12/11/18 – 11:09 A.M.

Representatives from the local business and agricultural communities met with government officials to talk about flood mitigation again Tuesday morning. Now that the Blanchard River benching project is underway, the group is looking at more ways to reduce flooding. Tim Mayle of the Blanchard River Watershed Solutions group says the area north of the river and east of Main Street in Findlay is interesting…

Audio: Tim Mayle

Mayle says if they engineer the project first they can measure any potential cost-benefit before moving forward.

Mayle adds the collective group is against storage basins for the Blanchard River and Potato Run. He says they want to work on engineering solutions for Eagle Creek…

Audio: Tim Mayle

The group doesn’t want to take houses or access to roads. Mayle says the collaborative group would have to agree on an Eagle Creek project before moving forward.

Mayle says their new approach means designing a solution for flooding, and then seeing what the cost-benefit is. In the past, they’ve asked engineers to reduce flooding by specific amounts. That’s led to less than agreeable solutions like dry storage basins.

All six counties in the Blanchard River watershed will meet at the Putnam County Courthouse next Tuesday at 2 p.m. to talk about the benching project.