Spring storms have pushed lakes across the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District to near-record levels, forcing officials to relocate roughly 100 campers and halt park operations.
Trails have washed out, footbridges have buckled, and heavy winds have toppled trees and damaged cabins across the district’s lakes and surrounding parks.
The district manages lakes and parks throughout eastern Ohio, including Ohio Valley lakes in Belmont, Harrison, Guernsey, and Tuscarawas counties. Local lakes include Clendening, Leesville, Piedmont, Seneca, and Tappan.
The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District says flooding is partly structural — the district’s lakes are linked to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dams, and when those reservoirs fill, there is nowhere left for the water to go. Crews are now working to clear more than 100 large trees before parks can safely and fully reopen.
