Hancock County Flood Risk Reduction Program

Blanchard River in Hancock County, Ohio has exceeded major flood stage 16 times since 1913. Flooding often persists for days, resulting in significant clean up and restoration expenses for the local, state, and federal governments. For example, floods in 2007 and 2008 caused tens of millions of dollars in damage.

The Maumee Watershed Conservancy District asked Stantec to develop a plan to reduce the flood risks affecting the area. We reviewed GIS and hydrologic and hydraulic (HEC-HMS and HEC-RAS) models developed by the US Army Corps of Engineers, supplementing the data with watershed reconnaissance and survey and geotechnical information. After completing a site-specific hydrology study and converting the HEC-RAS model to an unsteady state model, we developed and analyzed several flood risk reduction tactics. Ultimately, the client selected five alternatives which collectively became the Hancock County Flood Risk Reduction Program.

The program includes hydraulic improvements along the Blanchard River through downtown Findlay, the Eagle Creek Dry Detention Basin, and the Blanchard River and Potato Run Dry Detention Basins in the upper portion of the watershed. This is anticipated to remove hundreds of acres and thousands of parcels from the floodplain, which will lessen the impacted areas of the community.