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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2010 > March > 12 > Entry
Kevin Riley: When it comes to floods, at least we’re not Fargo
That March’s thaw came early and, with it, more than nine inches of rain in just five days.
People knew a flood threatened. After all, their city had flooded often, and during its centennial celebration, a historian predicted a flood that would put the city “out of existence.”
And very nearly, the flood of 1913 almost destroyed Dayton.
The descriptions of what happened during that defining event read like excerpts from a biblical tale of devastation. How our community reacted sounds like an even more far-fetched story.
Its first settlers set up the city for its day of reckoning because they placed it at the mercy of the rivers, which snake around it in what a Dayton Daily News writer once called a “sickle-like clutch of death.”
In 1913, the spring water rushed down the Miami Valley and, on March 25, the weak levee at Monument Avenue gave way.
By the end of the day, the intersection at Third and Main was under 11 feet of water. People were drowning, and buildings were collapsing. Then came the fires, as natural gas lines broke and high winds ignited nearby buildings.
People climbed onto trees, into attics and atop roofs. All they could do was pray and wait to be rescued; 123 died in Dayton and Harrison Twp.
View photos of 1913 Dayton flood.
The tragedy was overwhelming, but, once the water receded, determined citizens and leaders vowed that this would never happen again.
A public campaign was launched, and in just 10 days businesses and citizens raised a stunning $2 million. The community used the money to plan a flood-control system.
Local leaders and politicians pushed a bill through the legislature to create the Miami Conservancy District, covering nine counties. It oversaw the construction of an expansive $31 million system of dams and levees, which local citizens and governments paid for. That system has protected this region from floods since its completion in 1922.
We’re about to enter the season of floods, and it looks like it’s going to be a bad one for some places.
Fargo, N.D., on the banks of the Red River, is readying for its annual disaster. According to Mayor Dennis Walaker, the community is planning to assemble 1 million sandbags.
It’s “time to prepare, not time to panic,” he told me last week, seemingly resigned to another tough spring. Last year, the Fargo area was hit with devastating flooding, and, as a result, there seemed to be agreement on finding a permanent solution. But it’s not happening.
“It takes a long time to get all the stars aligned,” Walaker said.
He pointed out that Fargo is on the North Dakota-Minnesota border. That means two states, two counties and various parts of the federal government all have a say in any flood-control plan. He guesses any project would cost at least $1 billion and take at least six years to construct, provided everyone can agree.
Given Fargo’s problem and other responses to natural disasters today, our story remains remarkable.
First, the Miami Valley didn’t turn to Washington or Columbus. We paid for and figured out our own solution. Today, it’s unimaginable — and perhaps impossible — that a community would not ask for help from the federal government.
And what about the cost?
The community raised $2 million to create its plan. Adjusted for inflation, that would be about $44 million today. Again, they raised it in 10 days.
The cost of the overall system of dams and levees was $31 million. That would translate to at least $336 million today, not counting legal costs, regulatory expenses and changes in property values (the conservancy district bought land for the project). It’s probably safe to say that it would cost us a billion dollars today to build the system we have.
Today we see our levees and dams as part of the landscape, but they are monuments to incredible political and social will for change. Some time this spring, when it’s been raining for days, go to one of the dams or stand atop a levee.
A good spot is at the Taylorsville Dam on the Great Miami River near Vandalia, where U.S. 40 goes across the top of the dam and there’s a small parking lot.
As you watch the roiling water the dam controls, consider our community’s finest hour, and whether we could muster the will to do something like that again.
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Comments
By Barfy
March 13, 2010 2:07 PM | Link to this
These days we can’t save the arcade let alone the whole valley. The works of the Miami Valley Conservancy District truely are amazing and a testament to what is possible with strong leaadership and a clear shared vision.
By Mark D
March 13, 2010 7:22 PM | Link to this
By Barfy said, “The works of the Miami Valley Conservancy District truely are amazing and a testament to what is possible with strong leadership and a clear shared vision.” Agreed; but it wasn’t city leadership which brought this about. It was business leadership; and they committed a great deal of their own personal fortunes to make the MCD a reality. They backed their words with the commitment of fortune and prestige for the good of the community.
By r
March 14, 2010 10:11 AM | Link to this
couldn’t raise money like that today. 1913 Dayton had core businesses not any more…remember NCR was the focal point of that effort…not any more Dayton lost it’s soul when NCR left and I don’t think they have any thing to replace it …and by the way Air Force bases come and they go…
By bobby
March 14, 2010 10:21 AM | Link to this
Mr. Riley, Thank you for your thought provoking column…
By E Ramby
March 14, 2010 12:03 PM | Link to this
My father was born during the flood in the second floor of his family’s north Dayton home.My grandfather told us the story of hearing the piano hitting the ceiling downstairs, & watching horses swimming as they were swept down the street.
By Knarly surf
March 14, 2010 12:57 PM | Link to this
Not only was flight invented in Dayton, but surfing came to pass by a guy named Wordell Fornortener from Harrison Township, as he “rode the curl” on a barn siding plank past the courthouse. Betcha’ didn’t know that, did ya’!!!
By IT'S GREAT IN DAYTON!!
March 14, 2010 1:21 PM | Link to this
From DDN: “The Great Miami River’s level in Dayton stood at 31 feet Sunday morning, 10 feet below flood stage there”———Rather than thinking of it as a flood, maybe we regard it as the “2010 ENEMA” that downtown has needed for very, very many years.
By Roger
March 15, 2010 10:29 AM | Link to this
“…the Miami Valley didn’t turn to Washington or Columbus. We paid for and figured out our own solution.” Amen. That’s how it should be. Then the sad truth: “Today, it’s unimaginable — and perhaps impossible — that a community would not ask for help from the federal government.”
By Anon
March 15, 2010 11:39 AM | Link to this
Of course, the other advantage they had in 1913 was they didn’t have the EPA to take 10 years and spend $15 billion to tell us the environmental impact would be too severe, so we’d have to live with the flooding.
By Doug
March 15, 2010 7:13 PM | Link to this
How does one train a group of people producing cash registers to contructing row boats in the matter of a few days? NCR was able to do it. My parents have a piece of furniture that was my great-great grandparents. It was one of thousands of items that floated out of homes/stores and were then collected to be reclaimed. Its strange to sit in the chair close your eyes and imagine floating throught that mess nearly 100 years ago.