MOUNT LIBERTY — On Monday afternoon, the Knox County Commissioners visited the property of Lyman Gates. Gates said he asked for a site visit due some erosion and degradation of a portion of the Dry Creek dike located on his property, a dike which held back the flood waters of 1972 and 1989.
A box alder tree, at some point, was also tipped over by the excessive water flow, said Gates. He suspects, but is unsure, that the problem was a result of rehabilitation work being done on the old railroad bridge nearby. The county has installed rock channel protection at the bridge; the bridge will be part of the Heart of Ohio Trail system.
Commissioner Alan Stockberger said the county wants to work with Gates in solving the problem, but is hesitant to use public funds to repair something on private property. Ron Clendening of the Knox County Soil & Water Conservation District and Kim Marshall of the Knox County Park District therefore accompanied the commissioners to provide technical assistance and advice.
Marshall said the large rainfall over the past winter most likely caused the banks of Dry Creek to destabilize, causing the damage to Gates’ dike. She and Clendening discussed options to prevent further erosion, and Clendening explained which options would need to be approved by the Army Corps of Engineers before installation.
Although the commissioners will provide no funds for the project, Gates said he appreciated their willingness to check out the site and to offer suggestions to fix the dike, which he built years ago.
The group also found some bank degradation and washouts upstream of the bridge.