jeopardy of going under.

“We can take anything Mother Nature can dish out,” he said Wednesday. “When that happens it’s only for two days. When the Army [Corps] floods us, it’s for a week or so.”

The latest water damage will force the Trumbull County golf course to be shut down for at least two weeks, according to Gintert. And he believes all of it could’ve been avoided.

THE HISTORY

Riverview Golf Club was built along the Mahoning River by John and Ed Gintert as a nine-hole course. It features the famous River Hole, a double-dog leg par 5 that runs along the water.

Five years after it opened, nine more holes were added to the 220 acres of land it currently sits on. Since a few of the holes run along the river, the water level often changes and can spill over onto the course.

Lake Milton is a 1,685-acre lake just south of the golf course. Its controlled by a 2,840-foot-long dam that was re-structured in 1985 by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

Ever since then, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers control the damn to maintain proper and safe water levels for the thousands of residents who live on the lake. They are also in control of Berlin Lake and its dam, which was formed upstream from Lake Milton in 1943 as a precaution.

Where problems arise for Riverview Golf Club is when the Army Corps opens the Lake Milton dam to release the overflow of water, it runs down the Mahoning River and floods the course.

The Gintert family has dealt with the geographic disadvantages for years, but believe they’re not getting enough help from the Army Corps to limit the damage.

“When the problem really started was when they remade Lake Milton and the state of Ohio stopped draining the lake because people wanted to see water when they look out their window, year-round,” Gintert said. “In 2002, the Army Corps destroyed this place.

“They almost broke the family up.”

THE CAUSE

Jeff Hawk is a spokesperson with the Pittsburgh District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineering.

The district covers an area of approximately 26,000 square miles of major river systems, including upper Ohio, the Allegheny, the Monongahela and the Beaver. It manages 16 flood control and multipurpose reservoirs and 23 navigation locks and dams, including Lake Milton, for the state of Ohio.

The Army Corps does its own flood damage estimates and according to Hawk, the Berlin Lake dam prevented $59.3 million in flood damages in 2014. Since it was constructed in 1943, the dam has prevented $1.77 billion in flood damages.

“Those aren’t just damages,” Hawk said. “Those are also lives saved and business prevented from coming down due to flooding.”

The way the dams operate — according to Hawk — is during a storm, water that falls behind the dams is captured and held to help relieve flooding downstream. When the storm, or a possible flood threat passes, the Army Corps opens the gates, releasing water downstream so more water can be caught and held when the next storm comes along.

“Everyone who owns property along the river should understand where the flooding threats are,” Hawk said. “We do flood assessments and provide this information to the public.

“It’s available with our twice-daily reservoir reports, once in the morning and once in the evening, that show what’s coming in and what’s going out.”

THE EFFECT

Gintert has wondered for years why his business is the one that gets sacrificed for the sake of everyone else.

“They don’t take us into consideration,” he said. “I’ve got water going over bridges and onto the grass on our greens.

“It’s not right. It’s just not right. I’ve talked to them until I’m blue in the face.”

Gintert has become an expert on reading daily reservoir reports, although he often doesn’t like the forecast. He says the course can stand up to 1,800 cubic feet per second of water. For comparison, the Army Corps’ forecast says they will release 1,950 CFS today and Saturday, and 1,600 on Sunday from the Lake Milton dam.

“They keep those lakes too high and they do this every year,” Gintert said. “I deal with the weather more than what they do. They keep them too high and then every time they get a little rain it’s just like, ‘We gotta dump.’

“But we’re gonna suffer for a whole year here.”

Because of the most recent flooding, Gintert estimated nearly $100,000 in lost revenue and re-seeding from the damage. He says the club brings in $500,000 in a good year and they can barely pay the bills because of the constant fixes.

“The damage we’re looking at, we’ll be looking at shutting down for nearly a month,” Gintert said. “We can’t afford to do that.”

THE SOLUTION?

Fourth of July weekend is one of the busiest times of year for boat owners and Lake Milton is expected to have plenty of traffic. Gintert says he has nothing against boaters and those who like to fish. He just wants to run his business without living in fear of the next time it will be under water.

“Because Fourth of July, they want the water perfect for the boaters in Lake Berlin and Lake Milton,” Gintert said. “I understand [the Army Corps] is getting it from both sides.

“With a little common sense and a little help, we can all get along.”

Gintert believes if the Army Corps released water in smaller increments and over longer periods of time, it wouldn’t have the same flooding effect on his course.

“Instead of taking two days to dump the water, why not take four days?” he asked.

Hawk says the public might not realize that the area has been in a “flood fight for many, many weeks.”

“When we must capture and release this water, we’re going to use the capacity we have to evacuate the water from the reservoirs,” he said. “These dams are a benefit and we’re very fortunate to have them.”