Saturday, September 8, 2018
Staff report
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District’s flood-risk management reservoirs in the Mahoning River Valley are positioned to receive the heavy precipitation forecasted this weekend by the National Weather Service.
The weather service is expecting 3 to 5 inches of rain through Sunday, with the heaviest rain projected to fall in the Mahoning River Basin.
The Corps’ three multipurpose reservoirs in Northeast Ohio have nearly 100 percent of their flood storage available to help capture runoff from the incoming storm.
Currently, Berlin Lake in Deerfield is positioned to receive up to 4.2 inches of runoff; Michael J. Kirwan Dam and Reservoir in Wayland is positioned to receive up to 6.6 inches of runoff; and Mosquito Creek Lake in Cortland is positioned to receive up to 6.3 inches of runoff.
The Corps’ remaining 13 reservoirs in the upper Ohio River Basin also are prepared to help capture the anticipated runoff and precipitation behind its dams.
When a storm approaches, the Corps keeps space in its 16 reservoirs to capture up to 33 percent of the precipitation and runoff that falls within the upper Ohio River Basin.
To date, these reservoirs have prevented nearly $36 billion in flood damage across the basin. Mosquito, Kirwan and Berlin lakes combined have prevented $8.6 billion in flood damage, says a Corps news release.
For information about flood preparedness, visit: lrp.usace.army.mil/Missions/Emergency-Management/Flood-Preparedness/.
For water management information, including daily reservoir reports and river gage data, visit: lrp.usace.army.mil/Missions/Water-Management/.