The Maumee Watershed Conservancy District Court voted on Friday to add the Eagle Creek Floodwater Storage Basin to their official plan.

“This is a wonderful day for Findlay,” said Mayor Christina Muryn.

“This has been an issue that’s plagued our community for far too long and I’m really excited we were able to take this next step to continue to move flood mitigation forward.”

Muryn added that there’s a lot of hope in the community that we’re finally going to get some resolution and no longer be afraid every time it rains.

Tim Mayle, director of Findlay-Hancock County Economic Development, is a board member on Blanchard River Watershed Solutions.

Mayle said he can’t stress enough how important it was to get the Eagle Creek basin project added to the conservancy district’s plan.

He says the basin will reduce the 100-year flood elevation at Main Street in Findlay by around a foot and a half, which is on top of the benefits being seen from other flood mitigation projects like benching and removing flood-prone properties.

At Friday’s meeting the Conservancy Court did voice concerns about how the project was presented to them and that the state so far has only approved $30 million for the project, which is estimated to cost between $60 and $70 million.

As Mayle mentioned in the audio above, the governor and state legislature are in support of the project but won’t approve more money until it’s clear that the project is moving forward.

Mayle said this is how state funding works on projects like these, they don’t like to give you the full funding up front but in increments as they see that the project is progressing.

A community meeting on the project was held in Findlay on June 28th.

Around 200 people attended the meeting at the Old Mill Stream Centre at the Hancock County Fairgrounds.

Several officials with the Maumee Watershed Conservancy District and Blanchard River Watershed Solutions explained the project and the need for it.

Eagle Township Trustee David Bower was one of the several people who spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting.

He told WFIN he doesn’t believe the basin will be that effective and isn’t worth the cost.

Other opponents of the project raised concerns about safety, home values, effectiveness, communication and cost.

The 600 to 800-acre storage basin will be constructed west of U.S. 68 and just north of Township Road 49, just south of Findlay.