Conservancy director Craig Butler briefs Knox County commissioners on MWCD flood-mitigation work, $350 million plan and new community grants

Craig Butler, executive director of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD), told the Knox County Board of Commissioners on June 16 that MWCD’s primary mission remains flood mitigation while recreation and conservation are managed alongside long-term infrastructure work.

"We hold about 68 billion gallons of water on any given day and can pretty much double that during heavy water and flood season," Butler said, describing the district’s reservoir system and its role in reducing downstream flood risk. He framed MWCD’s work as a municipal-style public entity created after the 1913 flood and organized under conservancy-district law.

Butler said MWCD’s board approved roughly $350 million in capital improvements through 2030, funded in part by revenues from land leases for oil-and-gas development. "We turned that money over by local [contractors] and ... we're proud of that," he said, adding the board expects a multibillion-dollar regional economic effect from reinvesting lease proceeds in local projects.

Butler and Ethan Zuul, MWCD public affairs and safety manager, described several local investments and programs that Knox County residents could use. Upgrades at Charles Mill and Pleasant Hill parks include rebuilt campgrounds, new restrooms and a roughly $1 million playground at Charles Mill that opened for reservations this weekend, Butler said. The district also has done marina repairs and beach rebuilding and ran a tire-takeback program that removed more than 100 tires at a recent site.

On finance and sustainability, Butler said MWCD has shifted to using oil-and-gas lease proceeds for capital projects rather than day-to-day operations and has started a private endowment this year. "We did our first installment of $25 million into that endowment," he said, calling it a foundational step to ensure funding for future maintenance and conservation.

MWCD described its assessment authority and operating revenues: the district collects a modest per-parcel assessment (Butler said the original assessment was about $12 per parcel and has been reduced over time) that generates roughly $1 million, while most operating revenue now comes from recreation fees and campsite reservations.

Butler also outlined MWCD grant programs. The district runs a watershed-management grant program (described as roughly $1.5 million a year for conservation and infrastructure work, including log-jam removal and community projects) and said it will open applications this fall for a new $1 million "Connecting Communities" recreation grant to support playgrounds, parking and similar local improvements.

Commissioners asked about data-center demands for water. Butler said MWCD does sell water for some industrial uses but will not commit to long-term, high-volume sales that could impair lake levels or recreation. He described a practice of third-party technical review (for example, work with the U.S. Geological Survey) and contract triggers that stop withdrawals in drought conditions; the district used such triggers in 2024 by turning off certain water intakes when lake levels threatened public access.

Butler explained MWCD’s relationship with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: the Corps owns the dams while MWCD pays a share of maintenance costs and works jointly on rehabilitation and safety improvements.

The presentation closed with a description of recent land purchases and a $3.5 million acquisition that created the Broton Nature Preserve near Marietta; the seller invested most of the proceeds in the Marietta Community Foundation to support permanent management of the property, Butler said.

MWCD officials offered to provide the county with their annual report and to return periodically with updates. County leaders welcomed the outreach and asked MWCD to share application details for the new grant program when they become available.

Ending: MWCD will send its annual report and grant information to Knox County; commissioners asked to be kept informed and the county administrator said the county would welcome periodic updates.