Hocking River - Flooding

Flooding

Flooding on the Hocking used to be a yearly occurrence for the residents of Athens, Ohio. The floods determined many aspects of the resident's lives, for example where to build a house. Most of the houses in Athens, Ohio are built up on the hills, or the higher ground. It wasn’t until the university needed to expand, due to an influx of students during the 1950s that anything was even built into the flood plain. Some mentionable floods were the 1907 flood, in which seven people died, and about twenty houses were swept away. Another notable flood took place in 1968 which was labeled "The worst flood in fifty five years". The 1968 flood is also of interest due to the fact that the re-routing of the Hocking River project began in 1969. The re-routing of the Hocking was undertaken by the US Army Corps of Engineers, and was paid for by the university. The project was completed by 1971 and reverted five miles of the river along west green.

Flood of 1907

This flood took place on March 14, 1907 and caused extensive damage throughout Athens, Ohio and SE Ohio. According to the Athens Journal, seven people died during the flood and the rescue attempts which followed. The flood uprooted about twenty houses, as well as drowned countless heads of horse and cattle. Residents that owned rowboats spent the days after the flood rescuing as many people as possible from their flooded houses, many people were saved, but rescuers were among the seven people who died. Thousands of people were forced to leave their homes, and many people were arrested for looting in the days after the flood. Telegraph lines were ripped down due to the flood, leaving Athens residents with no way of communicating with the outside world in the days after the flood. The railroad, waterworks plant, and electric plant were flooded, leaving Athens residents without water or electricity.

Flood of 1968

The flood of 1968 was another bad one. four inches of rain fell in twenty four hours, causing the river to crest at twenty five feet, eight feet above sea level. Students actually helped the National Guardsmen in rescue efforts and sandbagging in an attempt to control the flooding. The flood made national news, worrying parents and relatives who were tuning in. Students were also seen diving off the balcony in front of Brown Hall, and out dorm windows in the West Green. It was reportedly the worst flood in fifty five years, and caused $8.9 million in damage to Athens county, and $750,000 to Ohio Universities campus.

Re-routing Project

A year after the 1968 flood the re-routing project began. The project was carried out by the Army Corps of Engineers, and was funded by Ohio University. The University needed to expand its campus into the flood plain without having to pay annual damages, and without putting students at risk. So the re-routing project, which had been proposed years early, became one of the only viable solutions for the universities dilemma. It has been speculated that the new river channel has three times the carrying capacity of the old one, and should reduce chances of flooding by 86% preventing an estimated $800,000 annual flood loss. The project began on April 12, 1969, it was estimated to cost $11 million, and was to re-route a five mile strip of river that ran along West green. Also, a four laned bridge was constructed along Richland Ave, which can still be seen today. The project was completed by 1971, and OU reportedly paid $375,000 per year for twenty two years. The project had a lasting effect on the campus of OU, the pre 1969 Hocking would have run directly through the bottom floor of Baker Center. US Army Corps has estimated that since the project was completed, $48 million in flood damage has been adverted since completion. The project was put to the test in May, 1990 when heavy rains caused the river to crest at twenty three feet in Athens. President Bush declared Athens and three other counties "Disaster Areas"; the flood caused $4 million in damage to SE Ohio, but physical plant director Chuck Culp estimated that rerouting the river saved OU more than $500,000 in flood damage. The most visible change to Athens due to the rerouting project was the building of Baker center. Baker center is built right in the original flood plain of the Hocking river, the second flood of Baker would actually be stream level.