Ohio River dams not designed or intended to hold back rising river water

Описание: CINCINNATI (WKRC) - The Meldahl Locks and Dam is about 40 miles southeast of Cincinnati. Currently, it is letting the river water essentially pass through it.

"They're only built to a certain height because if they were built higher, they would flood. They would back up the water and flood our communities. So, again, they are designed to be run off the river structures. The water comes in, the water goes through. [At the dam], it's pretty much level on both sides, so there's really no capacity to hold back any more water," Col. Paul Kremer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said.

The dams throughout the Ohio River are only designed to keep the river open to commercial traffic like barges. Before they were built, the river could get so low, ships couldn't go any further upstream.

Think of each dam and lock as steps boats use to make their way up or down river. There is about a 30-foot water height difference between the Meldahl and Markland dams. The only protection communities along the river have are levees.

"They were built based upon what happened in the 1937 flood, here locally. So, they're all designed to hold back waters up to 80 feet. Bottom line, all of the projects are functioning as designed," Kremer said.

There are dams that create reservoirs in the region. They are designed to fill up and hold onto heavy rainwater and then slowly release it so areas don't flood.

"West Fork and East Fork, those are smaller reservoirs, and they help local flooding. They really don't hold back much water from the Ohio River. Most of the water that falls in this area goes uncontrolled into the Ohio River. " Kremer said.