MOUNT VERNON — Just as Rome was not built in a day, so the dams of the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, which affect an area far larger than Rome, will not be rebuilt in a short period of time.

Darrin Lautenschleger, the MWCD’s public information administrator, said districtwide studies and plans are taking place as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decides which structures receive priority. The Corps owns the dams.

Coshocton County’s 73-year-old Mohawk Dam is ranked seventh in the United States in terms of dams that need urgent major repair or replacement. The problem is that some of the other dams on that list are also in the MWCD, and are in even more dire need of repair. The Dover Dam, the Bolivar Dam, the Beach City Dam and the Zoar Levee are all in need of immediate work, and have received the first wave of attention from USACE.

The MWCD will use money raised from the districtwide levy passed in 2008 to match federal funds for the rehabilitation of dams and other projects. The levy specifically targeted several major maintenance issues within the district, which covers all or portions of 18 Ohio counties, stretching from the North Branch Kokosing Reservoir in Knox County to Marietta on the Ohio River.

The MWCD will partner with the federal government, state government and local entities, and plans to invest more than $4.2 million in various programs this year, said Boris E. Slogar, MWCD’s chief engineer.

“Our partnership with USACE will focus on the maintenance and rehabilitation of the dams in the Muskingum Basin,” Slogar said. “And there are a number of other worthwhile projects and programs that the MWCD will participate in during 2010 that maintain our focus on flood reduction and water conservation in the basin.”

The problem with all of the aging earthen structures in the district is that water seepage beneath the foundations and into permeable surrounding ground could potentially cause the structures to collapse during heavy flooding, resulting in potential major water damage downstream. Although the Mohawk Dam is ranked as in need of “urgent” repairs, that is actually a level lower than the four structures receiving priority, as they are even more prone to developing problems.

Lautenschleger said that a large portion of the MWCD’s levy income will be used in 2010 to support the Dover and Bolivar dam projects. Preliminary work for Mohawk Dam will begin in 2011, lasting through the following year, with contract for the construction work being awarded in January 2013. USACE estimates are currently projecting the Mohawk Dam work to be the most expensive repair in the district, costing approximately $195 million, with MWCD contributing $44.9 million of that sum.

The USACE has projected that it could spend in excess of $600 million for maintenance and rehabilitation of all 16 dams in the Muskingum system over the next 20 years, with the MWCD’s share as the local sponsor exceeding $100 million.

“This represents an investment of more than $700 million in infrastructure projects in our region, which provide economic and flood reduction benefits,” Slogar said.

The MWCD also will spend an estimated $765,000 for maintenance projects at its reservoirs, including a major slope stabilization project at Pleasant Hill Reservoir.

The MWCD, a political subdivision of the state, was organized in 1933 to develop and implement a plan to reduce flooding and conserve water for beneficial public uses in the Muskingum River Basin. Since their construction, the reservoirs and dams in the MWCD region have been credited for saving more than $7 billion worth of potential property damage from flooding, according to the federal government.