Lucas County commissioners approve 6‑year maintenance plan for 10 Mile Creek/Ottawa River watershed

Lucas County engineering staff presented the final report for the 10 Mile Creek/Ottawa River watershed ditch petition and described an estimated six‑year program to clear log jams, remove accumulated sediment and maintain drainage infrastructure. At the close of a public hearing March 11, 2025, temporary commissioners voted to affirm the engineer's findings, confirm changes made after filed exceptions, and approve the six‑year work plan and associated assessments.

The engineer told the board the petition process began in March 2021 after Spencer Township filed a petition under Ohio Revised Code Section 61.31 and subsequent amendments added ditch segments without increasing the watershed area. The engineer said staff inspected 308 petition segments covering about 87 miles of ditches in Lucas County, identified about 438,000 cubic yards of accumulated sediment (an average of roughly 1.3 feet per segment), and catalogued roughly 774 log jams. He said the proposed first‑six‑year program targets the worst locations first and estimates about $2.0 million per year for the first six years to complete the work and shift the system to routine maintenance.

Why it matters: the engineer explained that failing or obstructed ditch segments reduce a channel's capacity and can cause extended backups, damage to crops, roads and buildings, and increased flood risk. He cited benefits the engineer used in the petition calculations including increased crop production in the hundred‑year floodplain (an estimated…