Floods of 

January-February 1959 

in Ohio 

Floods of January-February 1959 

in Ohio 

By W. P. Cross and H. P. Brooks 

Prepared in cooperation with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the 

Ohio Department of Highways, the Miami Conservancy District, the city of 

Columbus, and the Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 418 

Washington, D.C. 

1959 
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

FRED A. SEATON, Secretary 

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

THOMAS B. NoLAN, Director 

Free on application to the U.S. Geological Survey, Washington 25, D.C. 
·CONTENTS 

Paae 

Abstract-----------------------------------~- 1 Records of stages and discharges-Continued 

Introduction__________________________________ 1 Muskingum River basin-Continued 

Acknowledgments_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4 Mohawk Reservoir near Nellie _________ _ 

General description of the floods______ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4 Killbuck Creek at Killbuck ____________ _ 

Mahoning River and tributaries_____________ 6 Senecaville Reservoir near Senecaville ___ _ 

Muskingum River and tributaries____________ 6 Wills Creek Reservoir near Wills Creek __ 

Scioto River and tributaries________________ 8 Licking River at Toboso ______________ _ 

Little Miami River and tributaries__________ 10 Scioto River basin ________________________ _ 

Mill Creek_____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 10 Scioto River near Prospect ____________ _ 

Miami River and tributaries________________ 10 O'Shaughnessy Reservoir near Dublin ___ _ 

Maumee River and tributaries______________ 14 Scioto River below O'Shaughnessy Dam, 

Sandusky River pnd other Lake Erie tributaries near Dublin _______________________ _ 

between the Maumee and Cuyahoga Rivers_ 14 Griggs Reservoir near Columbus _______ _ 

Cuyahoga River___________________________ 16 Delaware Reservoir near Delaware _____ _ 

Lake Erie tributaries east of Cuyahoga River_ 16 Olen tangy River near Worthington _____ _ 

Flooddamages________________________________ 16 Scioto River at Columbus _____________ _ 

Measurements of flood discharges______ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 17 Hoover Reservoir at Central College ____ _ 

Summary of flood stages and discharges__________ 17 Big Walnut Creek at Central College ___ _ 

Rainfall and runoff comparisons__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 20 Alum Creek at Columbus ______________ _ 

Frequency of storms and peak discharges_________ 22 Big Walnut Creek at Rees _____________ _ 

Comparison with previous floods_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 23 Darby Creek at Darby ville ____________ _ 

References cited____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 24 Scioto River at Chillicothe _____________ _ 

Records of stages and discharges_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 25 Little Miami River basin __________________ _ 

Beaver River basin.----------------------- 27 Little Miami River at Milford _________ _ 

Mahoning River at Alliance__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 27 Mill Creek basin _________________________ _ 

Berlin Reservoir near Berlin Center______ 27 Mill Creek at Reading ________________ _ 

Milton Reservoir at Pricetown _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 27 West Fork Mill Creek Reservoir near 

West Branch Mahoning River near New- Greenhills _________________________ _ 

ton Falls___________________________ 27 Miami River basin ___ ---------------------

Mosquito Creek Reservoir near Cortland_ 28 Miami River at Sidney ________________ _ 

Meander Creek Reservoir at Mineral Miami River at Taylorsville ___________ _ 

Ridge______________________________ 28 Stillwater River at Pleasant HilL ______ _ 

Mahoning River at Youngstown_________ 28 Stillwater River at Englewood _________ _ 

Muskingum River basin____________________ 29 Mad River near Springfield ____________ _ 

Tuscarawas River at Massillon__________ 29 Mad River near Dayton _______________ _ 

Nimishillen Creek at North Industry____ 29 Miami River at Miamisburg ___________ _ 

Bolivar Reservoir at Bolivar____________ 30 Twin Creek near Germantown _________ _ 

Leesville Reservoir near Leesville________ 30 Miami River at Hamilton _____________ _ 

Atwood Reservoir near New Cumberland_ 30 Maumee River basin ______________________ _ 

Dover Reservoir near Dover_________ _ _ _ 30 Blanchard River near Findlay __________ _ 

Beach City Reservoir near Beach City___ 31 Maumee River near Defiance __________ _ 

Piedmont Reservoir at Piedmont________ 31 Sandusky River basin _____________________ _ 

Clendening Reservoir at Tippecanoe_____ 31 Sa,ndusky River near Mexico ___________ _ 

Tappan Reservoir at Tappan___________ 31 Huron River basin ________________________ _ 

Charles Mill Reservoir near Mifflin______ 31 Huron River at Milan ________________ _ 

Pleasant Hill Reservoir near Perrysville_ 32 Cuyahoga River basin ____________________ _ 

Mohicanville Reservoir near Mohican- Cuyahoga River at Independence _______ _ 

ville_______________________________ 32 Grand River basin ________________________ _ 

Kokosing River at Mount Vernon_______ 32 Grand River near Madison ____________ _ 

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IV CONTENTS 

ILLUSTRATIONS 

Page 

FIGURE 1. Aerial photograph of east end, Chillicothe, Ohio, January 23, 1959_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2 

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Aerial photograph of downtown Fremont, February 11, 1959___________________________________ 3 

Ice jam in Riley Creek near Ottawa, February 19, 1959________________________________________ 5 

Isohyetal map of Ohio, showing storm rainfall January 19-21, 1959______________________________ 7 

Graphs showing accumulated rainfall, January 19-21, 1959_____________________________________ 8 

Isohyetal map of Ohio, showing storm rainfall February 9-10, 1959______________________________ 9 

Graphs of discharge at selected gaging stations in the Mahoning River basin, January 20 to February 18, 1959________________________________________________________________________________ 10 

Graphs of discharge at selected gaging stations in the Muskingum River basin, January 20 to February 18, 1959-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 

Graphs of discharge at selected gaging stations in the Scioto River basin, January 20 to February 18, 1959________________________________________________________________________________ 12 

Graphs of discharge at selected gaging stations in the Miami River basin, January 20 to February 18, 1959________________________________________________________________________________ 13 

Graphs of discharge at selected gaging stations on Lake Erie tributaries, January 20 to February 

18, 1959-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 

Map of Ohio showing locations of flood measurement points during the floods of January-February 

1959----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18 

Relation of peak discharge, in cubic feet per second, to drainage area, January floods______________ 19 

Relation of peak discharge, in ratio to mean annual flood, to drainage area, January floods_________ 19 

Relation of precipitation to runoff, January floods_____________________________________________ 22 

TABLES 

Page 

TABLE 1. Precipitation-area relation for storm of January 19-21, 1959______________________________________ 6 

2. Summary of flood damage, January and February 1959__________________________________________ 17 

3. Runoff into reservoirs, January 1959_ --------------------------------------------------------- 20 

4. Relation of precipitation to runoff, January 1959________________________________________________ 21 

5. Summary of flood stages and discharges for floods of January-February 1959_______________________ 48 
FLOODS OF JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 IN OHIO 

By W. P. Cross and H. P. Brooks 

ABSTUACT 

The flood of January 21-24, 1959 was the worst flood 

since 1913 in a widespread area of Ohio. On a few 

streams the stages and discharges exceeded those of 1913. 

Sixteen lives were lost, and total damage was estimated 

to be in excess of $100 million. More than 17,000 buildings were flooded, and about 50,000 persons were 

evacuated. 

Heavy rains on January 20 and 21 exceeded 6 inches 

in a narrow band extending northeastward from Cincinnati and Dayton through Columbus to Conneaut. More 

than 3 inches of rain fell on about half of the State. 

The ground was saturated by a storm on January 14-17, 

and was frozen, with some snow cover. Meteorological 

events and ground conditions were similar to those of 

March 1913, except that the storm lasted about 24 hours 

compared to 7 days in 1913, and the total rainfall maximum was slightly in excess of 6 inches, compared to more 

than 11 inches in 1913. 

An outstanding feature of the flood was the high percentage of rainfall that was rapidly concentrated into 

stream channels. The rainfall intensities as well as the 

ground conditions contributed to the high runoff ratios. 

Flood-control reservoirs constructed in the basins of 

the Mahoning, Muskingum, Scioto and Miami Rivers 

since the 1913 flood markedly reduced the peak flows and 

flood damage. Previous maximum storage contents 

were exceeded in several reservoirs in the western part 

of the Muskingum River basin, the Delaware Reservoir 

in the Scioto River basin, and the retarding basins of 

the Miami Conservancy District. 

Three weeks after the January storm a similar storm 

crossed the northwest corner of the State. More than 3 

inches of rain fell on parts of the Maumee River and 

Sandusky River basins on February 9-10. The resulting 

flood, greatly complicated by ice jams, was much lower 

in stage and discharge than the 1913 flood, and was generally about equal to the floods of 1937 and 1950. Damage was severe in some localities, and exceeded $3 million. 

Several cities were flooded twice in 3 weeks. 

INTRODUCTION 

The flood of January 21-24, 1959, caused more 

than $100 million damage in Ohio as reported by 

the Civil Defense Corps. Sixteen lives were lost. 

Several cities, including Columbus, Mount Vernon, 

Newark, and Chillicothe, were partly inundated; 

flooding at Chillicothe is shown in figure 1. The 

flood was widespread, and only the northwest and 

southeast corners of the State being spared by the 

main storm path. Rains, beginning generally on 

the night of the 20th and continuing through the 

21st, were of high intensity along a northeastsouthwest line bisecting the State from Cincinnati 

to Conneaut. Twenty-four-hour rainfall intensity records were broken at some Weather Bureau 

stations. The heavy rains fell on ground saturated and frozen by rain and snow during January 

14-17. The percentage of rainfall reaching 

streams was well in excess of that usually recorded 

and approached complete runoff on some areas. 

Generally the devastating flood was second only to 

the 1913 flood, and in some areas the stages and 

discharges were unprecedented. Flooding extended from southern Indiana to northwestern 

Pennsylvania. 

Three weeks after the January flood another 

storm crossed the northern part of the State. The 

January flood had broken up the ice, from 14 to 

18 inches thick, on many northern streams, but removed little of it. Rains on February 9-10, fell 

in amounts exceeding 3 inches on parts of the 

Maumee and Sandusky River basins. The resulting floods were complicated by ice jamming, and 

the inundations were higher and more protracted 

because of backwater from ice. Findlay, Fremont, and some other cities were flooded twice in 

3 weeks; flooding at Fremont is shown in figure 2. 

The flooding extended across the Wabash River 

basin in Indiana and the northern part of Ohio. 

The two closely associated floods seriously affected all of the State except the southeastern 

counties. Of Ohio's 88 counties, 62 received flood 

relief funds from the American Red Cross. 

1 
FIGURE 1.--!Aerial photograph of east end, Chillicothe, Ohio, January 23, 1959. Photograph by Chillicothe Gazette, James E. Leasure, Jr. 

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FIGURE 2.--Aerial photograph of downtown Fremont, February 11, 1~59. Photograph by George Demmel, Fremont. 

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4 FLOODS OF JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 IN OHIO 

Immediately following the flood a program of 

surveys and studies was begun through cooperative efforts by the State, Federal, and other agencies concerned. In addition to the stream-gaging 

records and flow measurements and other information summarized herein, flood -damage studies, 

flood-crest profiles, maps of inundated areas, and 

other investigations were undertaken through the 

prompt action by Governor DiSalle and the General Assembly of Ohio. Results of all these surveys were not available for this preliminary report, 

which is to supply information needed for immediate planning. Included in this report are general 

descriptions of the floods, peak discharges for the 

present and previous record floods at selected gaging stations, peak stages and discharges at many 

miscellaneous sites, daily discharge data for 

selected gaging stations, and a summary of flood 

damages. A more comprehensive report covering 

both floods in the several States concerned is 

planned and will include all of the pertinent 

gaging-station records and miscellaneous peakflow measurements as well as the results of other 

studies. 

Because flood-control reservoirs markedly reduced flood stages and discharges, thereby greatly 

reducing the potential flood damage, a summary 

of storage records for 28 reservoirs is included 

with other basic records in this report. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

The documentation of basic streamflow records 

in Ohio is a part of a continuous cooperative program with the State Department of Highways; the 

State Department of Natural Resources; the 

Miami Conservancy District; the city of Columbus; and the Corps of Engineers, Department of 

the Army. The preparation of this report is part 

of a. supplemental investigation program financed 

through a special cooperative agreement between 

the Survey and the Ohio Department of Natural 

Resources, H. B. Eagon, director. 

Because of the need to perform the fieldwork 

and the office computations pertaining to floodpeak discharge as promptly as possible, about 30 

hydraulic engineers from all sections of the country were assigned to the Columbus district during 

the 3-month period after the floods. The fieldwork and office work of determining peak discharges by indirect methods were directed by 

Richard H. Tice, flood specialist, midcontinent 

area under general supervision of the Floods Section, Tate Dalrymple, chief, Washington, D.C. 

The field work and office work of collecting and 

tabulating basic records of streamflow as well as 

the associated analyses for the special flood investigations were primarily the responsibility of 

the Columbus district office under the supervision 

of L. C. Crawford, district engineer. 

Many Federal, State, municipal and private 

agencies supplied information pertinent to the investigations. The isohyetal maps and other 

meteorological data, and the information on flood 

damage were furnished by the Division of Water, 

Ohio Department of Natural Resources, C. V. 

Youngquist, chief. Information on water-supply 

and sewage-disposal plants was provided by the 

State Board of Health (Waring, 1959). Acknowledgment of other data furnished is made 

where the data appear in the text. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE FLOODS 

The severe cold weather of December 1958 froze 

the ground to depths ranging from 6 to 24 inches. 

Ice 18 inches thick was formed on the streams in 

northern Ohio; an ice jam in Riley Creek near 

Ottawa is shown in figure 3. January 14-17 a 

storm produced up to 1.84 inches of moisture, 

which fell as snow in the northern part of the 

State and rain changing to snow in the southern 

part. The ground was thus saturated, frozen, 

and covered with small amounts of snow on 

January 19. 

For several days prior to January 21 a persistent high-pressure area was located off the 

South Atlantic coast. At the same time an area 

of low pressure formed over the Great Plains. 

The combined circulation of these opposing systems transported a large mass of warm, moist air 

from the Gulf of Mexico to the Ohio Valley. The 

storm center did not become well established until 

about midnight January 20-21, when it was centered over northern Arkansas. Then it traveled 

rapidly northeastward. A sharp trough of low 

pressure extending southwest-northeast moved 

across northwestern Ohio on January 21. Warm 

air extended over southern Ohio by 1 a.m. on the 

21st, and thunderstorms broke out as far north 

as Columbus. By noon the low-pressure center 

had deepened and was centered just northwest of 
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FIGURE 3.-Ice jam in Riley Creek near Ottawa, Ohio, February 19, 1959. Photograph by Richard E.Landick, Jr., Ottawa. 

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6 FLOODS OF JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 IN OHIO 

Cincinnati. Conditions resembling a warm front 

developed, and the zone of convergence associated 

with this frontal activity moved across the State 

during the day. Most of the flood-producing 

rain came between midnight January 20-21 and 

noon on the 21st. The largest amounts, some exceeding 6 inches, were measured in a narrow band 

extending from Cincinnati and Dayton northeastward across Columbus to Conneaut. This band 

lay 50 to 100 miles south of the path of the main 

storm center in a position where there was a maximum of convergence in the windflow aloft. 

Many thunderstorms broke out in this zone of convergence, which added to the total precipitation. 

Surface temperatures rose well above freezing, 

contributing to the snowmelt. 

The amount of water in the snow cover that 

contributed to the flood is difficult to estimate. 

In the southern part of the State the amount of 

water in the light snow cover was insignificant. 

In the north, where snow was deeper, the rainfall 

was not as intense. Estimates of the depths of 

water from the snow cover are shown in the section of this report on rainfall and runoff comparisons. 

By midnight of the 21st the low-pressure center 

was northeast of Lake Huron. As the center 

moved northeast its cold front swept across the 

State, passing Columbus about 6 p.m. and leaving 

the State by midnight. This brought an end to 

the rain. 

An isohyetal map of the storm rainfall for 

January 19-21 is shown on figure 4. It is noteworthy that the area reporting 3 or more inches 

of precipitation crossed the State in a pattern that 

covered the headwaters of all major river basins 

except those of the Maumee and Hocking Rivers. 

This storm pattern accounts for much high runoff 

on medium-size drainage areas and the associated 

widespread flooding. Cumulative graphs of precipitation for selected weather stations are shown 

on figure 5. Rainfall rates per hour were from 

0.50 inch to 0.75 inch, and some localities reported 

hourly rates up to 1.1 inches. The areas enclosed by the isohyets of figure 4 were planimetered, with results as shown in table 1. 

On February 9-10 a similar low-pressure area 

crossed north of Ohio, with the zone of convergence lying along the Wabash River in Indiana 

and the Maumee and Sandusky River basins in 

Ohio. The ground was saturated from the J anuary storm and still frozen. Snowmelt added to the 

runoff and ice in the streams added to the flood 

stages. In some areas the February stages exceeded those in January. Rainfall exceeded 3 

inches over extensive areas, and most of the Lake 

Erie basin in Ohio received more than 2 inches. 

The isohyetal rna p of figure 6 shows the stonn 

rainfall for February 9-10. 

TABLE !.-Precipitation-area relation for storm of Janu~ 

ary 19-21, 1959 

Precipitaf}ion. Aretli 

(inches)l (square miles) 62____________________________________________ 165 

5--------------------------------------------- 4,160 

4--------------------------------------------- 9,660 3--------------------------------------------- 18,200 

2--------------------------------------------- 36,900 1 3 ____________________________________________ '41,262 

1 Equaled or exceeded 

2 Maximum reported, 6.15 inches. 3 Minimum reported, 1.07 inches. 

' Entire State. 

MAHONING RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES 

The January 21 flood in the Mahoning River 

basin was the highest since the construction of the 

Berlin and Mosquito Creek flood -control reservoirs. The reservoirs held back the runoff, but 

uncontrolled tributaries, principally the West 

Branch Mahoning River and Eagle Creek, caused 

high stages and severe damage. More than 7,000 

workers were idled when flooded industries suspended operations. At Warren 1,750 persons 

were forced from their homes. At Newton Falls 

on the West Branch the water plant was shut 

down and 300 removed from their homes. The 

flood waters of Crab Creek, a ::small tributary, 

added to the flood at Youngstown, where 1,000 

people were evacuated. IIydrographs for selected 

gaging stations in the Mahoning River basin are 

shown on figure 7. Total damage in the basin 

exceeded $16 million. 

Estimates by the Corps of Engineers (Engineering News-Record, Feb. 5, 1959) indicate that 

the reservoirs reduced the stage at Youngstown 

by 5.3 feet, and prevented additional damage of 

more than $30 million. 

MUSKINGUM RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES 

The 14 flood-control reservoirs, of the Muskingum Conservancy District, operated by the 

Corps of Engineers, reduced flooding by the Mus-
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF FLOODS 7 

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EXPLANATION 

-slsohyetal lines, in inches 

41° 

10 o 10 20 30 40 Miles 

FIGURE 4.-Isohyetal map of Ohio, showing storm rainfall January 19-21, 1959. 

kingum River. However, uncontrolled tributaries 

in the western part of the basin were in the area 

of excessive rainfall, and the floods on some 

streams exceeded all previous records, including 

in some places those of the flood of 1913. Hydrographs for selected gaging stations in the basin are 

shown on figure 8. Tota.I damage in the basin exceeded that for any other major river basin. 

Mount Vern on had the worst flood in its history 

when the levee along the Kokosing River gave way 

and water rose rapidly in an extensive residential 

district, flooding about one-third of the city. 

About 3,500 of the total population of 16,000 were 

forced from their homes. The water plant was 

damaged, there was a power failure, and only one 

road into the city remained passable. The peak 

flow of the Kokosing River at Millwood, downstream from Mount Vernon, was nearly twice that 

of the 1913 flood. Dry Run a.nd other small tributaries added to the damage. 
8 FLOODS OF JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 IN OF.UO 

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FIGURE 5.-Graphs showing accumulated rainfall, January 

19-21, 1959. 

Other uncontrolled tributaries of the Walhonding River caused simila.r disaster. In Mansfield, 

on Rocky Fork, more than 200 people evacuated 

their homes. In Shelby, on a tributary of Black 

Fork, damage was more than $300 thousand. The 

village of Bellville, on Clear Fork, was completely 

isolated for a time. Wooster was severely flooded 

as were many communities in the Killbuck Creek 

area. Killbuck Creek at Killbuck reached a stage 

within a few hundredths of a foot of the record 

established by the cloudburst flood of August 1935. 

Total damage in Holmes County approached $5 

million. Water plants were damaged in Millersburg, Wooster, and Mansfield. 

The flood extended into the Tuscara.was River 

basin. At Rittman, on Chippewa Creek, the water 

supply was contaminated. In Barberton 17 5 

people were evacuated. In Canton, at the confluence of Middle Branch and Nimishillen Creek, 

industrial damage was reported at nearly 

$5,250,000. Four hundred people were forced 

from their homes. Other small communities were 

flooded, and bridges washed out, with extensive 

high way damage. 

At Newark, on the Licking River, about 1,500 

people were evacuated. The flood stage at the 

gaging station at Toboso, downstream from 

Newark, was more than 1 foot above the 1913 

record. The water service was interrupted, and 

the water-supply dam weakened so that it washed 

out in the February flood. The sewage disposal 

plant was put out of service. At Zanesville the 

Licking River flooded 25 city blocks of the western 

part of the city. The North Fork of the Licking 

River washed out several miles of track of the 

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. 

The combined storage in the flood -control reservoirs reached 54 percent of the combined capacities 

at spillway elevations, compared to about 47 percent for the highest previous record of storage in 

June 1947. Estimates of the reductions in stage 

of the Muskingum River by the reservoirs, based 

on preliminary estimates by the Corps of Engineers, are 11.9 feet at Coshocton, 11.4 feet at Zanesville, and 7.7 feet at McConnelsville. Without the 

reservoirs the total damage in the Muskingum 

River basin would have been increased by about 

$13 million, and the Muskingum reservoirs are 

estimated to have reduced damages along the Ohio 

River by an additional $7,600,000. 

SCIOTO RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES 

The head waters of the Scioto River and several 

of its tributaries received heavy concentrations of 

rainfall during January 21-2'2, 1959. The one 

:flood-control reservoir in the basin, Delaware 

Reservoir on the Olentangy River, stored all the 

runoff frflm 381 square miles and reduced flood 

stages and damages at downstream points. The 

three water-supply reservoirs of the city of Columbus had slight controlling effect inasmuch as 

their design did not include flood storage capacities. However, Hoove1 Reservoir on Big Walnut 

Creek stored more than 2 inches in equivalent 

depth on its drainage area of 190 square miles, but 

the peak stage downstream at the gaging station on 

the same stream at Rees was 1.5 feet above the 1913 

maximum stage. The peak on Alum Creek, not 

affected by storage, was over 5 times the mean annual flood, and 6 feet higher in stage than the highest flood in the past 35 years. Hydrographs for 

selected gaging stations in the basin are shown 

on figure 9. 

At Columbus a levee along Dry Run, a small 

tributary of the Scioto River, was overtopped by 

the flood waters of the river, releasing water into 

the west side of the city. At the same time Alum 

and Big Walnut Creeks, in the eastern part of t.he 

city, were at unprecedented stages. Gas service 

was interrupted for several days because of water 

in the lines. Two dwellings were destroyed, and 

more than 100 were badly damaged. Hundreds 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF FLOODS 9 

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85° 84° 83° 

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EXPLANATION 

-JIsohyetal lines, in inches 

10 

10 0 10 20 30 40 Miles 

FIGURE 6.--Isohyetal map of Ohio, showing storm rainfall February 9-10, 1959. 

of automobiles were submerged. The Red Cross 

cared for 3,200 evacuees at improvised shelters. 

Utilities were damaged extensively. The Circleville water plant and the sewage disposal plants 

at Kenton, Marion, and Chillicothe were put out 

of operation. At Chillicothe one-third of the city 

was flooded and 9,000 people evacuated (see 

fig. 1) 0 

The January 1959 runoff of the Scioto River at 

the Chillicothe gaging station was 4.36 inches, 

adjusted for storage in reservoirs. This high runoff is less than half of the runoff for January 

1937, at the same station, which was 9.03 inches. 

The peak flow at this station on January 23 was 

144,000 cfs, compared to 101,000 cfs on January 

23, 1937, but the March 1913 peak flow was 260,-

000 cfs. These comparisons serve to indicate that 

the Scioto River has had, and can have again, 

much greater floods in volume and in peak rate 

than the 1959 flood. 

Preliminary estimates by the Corps of Engineers of the reductions of peak stages by storage in 
10 FLOODS OF JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 ~ OEITO 

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~ Mahoning River at Alliance, Ohio 

Drainage area 87.9 sq mi 

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20 24 28 31 1 4 8 12 16 18 

JANUARY -FEBRUARY 1959 

FIGURE 7.-Graphs of discharge at selected gaging stations in the Mahoning River 

basin, January 20 to February 18, 1959. 

Delaware Reservoir are 14 feet at Delaware, 9.2 

feet at Worthington, 4.2 feet at Columbus, and 2.9 

feet at Chillicothe. Thus the value of flood control and the need for additional control in the 

Scioto River basin were underlined by this disaster. About $6 million damage was prevented 

by the reservoir. 

LITTLE MIAMI RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES 

The January 21, 1959, flood on the Little Miami 

River exceeded the 1913 flood in a reach extending 

through Fort Ancient to the mouth of Todd Fork 

at Morrow. Damage was locally severe, but was 

confined largely to the small communities located 

on the flood plain. These included Spring Valley, 

Corwin, Morrow, South Lebanon, and Kings 

Mills. Total damage in the entire basin exceeded 

$5 million. At Spring Valley 45 homes were 

evacuated, and 300 persons were forced from their 

homes at South Lebanon. The town of Kings 

Mills was completely inundated. Two hundred 

people were evacuated at Morrow. Farther south, 

the rainfall was less, and the East Fork of the 

Little Miami River had only a minor flood. 

MILL CREEK 

The area drained by Mill Creek is highly industrialized. The flood plain is broad and flat, and 

the stream ordinarily-flows in a shallow trench not 

far below flood-plain level. The entire basin was 

in the area of excessive rainfall. Partial protection is given the lower part of the basin by the 

flood -control reservoir on West Fork of Mill 

Creek, which held back a runoff of more than 5 

inches on the 29.5 square mile drainage area. 

Damage was general throughout the valley, but 

was more severe at Reading where a broken levee 

released water into a residential district. 

MIAMI RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES 

A large part of the Miami River basin was in 

the area of excessive rainfall in January 1959. 

The five retarding basins of the Miami Conservancy District minimized flood stages and damages 

on the main streams, but uncontrolled tributaries 
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GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF FLOODS 

28 

I Mad River near Sprinsfield, Ohio 

Drainage area 485 sq mi 

Miami River at Miamisburg, Ohio 

Drainage area 2718 sq mi 

31 1 4 

JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 

8 12 

r- -

16 18 

FIGURE 8.-Graphs of discharge at selected gaging stations in the Muskingum 

River basin, January 20 to February 18, 1959. 

11 
12 

0 

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40 

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FLOODS OF JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 IN OHIO 

~ 

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I I Scioto River at Columbus, Ohio 

Drainage area 1624 sq m1 

- 1'---.. 

I I 

B1g Walnut Creek at Central College, Ohio 

Drainage area 190 sq mi 

Alum Creek at Columbus, Oh10 

Dra1nage area 190 sq mi 

-- I 

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Big Walnut Creek at Rees, Ohio 

Drainage area 544 sq m1 

I 

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I I Scioto River at Chillicothe, Ohio 

Drainage area 3847 sq mi 

/ ~ 

-- 31 1 4 8 12 16 18 

JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 

FIGURE 9.--Graphs of discharge at selected gaging stations in the Scioto River 

basin, January 20 to February 18, 1959. 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF FLOODS 13 

caused widespread damage. Some damage on the 

Miami River below the reservoirs was caused by 

encroachments on the flood plain. Hydrographs 

for selected gaging stations are shown on figure 

10. 

Industrial damage was extensive. Train service 

was completely disrupted by washed-out tracks. 

Many homes were damaged, and the total loss approached $4 million. Below Springfield the Mad 

River forced the evacuation of 200 homes in 

Snyderville. Roads, streets, and bridges were 

damaged over a wide area. 

In Springfield, Buck Creek reached a stage exceeded only by the record floods of 1913 and 1929. 

0 

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Drainage area 200 sq mi 

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Drarnage area 466 sq mi 

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JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 

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8 12 16 18 

FIGURE 10.-Graphs of discharge at selected gagdng stations in the Miami River 

basin, January 20 to ¥ebruary 18, 1959. 

527186 0-59 -3 
14 FLOODS OF JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 ~ OEaO 

North of Dayton the Miami and Stillwater 

Rivers caused widespread but minor damage. At 

Piqua and Troy floodwater damaged streets and 

basements and severely interrupted business. In 

Dayton and its suburbs 1,500 people were evacuated and damage was reported to be $500 thousand. Runoff of several small Miami River 

tributaries was unusually high. Talawanda 

Creek forced the evacuation of 500 homes in New 

Miami, and interrupted gas service. In the rural 

areas several bridges were destroyed, and agricultural damage was reported throughout the 

basin. 

The high runoff from the small uncontrolled 

tributaries between Miamisburg and Hamilton 

caused the peak flow of 108,000 cfs at Hamilton 

on the night of January 21st, about 20 hours before the lower main-river peak. The peak on 

Tala wanda Creek was 44,500 cfs from a drainage 

area of 311 square miles, and Clear Creek, Elk 

Creek, Dfcks Creek, and other small tributaries 

had similiar high peak rates of runoff. 

The town of Venice was almost entirely submerged. Industries were shut down in Hamilton 

and 100 families were forced from their homes. 

In Middletown 100 homes were evacuated and in 

the residential districts much damage was caused 

by a series of fires and explosions. 

The combined peak storage of the 5 flood-control retarding basins was 137,600 acre-feet. This 

storage exceeds the previous highest combined 

storage (which occurred in January 1937) since 

the construction of the project, though it represents only 16 percent of the combined storage at 

spillway level. Storage in three of the basinsTaylorsville, Huffman, and Germantown-exceeded all previous records. 

MAUMEE RIVER AND TRIBUTARIES 

The January 1959 flood in the Maumee River 

basin was largely confined to the southern and 

eastern tributaries. Ice in the streams was as 

much as 18 inches thick, and this added to flood 

stages and to periods of inundation. Total damage in the basin in January approached $3 million. 

Hydrographs for the flood period for selected 

gagin~ stations are shown on figure 11. 

Many roads were temporarily blocked. The 

flat terrain reduced velocities and spread the flood 

across the lowlands thus preventing major damage to roads and bridges. Much damage was 

caused by basement flooding. In Findlay, on the 

Blancherd River, damage to homes and businesses 

amounted to $700 thousand. Lima had 125 evacuees. 

The Blanchard River at Findlay reached a stage 

of 16.11 feet on January 22, the highest stage since 

March 1913; on February 11, the stage reached 

16.76 feet. On the other streams, such as the 

Auglaize River near Fort Jennings, the January 

peak was the higher. 

The February flood was higher at many points 

in the basin, and was more widespread. Findlay 

was flooded a second time, with 650 persons evacuated and damage of about $11;2 million in February. The thick ice was not entirely removed by 

the January flood (see fig. 3) and ice jams contributed to the damage in February. Town Creek 

flooded Van Wert, forcing 750 people from their 

homes. Many small towns were similarly affected, 

and the total damage in February may have approached the January total. Ice jams caused 

unprecedented stages on the Maumee River, but 

damage was minor. 

SANDUSKY RIVER AND OTHER LAKE ERIE 

TRIBUTARIES BETWEEN THE MAUMEE AND 

CUYAHOGA RIVERS 

The January flood in the Portage River basin 

caused more than $2 million damage. Basement 

flooding was widespread and many areas were 

temporarily isolated by flood-blocked roads. In 

the Sandusky River basin the January damage 

exceeded $6 million. Ice jams caused prolonged 

high stages on the Sandusky River. Stages generally were about the same as for the 1937 flood, 

and slightly lower than the record flood of 1913. 

In Bucyrus the power and water services were 

temporarily suspended. Thirty homes were evacuated in Tiffin, and northward the ice-blocked 

Sandusky River gouged new channels through 

adjoining farmland. At the gage near Mexico, 

where there was no backwater from ice, the January peak was almost identical, in stage and dis~ 

charge, with the 1937 flood. An ice jam downstream from Fremont caused most of the city to 

be flooded, with water about 2 feet deep in the 

business section. In this city of about 16,000 

people, 1,500 were evacuated. Farther east, at 

Vermilion on the Vermilion River an ice jam 

caused 520 homes to be evacuated, and the Black 

River flooded the center of Elyria, blocking 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF FLOODS 

0 

20 

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~ Drainage area 363 sq mi 

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20 24 28 31 1 4 8 12 16 18 

JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 

FIGURE 11.-Graphs of discharge at selected gaging stations on Lake Erie tributaries, January 20 to February 18, 1959. 

15 
16 FLOODS OF JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 IN OEUO 

streets and causing business establishments to 

suspend operations. Stages were high in the Huron River basin. 

Less than 3 weeks after the January flood 

another high-water period, with ice jams, hit the 

lower Sandusky River basin. Discharges were 

substantially lower than for the January flood, 

but the stage at Fremont was slightly higher and 

prolonged by a heavy ice jam (see fig. 2). In 

this city, 1,000 people were evacuated from their 

homes, not counting more than 200 that had not 

returned after the January flood. The resulting 

damage and hardship to inhabitants was greater 

in February than in January. Farther east the 

February flood peaks, though high, were well below January stages. Hydrographs for selected 

gaging stations in Lake Erie tributaries are shown 

on figure 11. 

CUYAHOGA RIVER 

The Cuyahoga River has had few floods in the 

past because of the storage in many lakes and 

ponds and in the Akron water-supply reservoirs. 

The ~January 1959 flood at the gaging station at 

Independence, upstream from Cleveland, surpassed all previous records since 1921 and approached those of the flood of 1913. Damage in 

the basin approximated $2 million. The damage 

was most serious in the downstream part of the 

river. Eight hundred persons were reported 

evacuated in the vicinity of Cleveland, where damage was particularly severe in the industrial area. 

The 1nunicipal park system and the Cleveland 

Zoo (on Big Creek) had considerable loss. The 

valley area from Peninsuht to Valley View was 

inundated and many homes were evacuated. 

The February flood at Independence was 2.26 

feet lower than the January peak, and damage in 

the basin was light, although the peak flow for 

the February flood was slightly higher than any 

previously recorded at the gage, with the exception o:f the January peak. 

LAKE ERIE TRIBUTARIES EAST OF CUYAHOGA 

RIVER 

The ~January flood in this area generally reached 

unprecedented stages. There were ice jams on 

many streams and roads and bridges were extensively damaged by swift currents in the narrow 

flood plains. Total damage in the area exceeded 

$11h million. 

The flood on the Chagrin River was not unprecedented, but damage was extensive. Water 

and sewage disposal services were disrupted, and 

the power service at Eastlake was discontinued 

temporarily. About 500 pe.rsons were forced from 

their homes in the basin. 

In the Grand River basin Mentor was without 

power service, the Fairport Harbor sewage disposal system ceased :functioning, and many homes 

throughout the basin were evacuated. At the 

gage near Madison the Grand River reached a 

stage more than 2 feet higher than previously 

recorded in 36 years of record. In the Ashtabula 

River and Conneaut Creek basins flooding conditions were similar. The Geneva filtration plant 

was out of service temporarily. The February 

flood in this region was not excessive and damage 

was slight. 

FLOOD DAMAGESI 

The damage caused by the flood of January 

1959 in Ohio was second only to that of 1913. Because of wide variations in estimating and reporting procedures, flood damage estimates have their 

limitations, particularly when used in comparisons 

with damages for other floods. A summary of the 

estimated damages in January and February by 

basins, from the preliminary report of the Ohio 

Division of Water (1959), taken largely from 

Civil Defense sources, is tabulated in table 2. 

A comparison of the total damage in the State for 

January 1959 and March 1913. 

[The 1913 data are from Horton and Jackson (1913)] 

Flood year 

1913 ______ _ 

1959 ______ _ 

Communities 

affected 

94 

220 

Lwes Bridges Buildinqs 

lost destroyed flooded Total damage 

367 220 33,833 $143,197,492 

16 31 17,082 100,762,342 

If we compare the damages on the basis of the 

value of the dollar in 1913, the 1959 figure would 

amount to about one-third of the figure shown. 

The 1913 flood was much greater than the 1959 

in stages and discharges as well as in damages, 

but several :factors helped reduce the loss of life 

and property in 1959, including more adequate 

communications, better organized rescue work, 

the effect o:f reservoirs, and more adequate designs 

of bridges and other structures. 

The flood statistics cannot be expected to describe the widespread misery and inconvenience. 

A total of 48,715 persons were reported evacuated. 

There were 16 deaths. The Red Cross reported 
MEASUREMENTS OF FLOOD DISCHARGES 17 

TABLE 2.-Surnmary of flood damage, January and February 1959 (adapted from data from Civil Defense Corps) 

Flood damage 

January February 

Ohio River basin: ~ahoning River ___________ $16,377,000 ---------- Little Beaver Creek ________ 787, 500 ---------- Little ~uskingum River ____ 200,000 ---------- ~uskingum River _________ 22,975,000 $304,500 

Hocking River ____________ 56, 200 1,500 Raccoon Creek ____________ 140,000 ---------- Scioto River_ ~ ____________ 19,125,000 ---------- Whiteoak Creek ___ ~ _______ 33,000 ---------- Little ~iami River ________ 5,039, 970 ---------- ~ill Creek ________________ 2,940, 200 ---------- Miami River ______________ 17,605,272 ---------- Wabash River _____________ 100,000 ----------

Total for Ohio River ___ 85,379,142 306,000 

Lake Erie basin: Grand River ______________ 1,04!,000 ---------- Cuyahoga River ___________ ------------- 1, 000 

Cuyahoga and Chagrin Rivers _________________ 2, 539,000 ---------- Black and Huron Rivers ____ 1, 530, 700 ---------- Sandusky River ___________ 6, 123, 500 860, 600 

Portage River _____________ 1,056,000 1, 000 ~aumee River ____________ 3,090,000 1,898,050 

Total for Lake Erie ____ 15,383,200 2, 760,650 

Total for state ________ 100,762,342 3,066, 650 

132 houses destroyed, 2,415 with major damage 

and 14,535 with minor damage; 55 other buildings were destroyed, and 1,145 damaged. Of 

Ohio's 88 counties, 62 received flood relief funds 

from the American Red Cross. 

MEASUREMENTS OF FLOOD DISCHARGES 

The operation of a stream-gaging station consists principally of the measurement of stage and 

discharge and the definition of the stage-discharge 

relation from which discharge can be calculated 

for a known stage. The general method of determining discharge at gaging stations involves plotting a stage-discharge relation curve from current-meter measurements of discharge at stages 

varying from low to high water and applying this 

relation to the records of stage. Short extensions 

of the stage-discharge relation curve are made by 

logarithmic plotting, from velocity-area studies, 

or by use of other measurable hydraulic factors. 

Except for the southeast third of the State, 

Ohio is glaciated and many of the stream channels 

are sandy or gravelly, subject to scour and fill, 

especially during floodflow. Frequent currentmeter measurements are necessary to define discharge reliably. 

During major floods it is often impossible to 

obtain current-meter measurements because of impassable roads, heavy floating ice or debris, destruction of structures from which flood measurements are made, and insufficient warning on 

streams with rapidly changing stages. During 

the January 1959 flood in Ohio the available technical personnel made many current-meter measureinents of flood discharges, but could not measure at all gaging stations in the flood area because 

of personnel limitations as well as disrupted road 

and river conditions. During the February flood 

ice conditions were such that few current-meter 

measurements could be made, and then only with 

great difficulty. 

Immediately following the January 1959 flood 

in Ohio field surveys were begun to determine 

peak discharges. Indirect methods employed for 

measurement of maximum discharge include flow 

over dams, flow through contracted openings, and 

slope-area measurements. Description of these indirect methods, as well as the usual methods of 

stream gaging can be found in Water-Supply 

Paper 888 (Corbett and others, 1943). More detailed descriptions of the indirect methods are 

contained in other Geological Survey publications. 

More than 90 measurements by indirect 

methods, including 10 in cooperation with the 

Miami Conservancy District, were made in Ohio 

following the 1959 floods. About 40 of these were 

at current stream-gaging stations, 16 at former 

gaging stations, 8 at crest-stage or partial record 

stations, and the remainder at miscellaneous sites 

where knowledge of the peak discharge has important hydrologic significance. All of these results are tabulated in the next section. 

SUMMARY OF FLOOD STAGES AND DISCHARGES 

The results of the determinations of peak flow 

at stream-gaging stations and at other points on 

streams in Ohio are summarized in table 5. Stage 

and reservoir records are also included. The reference numbers in the table apply to figure 12 and 

are the same as shown on the station descriptions. 

Because the details of datum of gages, changes 

in locations, and other information pertaining to 

the peak stages and discharges are shown in the 

station descriptions, footnotes have been omitted 
18 FLOODS OF JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 ~ OEITO 

84" 83" 82" 81" 85" 

42"-------+--------~ ~ 

~----+-----------------~--------------~-----------------t------~~42" / , .... - ,--' 

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83" 82' 81" 

10 0 10 20 30 40 Miles 

FIGURE 12.-·Map of Ohio showing locations of flood measurement points during the 11oodl! of January-February 1959. 

from the table, except for notes indicating significant items other than above. 

The last column of the table shows the ratio of 

the 1959 flood to the mean annual flood (defined 

as the flood having a recurrence interval of 2.33 

years) as determined by Cross and Webber (1959) 

for those gaging stations for which the mean annual flood has been determined. Reference should 

be made to the station description to determine the 

type of gage, method of measuring peak discharge 

and other pertinent information not available in 

the summary table (table 5). 

Flood discharges, in cubic feet per second per 

square mile, plotted against the drainage areas, 

in square miles, are shown in figure 13. Flood discharges, in ratios to the mean annual floods, 

plotted against drainage areas, in square miles, 

are shown in figure 14. 
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SUMMARY OF FLOOD STAGES AND DISCHARGES 19 

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. 5 10 20 50 100 200 500 1000 2000 5000 10,000 

DRAINAGE AREA, IN SQUARE MILES 

FIGURE 13.-Relatlon of peak discharge, in cubic feet per second, to drainage area, January floods. 

53 . 

56 

181. . 0 84 . . . . . . 0 

. 0 . . 50-year flood (excluding~ . . • 0 

Maumee River basi.n) 0 . . . . . • . . 0 .. . 66 ~ 

. • • 0 0164 

. . . . 0 . . rosin(. 

. 2.0- year! flood (eTiuding Maum,ee River . 

. . 5 10 20 50 100 200 500 1000 2000 5000 10,000 

DRAINAGE AREA, IN SQUARE MILES 

FIGURE 14.-Relation of peak discharge, in ratio to mean annual flood, to drainage area, January floods. 
20 RAINFALL AND RUNOFF COMPARISONS 

RAINFALL AND RUNOFF COMPARISONS 

The volumes of water stored in several of the 

flood-control reservoirs in January were unprecedented. Converted to inches on the drainage 

area the runoff into a few of the reservoirs approaches the average precipitation. Table 3 lists 

the runoff into the reservoirs, without corrections 

for base flow, and the average rainfall determined 

by planimetering the isohyetal1nap. Also shown 

are the average depth of snow and the estimated 

water content. The base flow into each reservoir 

(the inflow that would have occurred if there had 

been no storm) is estimated to be of the order 

of 0.1 to 0.2 inch on the drainage areas. For the 

2 reservoirs with the highest rainfall and runoff, 

Delaware and West Fork Mill Creek reservoirs ' the runoff adjusted for base flow is within 0.25 

inch of the total precipitation based on official 

point rainfall observations. 

In making comparisons of rainfall and runoff 

from streamflow records it is the usual practice to 

estimate the base flow so as to exclude groundwater flow and long-delayed subsurface flow from 

the estimated direct runoff. This has been done 

for selected gage records for the January flood as 

shown in table 4. As the recession from the January flood extended through a period of rainfall 

from January 25 to 28, the precipitation for thie 

period was included in the total available water. 

The differences between total precipitation and 

estimated direct runoff are tabulated as retention. 

A total of 377 rainfall reports were used in preparing the January isohyetal map, and 278 reports were used for the February storm. The 

depths of snow were estimated from 94 reports, 

and the yields or water contents of the snow were 

based on 20 yield determinations. The rainfall 

depths determined by planimetering the isohyeta.I 

maps are believed to be reasonably accurate, 

though thunderstorm activity between stations 

may have occurred in some places. The depth-ofsnow observations probably are reasonable within 

the limitations of observing and applying such 

information. However, the estimates of water 

content in the snow may be considerably in error 

as the yield determinations available, concentrated 

la:gely in the Muskingum River basin, vary 

w1dely from place to place. Some inaccuracies 

are to be expected in measuring the total runoff at 

the gaging stations; nevertheless, the measured 

runoff is the most accurately determined part of 

the hydrologic cycle. The runoff measured at a 

gaging station represents an integration of the 

flow over the entire area of origin rather than a 

point measurement within a large area such as in 

the measurement of rainfall. The estimates of 

base flow are consistent among themselves but are 

TABLE 3.-Runoff into reservoirs, January 1959 

[Computed from change in contents) 

No. Reservoir Drainage Average pre- Average Average Change in area (square cipitation snow depth water con- contents Runoff 

miles) Jan. 19-21 (inches) tent snow (acre-feet) (inches) (inches) (inches) 

5 

~Ji~~-~============================= 249 3. 48 5. 6 0. 97 45,490 3. 42 

6 

15 ~osquito Creek _______________________ - 276 3. 50 5. 6 . 97 13, 690 . 93 

16 

lf~~j[~:eek~::::~:::::::::::::::::: 97.4 2. 65 5. 0 . 75 17, 220 3. 31 

30 

84. 9 3. 02 5. 0 . 75 9,230 2.04 

31 

502 3. 22 5. 8 . 62 63, 100 2. 35 

32 

47. 9 2. 08 5. 8 . 87 4,230 1. 66 

33 

70. 3 2. 45 5. 8 1. 04 9,000 2. 40 

35 

1,397 3. 17 5. 4 . 61 86,030 1. 15 

36 

300 2. 84 4. 8 . 72 51, 260 3. 20 

37 

84.0 1. 77 5. 3 . 88 8, 130 1. 81 

42 

69.5 1. 34 5. 0 . 65 4, 530 1. 22 

45 Pleasant Hill_ _ - 216 4. 21 4. 0 . 76 45,260 3. 92 

47 

iJ~~,~~~~~e:~::=:~-:-::=_:: __ -~=~-::-~ 199 4. 99 4. 5 . 90 30,020 2. 83 

54 

269 4. 05 4. 0 . 60 54, 780 3. 82 

59 1, 501 4. 60 4. 2 . 76 175, 710 2. 20 

60 

121 2. 40 5. 5 . 66 15, 600 2. 41 

844 2. 02 4.6 . 75 63, 800 1. 42 

86 Delaware_________ __ - 381 4. 93 2. 9 . 35 104, 420 5. 14 

94 Hoover __________ =--=================- 190 5. 41 3. 6 . 50 20, 610 2. 03 

123 West Fork ~ill Creek _________________ : 29. 5 5. 20 1.4 . 14 8, 190 5. 21 
RAINFALL AND RUNOFF COMPARISONS 21 

TABLE 4.-Relation of precipitation to runoff, January 1959 

Drainage 

No. Stream and location area 

(square 

miles) 

1 Mahoning River at Alliance __________ 87. 9 

9 West Branch Mahoning River near Newton Falls _____________________ 97. 8 

11 Eagle Creek at Phalanx Station _______ 97.0 

18 Mill Creek at Youngstown ___________ 68. 4 

26 Tuscarawas River at Massillon ________ 526 

29 Nimishillen Creek at North Industry __ 175 

51 Kokosing River at Mount Vernon _____ 200 

56 Killbuck Creek at Killbuck ___________ 466 

70 Licking River at Toboso _____________ 672 

78 Scioto River near Prospect ___________ 571 

90 Olen tangy River near Worthington ____ 1 106 

95 Big Walnut Creek at Central College __ 190 

96 Alum Creek at Columbus ____________ 190 

98 Big Walnut Creek at Rees ____________ 544 

100 Darby Creek at Darbyville ___________ 5. 33 

120 Little Miami River at Milford ________ 1, 195 

122 Mill Creek at Reading _______________ 73. 1 

130 Miami River at Sidney _______________ 545 

132 Lor ami Creek at Lockington __________ 261 

136 Miami River at Taylorsville __________ 1, 155 

139 Stillwater River at Pleasant HilL _____ 502 

142 Stillwater River at Englewood ________ 646 

144 Mad River near Urbana ______________ 157 

148 Mad River near Springfield ___________ 485 

150 Mad River near Dayton _____________ 632 

151 Miami River at Dayton ______________ 2,513 

155 Miami River at Miamisburg __________ 2,718 

159 Twin Creek near Germantown ________ 275 

164 Miami River at Hamilton ____________ 3,639 

172 Blanchard River near Findlay ________ 343 

178 Maumee River near Defiance _________ 5,530 

185 Sandusky River near Mexico _________ 776 

193 Huron River at Milan _______________ 363 

207 Grand River near Madison ___________ 587 

209 Conneaut Creek at Amboy ___________ 178 

1 Effective area. 

matters of opinion, subject to speculation and 

interpretation. As the errors involved are magnified by subtraction, the estimated retentions 

may be rather inaccurate. 

The rainfall estimates have been plotted against 

the runoff for the January flood and are shown 

on figure 15. Except for a few areas of known 

high permeability, such as the basins of Nimishillen Creek, Mill Creek and the Mad River, the 

points generally scatter about the 80 percent yield 

line shown on the figure. These results may be 

compared with the rainfall-runoff data for the 1913 

flood (Houck, 1921 and Morgan, 1951). The 

runoff for the Miami River at Dayton was 91 percent of the rainfall in 1913, and was about 80 

percent of the rainfall generally throughout the 

Miami River basin. The 1913 storm lasted several days, and the retention figures are consistent 

Average Average Average precipi- snow water tation (inches) Total 

depth content available Runoff Retention 

Jan. 18 snow water (inches) (inches) (inches) (inches) Jan. Jan. (inches) 19-21 25-28 

5. 8 0. 96 3. 48 0. 28 4. 72 3. 75 0. 97 

6. 0 1. 04 3. 14 . 24 4. 42 3. 33 1. 09 

8. 0 2.00 2. 48 . 20 4. 68 4. 17 . 51 

5. 0 . 75 2. 43 . 28 3. 46 3. 01 . 45 

4. 6 . 40 3. 57 . 21 4. 18 2. 39 1. 79 

6. 0 . 52 3. 57 . 24 4. 33 2. 22 2. 11 

4. 5 . 90 5. 00 . 25 6. 15 4. 37 1. 78 

3. 8 . 49 4. 16 . 26 4.91 3. 73 1. 18 

3. 5 . 42 4. 25 . 19 4. 86 3. 49 1. 37 

2. 0 . 24 4. 04 . 14 4. 42 3. 44 . 98 

2. 7 . 21 5. 21 . 22 5. 64 4. 70 . 94 

3. 6 . 50 5. 41 . 20 6. 11 5. 00 1.11 

2. 9 . 32 5. 21 . 18 5. 71 5. 22 . 49 

3. 0 . 36 5. 18 . 19 5. 73 4. 76 . 97 

1.5 0. 15 5. 13 0. 14 5.42 4.80 0.62 

2. 0 . 22 4. 84 . 24 5. 30 4. 31 . 99 

1.4 . 14 5. 33 . 35 5. 82 3. 42 2. 40 

1.5 . 15 3. 66 . 15 3. 96 2. 66 1. 30 

1.0 .10 3. 44 .10 3. 64 2. 78 . 86 

1.3 . 13 3. 54 . 14 3. 81 2. 94 . 87 

1.0 .10 3. 58 . 08 3. 76 2. 64 1. 12 

1.0 . 10 3. 76 . 09 3. 95 3. 02 . 93 

1.0 . 10 4. 90 . 08 5. 08 2. 57 2. 51 

1.3 . 13 5. 20 . 15 5. 48 3. 08 2. 40 

1.3 . 13 5. 36 . 16 5. 65 2. 95 2. 70 

1.2 . 12 4. 09 . 14 4. 35 2. 90 1. 45 

1.2 . 12 4. 17 . 14 4. 43 3. 11 1. 32 

1.0 . 10 4. 67 . 20 4. 97 3. 86 1.11 

1.2 0. 12 4. 42 0. 16 4. 70 3. 09 1. 61 

1.0 . 10 2. 92 . 17 3. 19 3. 08 .11 

1.0 .10 2. 43 . 24 2. 77 . 98 1. 79 

2. 0 . 24 3. 71 . 19 4. 14 3. 18 . 96 

2. 8 . 34 3. 39 . 26 3. 99 3. 25 . 74 

6. 5 1. 25 2. 36 . 22 3. 83 3. 60 . 23 

9. 0 2. 00 1. 86 . 20 4. 06 3. 58 . 48 

with the 1959 data. The retention above Hamilton in 1913 was 1.36 inches, compared with 1.45 

inches in 1959. 

The rainfall-runoff data for three gaging stations for the February flood are inconsistent, and 

show more runoff than rainfall for one station. 

Blanchard River near Findlay, Maumee River 

near Defiance, and Sandusky River near Mexico, 

show the average precipitation February 9-11 to 

be 2.62, 2.00, and 2.61 inches, the runoff to be 2.59, 

2.66, and 2.01 inches, and the retention to be 0.03, 

- 0.66, and 0.60 inch, respectively. Base flows 

were high following the January flood, and although the snow melted and was not recorded, 

some snow water ran off during the flood. Because of these complications and the smaller rainfail and runoff, the studies were not made for 

more than the three stations. 
22 FLOODS OF JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 ~ OEUO 

rJ) 

w 

J: 

(.) 

~ 

~ 4 

z 

0 

~ Iii: 

8 3 0:: 

D.. 

-' <( 

b 

1-

' 

I 

I J;/ 

0 / 

0 

80 ~ercent yieldt / 

. / 

. / v ; . . / . . / . I• 

. / 

• • ;I v ... / . . / 

. ./1 • . f/1' . . 

"I 

/ 

100 percent yield 

I 

I 

v 

3 

RUNOFF, IN INCHES 

FIGURE 15.-Relation of rainfall to runoff, January floods. 

The precipitation data and isohyetal determinations pertinent to the foregoing analyses were 

made available through the assistance and courtesy of Mr. Paul Kaser, hydrologist, Ohio Division of Water. 

FREQUENCY OF STORMS AND PEAK DISCHARGES 

The previous maximum 24-hour rainfall intensities were exceeded by the January storm at 

Dayton and Columbus. A study of frequency 

curves computed by the U.S. Weather Bureau 

( 1955) indicates that the frequency of the 12-

hour, 18-hour and 24-hour intensities were 

slightly beyond the 100-year line. The maximum 

point rainfall recorded for 24 hours is slightly 

higher than for these 2 stations. Therefore it 

seems reasonable to conclude that the average 

frequency of the flood-producing rainfall in January 1959 was slightly less than once in 100 years. 

From the standpoint of area-intensity-frequency, rather than point rainfall-frequency, the 

situation is less clear. Most of the available 

rainfall records in Ohio are shorter than 100 

years. The storms studied by the Corps of 

Engineers in compiling depth-area-duration data 

(Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army, 

1945) included several storms centered in the 

Ohio Valley that exceeded the January 1959 

storm in area and intensity. However, only the 

1913 storm was centered in Ohio. The isohyetal 

areas listed in table 1 for the 1959 s~orm approximate the 24-hour. intensity areas. From the 

typical mass rainfall graphs of figure 5, by ratios 

to the 24-hour intensities, applied to the areas of 

table 1 it seems that the area-intensities for the 

1913 storm were far above the 1959 storm for 

durations of 6, 12, 18, and 24 hours. Several 

other storms, centered outside Ohio but in the 

Ohio valley region, far exceed the area-intensity 

of the January 1959 storm. However, the Ohio 

valley is large, so that an approximation of the 

probable frequency of the area-intensities of the 

magnitude of the January storm would be beyond 

100 years. Such an estimation of the frequency of 

the storm is about as precise as can be made from 

available records. 

The frequency of a flood discharge may be 

estimated fairly reliably if the flood is within the 

range of observed data. Discharge-frequency 

diagrams have been prepared for Ohio streams 

(Cross and Webber, 1959) and have been extended 

to 50-year frequencies. Except in the fringes of 

the flood areas where the discharges are within 

the diagrams, these diagrams reveal that the 

January 1959 flood discharges are much greater 

than the 50-year floods. The frequency of such 

rare floods cannot be estimated with reliability 

because of the sparse sample included in the short 

records. 

Methods other than frequency diagrams are 

available for studying the relative magnitudes of 

floods. One of these is the Myers formula, Q = 

lOOP yA, in which Q is the flood discharge, in 

cubic feet per second; P is the Myers rating, in 

percent; and A is the drainage area, in square 

miles. The 60 percent Myers rating is shown on 

the diagram of figure 13, and may be considered 

as the envelope or upper limit of flood experience 

in Ohio. As the flood potentialities of areas 

differ widely, a 40-percent Myers rating flood on 

one stream might have the same frequency as a 

70-percent Myers rating flood on another. 

Another method of comparing the intensities 

of floods is in terms of ratios to the mean a.nnual 

flood. Figure 14 is a diagram of ratios to the 

mean annual flood for those stations for which the 

mean annual flood has been estimated. The 20-
COMPARISON WITH PREVIOUS FLOODS 23 

year and 50-year frequency lines shown are for 

Ohio streams, excluding the Maumee River basin. 

This diagram suggests that many of the peak 

flows are rare floods, with frequencies beyond 100 

years. Considering that flood ratios on the larger 

areas should be adjusted for storage effect, the 

diagram indicates that the a-rea and intensity of 

the rain and antecedent ground conditions were 

such as to cause floods of magnitudes beyond 50-

year frequencies on areas ranging from 10 to 

more than 6,000 square miles, with the greatest 

magnitudes centered around 500 square miles. 

Considered as a single event, the January 1959 

flood was second only to the 1913 flood since the 

area was settled by the white man. At some spe~ 

cific locations greater floods have occurred. Based 

upon poor frequency definition, it may be said 

that the January 1959 flood was of a 100-year or 

greater recurrence interval at many gaging 

stations. The finality of this deduction is uncertain, but is the best that can be made with available records, most of which extend back less than 

a half century. Furthermore this great flood is 

a reminder of the danger of excess rainfall and 

runoff-the threat which must be recognized, not 

minimized, by frequency studies. 

COMPARISON WITH PREVIOUS FLOODS 

Stream gaging on a systematic basis did not 

begin in Ohio until about 1921. However, table 5 

lists 16 records that cover fairly completely the 

period extending back to 1913. Records of stages 

kept by the Weather Bureau include the same 

period, but give little information on floods before 

1913. 

Records of stage on the Ohio River are more 

complete, and the stages of all high floods at 

Cincinnati since that city was first settled are 

listed in Division of Water Bulletin 32 (Cross and 

Webber, 1959). The six highest, in order of magnitude, are those of 1937, 1773, 1884, 1945, 1913 

and 1883. These floods were caused by large-area 

storms of several days or weeks duration, and except for the 1913 flood, did not cause unusual floods 

on the small Ohio River tributaries. The 1937 

flood, for example, was a major catastrophe on the 

Ohio River, but was not a major flood except on the 

downstream reaches of the tributaries such as the 

Muskingum, Scioto, and Miami Rivers. 

Unofficial records of flood stages of greater 

length are available for many of the Ohio River 

tributaries in Ohio, and are summarized in WaterSupply Paper 838 (Grover, 1938). These records 

indicate that the 1913 flood generally was the 

highest since the settlement of Ohio on the Ohio 

River tributaries from the Mahoning River to the 

Miami River, with the exception of the Hocking 

River. The storm of March 1913 was unusual not 

only in its high total rainfall of about seven days 

duration, causing a major flood on the Ohio River, 

but also for the high intensities for short periods 

of time, from 6 to 24 hours, causing extreme floods 

on areas ranging from 100 to 7,500 square miles. 

On the Mahoning River at Youngstown, the 

1937 flood exceeded the 1959 flood, but both were 

more than 6 feet below the 1913 peak stage. Adjusting for reservoir storage effect, the 1959 flood 

would be at about the same stage as the flood of 

1904, the highest flood known before 1913. 

The 1959 flood on the lower Muskingum River 

was not outstanding, being exceeded by the peak 

flows of 1913, 1935, 1937, 1945 and 1952. However, several of the western tributaries of the Muskingum River exceeded the 1913 flood in January 

1959, although the 1913 flood magnitudes in this 

general area were not as outstanding as elewhere 

in the Muskingum and Scioto River basins. On 

the Kokosing River at Millwood the January peak 

flow was nearly twice that of 1913, and the Licking River at Toboso was over a foot higher in 

1959 than in 1913. The magnitude of the 1959 

flood on the Kokosing River may best be considered from the standpoint of its ratio to the mean 

annual flood, which is 7.16, higher than the 7.04 

ratio for the 1913 flood on the Miami River at 

Hamilton. The latter ratio was the highest pre,. 

viously recorded for streams in Ohio with drainage area over 10 square miles. In Mount Vernon, 

local testimony indicates the order of magnitude 

of floods as January 1959, 1913, 1898 and 1937. 

On several of the Muskingum River tributaries 

the cloudburst flood of August 1935 is the maximum of record (Youngquist and Langbein, 1941). 

This flood was particularly outstanding on Killbuck Creek at Killbuck. The January 1959 peak 

stage was within two-hundredths of a foot of the 

1935 stage. 

On the Scioto River at Columbus the 1898 flood 

of 75,000 cfs is the greatest flood of record before 

1913. Adjusted for reservoir storage, the 1959 

flood would have exceeded the 1898 flood. The 

records of stage at Circleville, from 1833 to date, 
24 FLOODS OF JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 IN OHIO 

tend to confirm the conclusion that the 1959 flood, 

without storage effect, would be the second worst 

in history. At Chillicothe the 1959 flood was 

second only to the 1913 flood for the period beginning in 1908. Below Chillicothe the 1959 flood 

was not as outstanding because of the minor flood 

on Paint Creek. The peak stage in January 1959 

on Big Walnut Creek at Rees exceeded the 1913 

flood despite the reservoir effect of Hoover Dam, 

but Rees is in an area where the 1913 flood was 

not as outstanding as elsewhere. 

The January 1959 peak stages on the Little 

Miami River exceeded those of 1913 in a reach 

extending frmn Fort Ancient to Morrow, according to local residents. 

Records of flood stages on the Miami River at 

Dayton are available for the entire period since 

the arrival of the white man. The second highest 

stage, that of 1866, is 7.7 ft lower than that of the 

1913 flood, and about 9.5 ft higher than that of 

January 1959. As the storage effect of the four 

retarding reservoirs undoubtedly lowered the 

stage by several feet, the 1959 flood without stor, 

age might have ranked close to that of 1866. 

In the Maumee River basin the 1959 floods were 

not outstanding on the main river, but the February flood was the highest since 1913 on the 

Auglaize River and its tributaries. In the Sandusky River basin the January flood was generally as high or higher than the 1937 flood, 

slightly higher than the 1950 flood, and 3 or more 

feet below the record 1913 level, but during the 

1959 flood the situation was complicated by ice 

jams. 

On the Cuyahoga River the January flood was 

the highest since 1913. The Chagrin River at 

Willoughby exceeded the 1913 peak, but was lower 

than the 1948 flood. East of the Chagrin River 

the ,January flood exceeded the highest stages previously recorded in the short periods of record. 

In summary, the 1959 floods were generally 

second only to the 1913 flood throughout a large 

part of Ohio. At several points the 1959 peaks 

exceeded those of 1913. The Kokosing River 

flood, which caused tremendous damage at Mount 

Vernon, exceeded all records in Ohio (on streams 

with over 10 square miles drainage area) in terms 

of ratio to mean annual flood. 

REFERENCES CITED 

Corbett, D. M., and others, 1943, Stream-gaging procedure, 

a manual describing methods and practices of the 

Geological Survey: U.S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply 

Paper 888, 245 p. 

Cross, W. P., and Webber, E. E., 1959, Floods in Ohio--

Magnitude and Frequency : Ohio Dept. Nat. Resources, 

Div. Water Bull. 32. 

Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, 1945, Storm 

rainfall in the United States: Dept. of the Army 

Corps of Engineers. [Revised January 1958.] 

Engineering New~Record, Feb. 5, 1959, What are we 

doing about floods?: Eng. News-Rec., v. 162, no. 5, 

p. 21-22. 

Grover, N.C., 1938, Floods of Ohio and Mississippi Rivers 

January-February 1937: U.S. Geol. Survey WaterSupply Paper 838, 746 p. 

Horton, A. H., and Jackson, H. J., 1913, The Ohio Valley 

flood of March-April, 1913: U.S. Geol. Survey WaterSupply Paper 334, 00 p. 

Houk, Ivan E., 1921, Rainfall and runoff in the Miami 

Valley : Miami Conservancy Dist. Tech. Repts., pt. 8, 

234 p. 

Morgan, Arthur E., 1951, the Miami Conservancy District: 

New York, McGraw-Hill, 504 p. 

Ohio, Department Natural Resources, Division of Water, 

1959, Floods in Ohio, January 1959, February 1959: 

Ohio Dept. Nat. Resources, Div. Water, prelim. rept., 

125 p. 

United States Weather Bureau, 1955, Rainfall intensityduration-frequency curves: Tech. paper 25, 53 p. 

Waring, F. H., 1959, Notes on the January flood of 1959 

in Ohio: Ohio Sewage and Indus. Wastes Treatment 

Conf., Buckeye Sludge, Newsletter, Winter issue 1959. 

Youngquist, C. V., and Langbein, W. B., 1941, Flood of 

August 1935 in the Muskingum River basin, Ohio: 

U.S. Geol. Survev Water-Supply Paper 869, 118 p. 
RECORDS OF STAGES AND DISCHARGES 

The data presented on the following pages include a description for selected gaging stations 

in the storm area. Tables of daily mean discharges are included for December 1958, and January and February 1959. Detailed discharge 

hydrographs of the flood period are shown for 

some of the gaging stations; the period shown is 

January 20 to February 18, 1959, thereby including both the January and February peaks. 

The description for each gaging station gives 

the location, size of drainage area above the gage, 

method of obtaining gage-height record during the 

flood period, datum of gage, a brief statement of 

the definition of the stage-discharge relation, maximum stage and discharge during the present 

floods, previous maximum of record, and other 

pertinent information. 

Station descriptions and storage data are included for 23 reservoir stations. Month-end 

stages and contents are shown for November and 

December 1958, January and February 1959, together with stages and contents just before the 

flood and for the maximum contents. Maximum 

529186 0-59 -4 

contents for other reservoirs are given in a summary table. 

The tables of daily mean discharges for selected 

stations are presented for December 1958 through 

February 1959 to show the relation of the flood 

discharges to the preceding and the following 

periods. The tables also show the monthly mean 

discharge and the volume of runoff in inches, adjusted for storage for those stations downstream 

from reservoirs. 

The stations are numbered and arranged in 

downstream order from headwater to mouth, 

with stations on tributaries inserted in corresponding order, and following the order in which the 

tributaries enter the main stream. Stations on 

streams tributary to the Ohio River are shown 

first, followed by streams tributary to Lake Erie. 

Records for streams on the fringe of the flooded 

area are included as well as for streams within 

the areas of intense flooding. Locations of the 

gaging stations are shown by number on figure 

12. 

25 

BEAVER RIVER BASIN 27 

1. Mahoning River at Alliance, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°55'55'', long 81°05'45 11 , on right bank 15ft upstream from Webb Avenue Bridge in Alliance, Stark 

County, 0. 2 mile upstream from waterworks dam, and 4 miles upstream from Beech Creek. 

Drainage area. --87. 9 sq mi. 

Gage-height record. --Water-stage recorder graph. Datum of gage is 1, 037. 3 ft above mean sea level, adjustment 

of 1912. 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 3, 300 cfs and extended 

above on basis of computations of flow over dam. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 9, 740 cfs 10:30 p.m. Jan. 21 (gage height, 9.11 ft). 

1941 to December 1958: Discharge, 7, 000 cfs May 27, 1946 (gage height, 7. 90ft). 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January 

1 17 74 117 11 30 28 1,420 21 33 3,680 

2 19 375 86 12 26 26 345 22 30 4,360 

3 23 261 65 13 26 26 218 23 30 553 

4 86 121 148 14 21 23 256 24 38 206 

5 165 77 99 15 21 62 498 25 46 121 

6 86 110 60 16 21 125 314 26 38 96 

7 65 86 49 17 21 89 187 27 30 83 

8 49 51 46 18 21 113 165 28 30 60 

9 38 38 65 19 23 106 113 29 33 57 

10 33 30 2,000 20 26 60 74 30 60 297 

31 60 410 

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second--------------------------- 40.2 381 

Runoff, in inches-------------------------------------------------------- .53 4.99 

5. Berlin Reservoir near Berlin Center, Ohio 

February 

62 

60 

100 

340 

152 

133 

169 

156 

------

------

------

268 

3.18 

Location. --Lat 41°02'45", long 81°00'10n, at dam on Mahoning River, 3t miles northwest of Berlin Center, 

Mahoning County. 

Drainage area. --249 sq mi. 

Remarks. --Records furnished by Corps of Engineers. 

Elevation, in feet, and contents, in acre-feet 

Date Time Elevation Contents Date Time Elevation Contents 

Nov. 30, 1958 12 p.m. 1,007.24 19,520 Jan. 31, 1959 12 p.m. 1,018.43 39,670 

Dec. 31 12 p.m. 1,003.53 15,330 Feb. 9 4 p.m. 1,013.19 28,630 

Jan. 20, 1959 12 p.m. 1,004.68 16,520 12 9 a.m. 1,023.43 53,930 

24 9 a.m. 1,025.70 62,010 28 12 p.m. 1,016.21 34,590 

6. Milton Reservoir at Pricetown, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 41°07'40", long 80°58'3511 , at dam on Mahoning River, 0. 8 mile southwest of Pricetown, Mahoning 

County. 

Drainage area. --276 sq mi. 

Remarks. --Capacity table computed from base data furnished by city of Youngstown, Division of Water. 

Elevation, in feet, and contents, in acre-feet 

Date Time Elevation Contents Date Time Elevation Contents 

Nov. 30, 1958 12 p.m. 941.92 14,500 Feb. 9, 1959 12 m. 947.95 23,440 

Dec. 31 12 p.m. 941.83 14,450 13 1:30 p.m. 951.13 29,420 

Jan. 20, 1959 3 p.m. 943.68 16,830 16 9 a.m. 951.16 29,480 

27 951.67 30,520 28 12 p.m. 948.38 24,240 

31 12 p.m. 950.60 28,370 

9. West Branch Mahoning River near Newton Falls, Ohio 

Location. --~at ~1°10'18 11 , long 81°01'18", on right bank 250ft downstream from bridge on RavE;nna Road in Portage 

County, 22 miles southwest of Newton Falls, Trumbull County, 6 miles upstream from mouth, and 7 miles down- stream from Silver Creek. 

Drainage area. --97. 8 sq mi. 

Gage-height record, --Water-stage recorder graph except for Dec. 11-16, .Tan. 6-12, 22-25, and Feb. 1-3, for 

which penods graph was reconstructed on basis of high-water mark in well, and graph before and after these 

periods. Datum of gage is 912. 2 ft above mean sea level (Corps of Engineers bench mark). 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 5, 280 cfs. Backwater 

from Ice Dec. 6-10, Dec. 17 to Jan. 1, Jan. 13-14, 19-21, 26-29, Feb. 5-9, 19-21. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 8, 340 cfs 2:30 a.m. Jan. 22 (gage height, 13. 60 ft). 

1926 to December 1958: Discharge, 6, 090 cfs Feb. 26, 1929 (gage height, 11.8 ft from graph based on ~age readings). 
28 FLOODS OF JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 IN OHIO 

9. West Branch Mahoning River near Newton Falls, Ohio--Continued 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day 

1 47 50 150 11 35 30 2,650 21 

2 50 648 7l 12 33 30 355 22 

3 54 344 52 13 31 29 240 23 

4 154 154 96 14 30 29 240 24 

5 299 84 78 15 28 63 892 25 

6 125 70 45 16 27 256 319 26 

7 75 50 33 17 27 143 215 27 

8 55 40 30 18 27 106 191 28 

9 45" 36 40 19 30 75 108 29 

10 38 32 2,590 20 32 50 85 30 

31 

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second--------------------------

Runoff, in inches -------------------------------------------------------

December 

32 

27 

28 

31 

35 

31 

27 

27 

27 

30 

35 

50.7 

.60 

14. Mosquito Creek Reservoir near Cortland, Ohio 

January 

2,550 

5,190 

839 

290 

125 

80 

60 

45 

38 

502 

387 

401 

4. 73 

February 

70 

57 

189 

648 

226 

154 

195 

195 

------

------

------

365 

3.88 

Location. --Lat 41°18'00 11 , long 80°45125 11 , at dam on Mosquito Creek, 3 miles southwest of Cortland, Trumbull 

County. 

Drainage area. --97. 4 sq mi. 

Remarks. --Records furnished by Corps of Engineers. 

Elevation, in feet, and contents. in acre-feet 

Date Time Elevation Contents Date Time Elevation Contents 

Nov. 30, 1958 12 p.m. 896.70 49,990 Jan. 31, 1959 12 p.m. 900.27 73,760 

Dec. 31 12 p.m. 897.21 53,070 Feb. 9 12 m. 899.77 70,120 

Jan. 20 6 p.m. 898.02 58,180 16 2 a.m. 901.4 7 82,920 

26 6 a.m. 900.49 75,400 28 12 p.m. 900.13 72,730 

16. Meander Creek Reservoir at Mineral Ridge, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 41°09 1 10 11 , long 80°46 1 50 11 , at dam on Meander Creek, 0. 8 mile northwest of Mineral Ridge, 

Trumbull County. 

Drainage area. --84. 9 sq mi. 

Remarks. --Capacity table computed from base data furnished by Mahoning Valley Sanitary District. 

Elevation, in feet, and contents, in acre-feet 

Date Time Elevation Contents Date Time Elevation Contents 

Nov. 30, 1958 12 p.m. 904.22 30,900 Jan. 31, 1959 12 p.m. 905.75 33,930 

Dec. 31 12 p.m. 904.33 31,110 Feb. 9 12 m. 905.10 32,610 Jan. 20, 1959 12 p.m. 905.08 32,570 10 8 p.m. 908.13 39,130 

21 12 p.m. 909.25 41,800 28 12 p.m. 905.54 33,500 

17. Mahoning River at Youngstown, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 41°06 141 11 , long 80°40 125 11 , on left bank 400ft upstream from Bridge Street Bridge in Youngstown, 

Mahoning County, and three quarters of a mile upstream from Mill Creek. 

Drainage area. --899 sq mi. 

Gage-he1ght record. --Water-stage recorder graph except for 7 a.m. Jan. 21 to 5 p.m. Jan. 22 and Jan. 24 to 

Feb. 4, for wh1eh periods graph was reconstructed on basis of gage readings. Datum of gage is 826. 53 ft above 

mean sea level, adjustment of 1912 (levels by Mahoning Valley Sanitary District). 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements. Backwater from Mill Creek 

at t1mes. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 16,900 cfs 4-8 p.m. Jan. 22; maximum gage height, 18.62 ft 

7 a.m. Jan. 22. 

1921-28: Discharge, 14,000 cfs Dec. 14, 1927 (gage height, 12.7 ft). 

1929-42: Discharge, 17,600 cfs Jan. 25, 1937 (gage height, 14.92 ft). 

1943 to December 1958: Discharge, 13,400 cfs Jan. 27, 1952 (gage height, 13.62 ft). 

Maximum stage known, 26.5 ft Mar. 26, 1913 (discharge, 42,500 cfs, estimated by Corps of Engineers). 

Remarks. --Flood flow regulated by Milton Reservoir beginning in 1916, Meander Creek Reservoir beginning in 

1929, Berlin Reservoir beginning in 1942, Mosquito Creek Reservoir beginning in 1943, and reservoir on 

Squaw Creek. 
MUSKINGUM RIVER BASIN 

17. Mahoning River at Youngstown, Ohio--Continued 

Mean discharge > in cubic feet per second . December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 431 536 2,980 11 410 350 13,600 21 362 7,6$0 3,850 

2 424 1,430 2,470 12 398 350 10.,600 22 362 16,200 3,300 

3 438 1,940 2,470 13 380 322 3,370 23 350 15,600 2,950 

4 684 1,370 2,300 14 356 295 3,500 24 380 9,140 3.460 

5 1,320 783 2,120 15 356 424 3,610 25 404 2,130 2,840 

6 1,280 550 1,960 16 344 590 4,280 26 404 2,090 1,860 

7 729 473 1,400 17 350 747 4)400 27 368 2,590 1,670 

8 566 417 1,070 18 350 693 4,460 28 350 3,040 1,820 

9 473 392 1,100 19 356 558 4,310 29 356 3,080 -------- 10 424 356 8,550 20 368 451 3,960 30 404 3,360 -------- 31 445 3,670 --------

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second------------------------- 472 2,632 3,724 

Mean discharge, adjusted for storage, cubic feet per second---------------- 456 3,637 3,532 

Adjusted runoff, in inches----------------------------------------------- .58 4.67 4.09 

26. Tuscarawas River at Massillon, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°46'17 11 , long 81°31'25", on left bank at sewage treatment works, 1~ miles south of Massillon, 

Stark County, and 3 miles downstream from Newman Creek. 

Drainage area. --526 sq mi. 

29 

Gage-he1ght record. --Water-stage recorder graph except for periods 2 p.m. Jan. 21 to 2 p. m, Feb, 18 and 3 a.m. 

F'eb. 23 to Io a.m. Feb. 25, for which periods graph was reconstructed on basis of gage readings made once 

daily or oftener. Datum of gage is 916,00 ft above mean sea level, adjustment of 1912. 

Discharge record, --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements. 

Max1ma. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 7, 220 cfs 9:30a.m. Jan. 22 (gage height, 13.46 ft). 

1937 to December 1958: Discharge, 6, 940 cfs Mar, 5, 1940 (gage height, 11,39 ft, from graph based on 

gage readings), 

Remarks. --Flow slightly regulated at headwaters at Portage Lakes (3, 000 acre-ft), and by Nimisilla Reservoir 

(6, 500 acre-ft) since 1939; peak discharges not materially affected. 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 218 310 1,080 11 209 190 4,880 21 168 3,810 574 

2 222 1,090 612 12 205 188 4,900 22 166 7,130 499 

3 231 880 514 13 192 194 4,290 23 178 6,660 1,190 

4 282 535 644 14 170 200 3,290 24 198 5,730 1,580 

5 538 331 566 15 170 328 3,110 25 200 4,660 1,300 

6 409 315 481 16 170 535 3,050 26 188 3,220 902 

7 273 280 427 17 176 345 2,570 27 190 1,890 874 

8 244 256 364 18 174 313 1,890 28 182 1,190 918 

9 238 238 412 19 178 268 1,220 29 186 882 -------- 10 215 215 3,490 20 182 263 790 30 215 1,320 -------- 31 224 1,640 --------

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second------------------------- 219 1,465 1,658 

Runoff, in inches ------------------------------------------------------ .48 3.20 3.28 

29. Nimishillen Creek at North Industry, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°44'01", long 81°21'08", on left bank just downstream from railroad bridge, 1 mile southeast of 

North Industry, Stark County, and 3 miles downstream from Sherrick Run. 

Drainage area, --175 sq mi. 

Gage-he1ght record. --Water-stage recorder graph. Datum of gage is 970. 77 ft above mean sea level, adjustment 

of1912. 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 6, 400 cfs and extended above on basis of slope-area measurement of 1959 peak flow. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 8, 620 cfs 10 p.m. Jan. 21 (gage height, 11. 29 ft). 

1921 to December 1958: Discharge, 6, 660 cfs Feb. 26, 1929 (gage height, 9. 9ft), 
30 FLOODS OF JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 IN OHIO 

29. Nimishillen Creek at North Industry, Ohio--Continued 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 104 336 235 11 93 92 1,830 21 92 4,300 208 

2 108 560 187 12 97 93 590 22 92 5,390 217 

3 119 286 184 13 88 99 508 23 108 928 444 

4 235 202 324 14 79 112 556 24 115 488 516 

5 276 127 211 15 84 325 870 25 99 349 314 

6 160 129 169 16 86 250 460 26 92 293 296 

7 108 119 145 17 88 160 405 27 93 259 321 

8 112 117 145 18 88 145 377 28 90 217 310 

9 108 108 289 19 104 135 293 29 117 205 ----- 10 99 95 3,100 20 97 168 235 30 166 712 ----- 31 140 402 -----

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second------------------------- 114 555 491 

Runoff, in inches ------------------------------------------------------ .75 3.66 2.93 

30. Bolivar Reservoir at Bolivar, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°39'05 11 , long 81°25'5511 , at dam on Sandy Creek, 1.1 mile east of Bolivar, Tuscarawas County. 

Dramage area. --502 sq mi. 

Remarks. --Gage-height record and capacity curve furnished by Corps of Engineers. 

Elevation, in feet, and contents, in acre-feet 

Date Time Elevation Contents Date Time Elevation Contents 

Nov. 30, 1958 12 p.m. 897.33 245 Jan. 31, 1959 12 p.m. 941.84 56,440 

Dec. 31 12 p.m. 898.13 313 Feb. 9 12 p.m. 928.81 24,660 

Jan. 20, 1959 6 p.m. 898.35 336 12 1:30 p.m. 936.13 40,440 

26 9-10 p.m. 944.01 63,440 28 12 p.m. 901.79 841 

31. Leesville Reservoir near Leesville, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°28 110", long 81°11 '45 11 , at dam on McGuire Creek, 1.4 miles northwest of Leesville, Carroll 

County. 

Drainage area. --47. 9 sq mi. 

Remarks. --Gage-height record and capacity curve furnished by Corps of Engineers. 

' ' Elevation in feet and contents in acre-feet 

Date Time Elevation Contents Date Time Elevation Contents 

Nov. 30, 1958 12 p.m. 962.65 19,150 Jan. 311 1959 12 p.m. 966.48 23,180 Dec. 31 12 p.m. 962.65 19,150 Feb. 9 10 p.m. 963.93 20,430 Jan. 20, 1959 12 p.m. 962.88 19,380 13 12 m. 966.49 23,190 24 7:30 a.m. 966.87 23,610 28 12 p.m. 963.04 19,540 

32. Atwood Reservoir near New Cumberland, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°31'35 11 , long 81°17'15", at dam on Indian Fork, 1.5 miles southeast of New Cumberland, 

Tuscarawas County. 

Drainage area, --70. 3 sq mi. 

Remarks. --Gage-height record and capacitycurve furnished by Corps of Engineers. 

Elevation, in feet and contents, in acre-feet 

Date Time Elevation Contents Date Time Elevation 

Nov. 30, 1958 12 p.m. 927.61 23,020 Jan. 31, 1959 12 p·.m. 932.93 

Dec. 31 12 p.m. 927.66 23,090 Feb. 9 10 p_.m. 929.57 

Jan. 20, 1959 12 p.m. 928.00 23,600 13 10:30 p.m. 932.62 

26 7:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. 933.16 32,600 28 12 p.m. 928.25 

33. Dover Reservoir near Dover, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°53 130", long 81°24'45", at dam on Tuscarawas River, 4.2 miles northeast of Dover, 

Tuscarawas County. 

Draina~e area. --1, 397 sq mi. 

Remar s. --Gage-height record and capacity curve furnished by Corps of Engineers. 

Contents 

32,170 

26,110 

31,580 

24,000 
Date 

Nov. 30, 1958 

Dec, 51 

Jan. 21, 1959 

25 

MUSKINGUM RIVER BASIN 

33, Dover Reservoir near Dover, Ohio--Continued 

Elevation, in feet, and contents, in acre-feet 

Time Elevation Contents Date Time 

12 p.m. 865,60 3.0 Jan. 31, 1959 12 m 12 p.m. 866,55 17 Feb. 9 12' p.m. 

2 a.m. 868,63 93 17 5 p.m. 

7:30 p.m. 901,65 86,120 28 12 p.m. 

35, Beach City Reservoir near Beach City, Ohio 

31 

Elevation Contents 

896.74 57,250 

882.29 8,490 

896.37 55,320 

871.25 338 

Location. --Lat 40°38'10 11 , long 81°33 130", at dam on Sugar Creek, 1.6 miles southeast of Beach City, Stark County. 

Drainage area. --300 sq mi. 

Remarks. --Gage-height record and capacity curve furnished by Corps of Engineers. 

Elevation . in feet and contents in acre-feet 

Date Time Elevation Contents Date Time Elevation Contents 

Nov. 30, 1958 12 p.m. 948.65 2,000 Jan. 31, 1959 12 p.m. 964.62 22,590 

Dec. 31 12 p.m. 948.93 2,130 Feb. 9 10 p.m. 949.50 2,430 

Jan. 20, 1959 12 m. 949.18 2,260 12 7:30 a.m 962.16 17,140 

23 6:15-7:30 a.m. 973.24 53,520 28 12 p.m. 950.01 2,710 

36. Piedmont Reservoir at Piedmont, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°11 12511 , long 81°12 145", at dam on Stillwater Creek, 0, 4 mile west of Piedmont, Harrison 

County. 

Drainage area. --84. 0 sq mi. 

Remark_s. --Gage-height record and capacity curve furnished by Corps of Engineers. 

Elevation, in feet, and contents, in acre--feet 

Date Time Elevation Contents Date Time Elevation Contents 

Nov. 30, 1958 12 p.m. 912,83 33,180 Jan. 31, 1959 12 p.m. 914.76 37,620 

Dec. 31 12 p.m. 912.87 33,280 Feb. 9 12 m. 913.22 34,080 

Jan. 19, 1959 12 p.m. 913.18 33,990 13 7:30-8:30 p.m 915.94 40,580 

24 4:30-10:30 p.m. 916.56 42,120 28 12 p.m. 913.13 33,87p 

37. Clendening Reservoir at Tippecanoe, Ohio 

Location, --~t 40°16'05 11 , long 81°16 135", at dam on Brushy Fork, 0,6 mile east of Tippecanoe, Harrison County. 

Dramage area. --69. 5 sq mi. 

Remarks. --Gage-height record and capacity curve furnished by Corps of Engineers. 

Elevation in feet and contents in acre-feet ' 

Date Time Elevation Contentsll Date ! Time Elevation Contents 

Nov. 30, 1958 12 p.m. 897.60 25,820~Jan. 31, 1959112 p.m. 898.05 26~600 

Dec. 31 12 p.m. 897.65 25, 90011Fe b, 9 [10 p.m. 898.12 26,730 

Jan. 20, 1959 12 m. 898.06 26,6101 15 I 6 a.m. 900.64 31,520 

24 1:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. 900.44 31,140 28 12 p.m. 898.11 26,710 

39, Tappan Reservoir at Tappan, Ohio 

Location, --Lat 40°21'35 11 , long 81°13 13511 , at dam on Little Stillwater Creek, 0.9 mile west of Tappan, Harrison 

County. 

Drainage area. --71. 0 sq mi. 

Remarks. --Gage-height record and capacity curve furnished by Corps of Engineers, 

Elevation, in feet, and contents, in acre-feet 

Date Time Elevation Contents Date Time Elevation Contents -----

Nov. 30, 1958 12 p.m. 893.00 21,800 Feb. 9, 1959 12 ~· 899.26 35,020 

Dec. 31 12 p.m. 893.27 22,300 15 9 a.m. 901.10 39,460 

Jan. 20, 1959 9 p.m. 895.11 25,930 28 12 p.m. 899.30 35,120 

31 12 p.m. 898.56 33,390 

42. Charles Mill Reservoir near Mifflin, Ohio 

Location, --Lat 40°44'20 11 , long 82°21 140 11 , at dam on Black Fork, 2.5 miles south of Mifflin, Ashland County. 

Dramage area. --216 sq mi. 

Remarks. --Gage-height record and capacity curve furnished by Corps of Engineers. 
32 FLOODS OF JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 IN OHIO 

42. Charles Mill Reservoir near Mifflin, Ohio--Continued 

Elevation, in feet, and contents, in acre-feet 

Date Time Elevation Contents Date Time Elevation Contents 

Nov. 30, 1958 12 p.m. 997.70 8,380 Jan. 31, 1959 12 p.m. 1,012.34 48,560 

Dec. 31 12 p.m. 997.38 7,930 Web. 9 9 p.m. 1,008.78 34,730 

Jan. 20, 1959 12 p.m. 997.80 8,520 15 10 p.m. 1,012.82 50,630 

25 10 a.m.-7:30 p.m. 1,013.53 53,780 28 12 p.m. 1,008.57 34,000 

45. Pleasant Hill Reservoir near Perrysville, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°37 125 11 , long 82°19'30 11 , at dam on Clear Fork, 2.5 miles south of Perrysville, Ashland County. 

Dramage area. --199 sq mi. 

Remarks. --Gage-height record and capacity curve furnished by Corps of Engineers. 

Elevation, in feet, and contents, in acre-feet 

Date Time Elevation Contents Date Time Elevation Contents 

Nov. 30, 1958 12 p.m. 1,019.57 13,160 Jan. 31, 1959 12 p.m. 1,019.82 13,360 

Dec. 31 12 p.m. 1,019.56 13,150 Feb. 9 10 p.m. 1,022.77 16,020 

Jan. 20, 1959 4 p.m. 1,019.99 13,520 12 1:30 a.m. 1,030.58 24,300 

23 I 1:30 a.m. 1,044.01 43,540 28 12 p.m. 1,022.22 15,520 

47. Mohicanville Reservoir near Mohicanville, Ohio 

Location, --Lat 40°43'35 11 , long 82°09 105 11 , at dam on Lake Fork, 2 miles east of Mohicanville, Ashland County. 

Drainage area, --269 sq mi. 

Remarks. --Gage-height record and capacity curve furnished by Corps of Engineers. 

Elevation, in feet, and contents, in acre-feet 

Date Time Elevation Contents Date Time Elevation Contents 

Nov. 30, 1958 12 p.m. 933.99 83 Jan. 31, 1959 12 p.m. 955.87 48,830 

Dec. 31 12 p.m. 933.92 80 Feb. 9 10 p.m. 951.00 24,000 

Jan. 20, 1959 4 p.m. 934.07 87 11 10 p.m. 955.24 45,120 

26 10:15 p.m. 956.85 54,870 28 12 p.m. 947.77 12,530 

51, Kokosing River at Mount Vernon, Ohio 

Location, --Lat 40°24'25·11 , long 82°30'00 11 , on right bank at downstream side of Tilden Avenue Bridge at Mount 

Verno.1, Knox County, 0. 8 mile downstream from North Branch and 2. 7 miles upstream from Dry Run. 

Drainage area, --200 sq mi. 

Gage-he1ght record. --Water-stage recorder graph, Datum of gage is 984, 16 ft above mean sea level, datum of 

1929, supplementary adjustment of 1944 (levels by Corps of Engineers). 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 6, 350 cfs and 

extended above on basis of slope-area measurements of 1959 peak flow. Backwater from ice Dec. 1, 6-22, 26, 

Jan, 5-7, 10-12. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 38, 000 cfs 3:30a.m. Jan, 21 (gage height, 18, 19 ft). 

1953 to December 1958: Discharge, 7, 030 cfs Feb. 25, 1956 (gage height, 12.34 ft), 

Remarks. --Some regulation by Knox Lake on East Branch of North Branch of Kokosing River, 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January 

1 70 181 372 11 95 85 2,150 21 75 14,600 

2 69 512 264 12 90 80 815 22 75 7,310 

3 71 292 232 13 85 81 678 23 72 1,380 

4 122 217 405 14 80 87 982 24 83 774 

5 246 150 292 15 80 498 1,610 25 87 584 

6 160 140 210 16 75 451 804 26 85 455 

7 140 130 179 17 75 246 578 27 81 381 

8 130 115 164 18 75 208 475 28 75 314 

9 110 105 167 19 70 180 358 29 77 284 

10 100 95 4,250 20 70 150 280 30 98 872 

31 98 672 

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second------------------------- 94.2 1,020 

·February 

228 

220 

358 

550 

327 

280 

260 

252 

-------

-------

-------

634 

Runoff, in inches ------------------------------------------------------ .54 5.88 3.30 
MUSKINGUM RIVER BASIN 33 

54. Mohawk Reservoir near Nellie, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°21'10 11 , long 82°0511511 , at dam on Walhonding River, 1. 5 miles northwest of Nellie, Coshocton 

County. 

Drainage area. --1, 501 sq mi. 

Remarks. --Gage-height record and capacity curve furnished by Corps of Engineers. 

Elevation, in feet, and contents, in acre-feet 

Date Time Elevation Contents Date Time Elevation Contents 

Nov. 30, 1958 12 p.m. 802.52 222 Jan. 31, l959 12 p.m. 867.86 142,600 

Dec. 31 12 p.m. 802.63 230 Feb. 10 7 a.m. 847.50 55,600 

Jan. 20, 1959 4 p.m. 804.56 390 12 12 m. 859.90 103,800 

25 7:30 a.m. 873.94 176,100 28 12 p.m. 814.06 2,180 

56. Killbuck Creek at Killbuck, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°29 143 11 , long 81°59'10 11 , on right bank at downstream side of bridge on U. S. Highway 62 at 

K1llbuck, Holmes County, an eighth of a mile downstream from Black Creek. 

Drainage area. --466 sq mi. 

Gage-he1ght record. --Water-stage recorder graph except for periods Dec. 1-11, 2 p. m, Jan. 21 to 10 a.m. Jan. 

24, Jan. 27-29, Feb. 2-7, 21-23, for which graph was reconstructed on basis of high-water mark in gage house 

and wire-weight gage readings made twice daily or oftener. 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 7, 450 cfs and by 

slope-area measurement of 1959 peak flow. Backwater from ice Dec. 6-30, Jan. 5-14, 18-21 and Feb. 13-22. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 28,400 cfs 3 a.m. Jan. 22 (gage height, 21.75 ft, from highwater mark in gage house). 

1930 to December 1958: Discharge, 28,500 cfs Aug. 7, 1935 (gage height, 21.77 ft, from floodmark). 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 188 309 1,200 11 172 225 2,770 21 140 6,980 620 

2 168 845 902 12 176 210 2,380 22 148 17,300 660 

3 154 688 726 13 160 200 1,600 23 154 6,120 784 

4 194 570 816 14 145 196 1,250 24 158 6,040 957 

5 329 400 652 15 146 455 1,450 25 150 4,910 873 

6 305 340 506 16 150 592 1,200 26 145 3,470 866 

7 190 305 393 17 154 441 1,050 27 142 2,590 801 

8 198 290 434 18 150 370 900 28 140 1,900 734 

9 190 270 397 19 145 340 780 29 138 1,430 -------- 10 178 240 2,060 20 140 334 700 30 138 1,510 -------- 31 191 1,520 --------

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second------------------------- 170 1,980 1,016 

Runoff, in inches ------------------------------------------------------ .42 4.90 2.27 

59. Senecaville Reservoir near Senacaville, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 39°55125", long 81°26'10 11 , at dam on Seneca Fork, 1.5 miles southeast of Senecaville, Guernsey 

County. 

Drainage area. --121 sq mi. 

Remarks. --Gage-height record and capacity curve furnished by Corps of Engineers. 

Elevation, in feet, and contents, in acre-feet 

Date Time Elevation Contents Date Time Elevation Contents 

Nov. 30, 1958 12 p.m. 832.33 43,710 Jan. 31, 1959 12 p.m. 835.06 54,140 

Dec. 31 12 p.m. 831.89 42,160 Feb. 9 12 p.m. 832.75 45,220 

Jan. 20, 1959 1 p.m. 832.77 45,290 12 3 p.m. 835.05 54,100 

25 4:15-5:15 p.m. 836.69 60,890 28 12 p.m. 832.44 44,100 

60. Wills Creek Reservoir near Wills Creek, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°09'25 11 , long 81°50'55", at dam on Wills Creek, 1.3 miles south of village of Wills Creek, 

Coshocton County. 

Drainage area, --844 sq mi. 

Remarks. --Gage-height record and capacity curve furnished by Corps of Engineers. 

Elevation, in feet, and contents, in acre-feet 

Date Time Elevation Contents Date Time 8levation Contents 

Nov. 30, 1958 12 p.m. 742.22 6,220 Jan. 31, 1959 12 p.m. 753.38 26,900 

Dec. 31 12 p.m. 742.77 6,760 Feb. 9 10 p.m. 744.54 8,860 

Jan. 20, 1959 12 p.m. 744.65 9,000 16-17 7:30 p.m.-1:30 a.m. 764.51 74,810 

26 7:30 a.m. 764.17 72,800 28 12 p.m. 744.21 8,420 
34 FLOODS OF JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 IN OHIO 

70. Licking River at Toboso, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°03'26", long 82°13'12 11 , on right bank 30 ft downstream from highway bridge at Toboso, Licking 

County, and 3 miles downstream from Rocky Fork. 

Drainage area. --672 sq mi. 

Gage-he1ght record. --Water-stage recorder graph. Datum of gage is 744. 84 ft above mean sea level, adjustment 

of 1912. 

Discharge record.- -Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements. Backwater from ice 

Nov. 30, Dec. 1, 10-23, Jan. 10-12. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 49, 800 cfs 5 a.m. Jan. 22 (gage height, 21.08 ft). 

1902-06, 1921 to December 1958: Discharge, 32,500 cfs Jan. 27, 1952 (gage height, 18.75 ft). 

Flood of March 1913 reached a stage of 20.0 ft (discharge, 35,000 cfs, computed by Muskingum Watershed 

Conservancy District). 

Remarks. --Flow slightly regulated by Buckeye Lake on South Fork. 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 160 566 1,300 11 230 230 12,000 21 200 12,600 1,000 

2 162 2,420 1,140 12 210 220 3,550 22 200 36,900 980 

3 166 1,340 1,090 13 200 267 2,220 23 190 9,350 1,100 

4 240 928 1,260 14 190 304 2,440 24 207 3,900 1,380 

5 537 585 1,220 15 180 1,010 3,890 25 216 2,180 1,150 

6 429 537 1,060 16 180 1,520 2,090 26 214 1,720 1,040 

7 361 429 860 17 170 794 1,610 27 212 1,470 860 

8 338 324 806 18 170 658 1,460 28 212 1,300 810 

9 282 293 778 19 170 946 1,260 29 202 1,230 -------- 10 250 260 9,720 20 180 658 1,080 30 238 1,580 -------- 31 267 1,620 --------

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second------------------------- 231 2,843 2,113 

Runoff, in inches ------------------------------------------------------ .40 4.88 3.27 

78. Scioto River near Prospect, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°25 110 11 , long 83°11 1 50", on downstream side of pier of Hoskins Bridge in Delaware County, 1t 

miles upstream from Ottawa Creek, 2 miles south of Prospect, Marion County, and 2t miles downstream from 

Patton Run. 

Drainage area. --571 sq mi. 

Ga,e-height record. --Water-stage recorder graph. Datum of gage is 886. 9 ft above mean sea level, adjustment of 

912 (levels by Corps of Engineers). 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 9, 300 cfs. Backwater 

from 1ce Nov. 30, Dec. 1, 9-26, Jan. 5-14. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 10,100 cfs 11 p.m. Jan. 21 (gage height, 15.30 ft). 

1925-32, 1939 to December 1958: Discharge, 10, 100 cfs Mar. 22, 1927 (gage height, 15.0 ft, at Prospect, 

at datum 4. 8 ft higher). 

Maximum stage known, 21.1 ft Mar. 25, 1913, at Prospect (discharge, 27,000 cfs, computed by Franklin 

County Conservancy District). 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February !Day December January !February 

1 170 120 2 '770 11 160 130 5,060 21 100 5,340 527 

2 184 238 2,180 12 160 120 6,610 22 95 9,140 527 

3 175 367 1,140 13 140 110 5,520 23 95 9,510 542 

4 235 362 846 14 130 100 3,740 24 100 9,300 792 

5 520 300 796 15 120 412 3,150 25 llO 8,540 945 

6 684 270 629 16 110 736 3,270 26 110 6,730 778 

7 482 220 396 17 100 918 2,910 27 109 4,130 657 

8 322 190 376 18 100 810 1,900 28 96 2,410 645 

9 240 160 354 19 100 594 1,280 29 91 1,100 -------- 10 180 140 3,190 20 100 380 818 30 96 1,530 -------- 31 92 2,210 -------- I 

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second------------------------- 178 2,149 1,870 

Runoff, in inches ------------------------------------------------------ .36 4.34 3.40 

80. O'Shaughnessy Reservoir near Dublin. Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°09'15 11 , long 83°07'34", in Delaware County, at dam on Scioto River. 4 miles north of Dublin, 

Franklin County. 

Drainage area. --987 sq mi. 

Remarks. --Capacity table computed from data furnished by city of Columbus. 
SCIOTO RIVER BASIN 

80, O'Shaughnessy Reservoir near Dublin, Ohio--Continued 

Elevation, in feet, and contents, in acre-feet 

Date Time Elevation Contents Date Time Elevation Contents 

Nov. 30, 1958 12 p.m. 848.21 17,370 Jan. 22, 1959 6 a.m. 854.40 24,290 

Dec. 31 12 p.m. 848.19 17,310 31 12 p.m .. 849.18 18,290 

Jan. 20, 1959 5 p.m. 848.43 17,550 Feb. 28 12 ]).1!1. 848.56 17,680 

81. Scioto River below O'Shaughnessy Dam, near Dublin, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°08'36", long 83°07 114 11 , on left bank in Delaware County, a quarter of a mile north of county 

hne, three-quarters of a mile downstream from O'Shaughnessy Dam, and 3 miles north of Dublin, Franklin 

County. 

Drainage area. --988 sq mi. 

35 

Gage-hetght record. --Water-stage recorder graph except for period 11 a.m. Jan. 5 to 5 p.m. Jan. 24, for which 

graph was reconstructed on basis of high-water mark in gage house, telemark readings, and engineer's 

readings. Datum of gage is 775.00 ft above mean sea level, adjustment of 1912. 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 33, 000 cfs and extended above on basis of computations of flow over Griggs Dam. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 55, 200 cfs 2 a.m. Jan. 22 (gage height, 22.02 ft from high-water 

mark). 

1921 to December 1958: Discharge, 27,000 cfs Jan. 15, 1937 (gage height, 15,45 ft). 

Maximum stage known, 24.6 ft Mar. 25, 1913 (discharge, 74,500 cfs at Griggs Dam, 9 miles below gage, 

computed by C. E. Sherman, Ohio State University). 

Remarks. --Flow regulated by O'Shaughnessy Reservoir. 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 239 294 3,300 11 248 200 13,000 21 144 27,300 906 

2 248 769 2,670 12 263 180 8,490 22 137 42,900 844 

3 248 828 1,820 13 226 160 7,150 23 137 16,000 862 

4 354 785 1,470 14 191 150 5,500 24 144 11,000 1,300 

5 853 350 1,380 15 172 600 5,300 25 154 10,300 1,530 

6 1,100 400 1,020 16 154 1,000 5,000 26 154 8,100 1,330 

7 836 350 737 17 147 1,000 4,150 27 157 4,970 1,140 

8 565 300 610 18 144 800 2,940 28 150 2,980 1,110 

9 361 250 579 19 150 600 2,040 29 147 1,780 ------- 10 274 220 9,600 20 147 500 1,370 30 161 2,430 ------- 31 164 3,890 -------

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second------------------------- 276 4,561 3,112 

Mean discharge, adjusted for storage, cubic feet per second --------------- 275 4,577 3,101 

Adjusted runoff, in inches ---------------------------------------------- .32 5.34 3.27 

82. Griggs Reservoir near Columbus, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°00'54 11 , long 83°05'38", at dam on Scioto River, 5! miles northwest of Columbus, Franklin 

County, and 6! miles upstream from Olentangy River. 

Drainage area. --1, 052 sq mi. 

Remarks. --Capacity table computed from data furnished by City of Columbus. 

Elevation, in feet, and contents, in acre-feet 

Date Time Elevation Contents Date Time Elevation Contents 

Nov. 30, 1958 12 p.m. 755.56 4,670 Jan. 22, 1959 4 a.m. 763.91 7,730 

Dec. 31 12 p.m. 755.54 4,660 31 12 p.m. 756.89 5,130 

Jan. 20, 1959 12 m. 755.84 4,770 Feb. 28 12 p.m. 756.15 4,870 

86. Delaware Reservoir near Delaware, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°21 1 25 11 , long 83°04'0511 , at dam on Olentangy River, 4 miles north of Delaware, Delaware County. 

Dramage area. --381 sq mi. 

Remarks. --Gage-height record and capacity curve 

Elevation, in feet, and contents, in acre-feet 

Date Time I Elevation Contents I Date Time Elevation Contents 

Nov. 30, 1958 12 p.m. 910.57 8,970 Jan. 25, 1959 1:30-4 p.m. 944.75 113,000 

Dec. 31 12 p.m. 910.30 8,700 31 12 p.m. 932.97 51,100 

Jan. 20, 1959 5 p.m. 910.18 8,580 Feb. 28 12 p.m. 910.57 8,970 
36 FLOODS OF JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 IN OHIO 

90. Olentangy River near Worthington, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°06 1 35 11 , long 83°01'55 11 , on right bank 30ft downstream from Wilson bridge, 1t miles northwest 

of Worthington, Franklin County and 2-3/4 miles upstream from Rush Run, 

Drainage area. --493 sq mi. 

Gage-height record. --Water-stage recorder graph except for period 6:30 a. m, to 1 p, m. Jan, 21, for which graph 

was reconstructed on basis of high-water mark in well. Datum of gage is 743. 20 ft above mean sea level, datum 

of 192 9, unadjusted, 

Discharge record, --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 13, 600 cfs. Backwater 

from ice Nov, 30, Dec. 1, 10-21, Jan, 18-20, 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 16, 500 cfs 11 a. m, Jan. 21 (gage height, 15.68 ft from high-water 

mark). 

1955 to December 1959: Discharge, 6, 620 cfs May 20, 1957 (gage height, 11, 58 ft in gage well, 11. 82 ft 

from outside high-water mark). 

Flood of January 1952 reached a discharge of 14,300 cfs (on basis of discharge at Stratford), 

Remarks. --Flow regulated by Delaware Reservoir. 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January 

1 190 252 5,970 11 130 178 1,310 21 55 10,800 2 205 585 5,790 12 130 111 3,860 22 57 3,320 

3 191 1,070 5,750 13 130 111 4,650 23 61 561 

4 248 914 4,330 14 120 120 4,540 24 62 240 

5 379 654 2,960 15 95 432 3,110 25 59 346 

6 630 95 223 16 60 1,590 4,510 26 54 4,190 

7 620 87 239 17 55 1,800 4,440 27 59 5,750 

8 492 79 287 18 55 950 4,060 28 57 5,830 

9 169 194 302 19 55 600 618 29 59 5,860 10 150 191 3,890 20 55 700 700 30 68 5,850 

31 140 5,780 

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second -------------------------- 158 1,911 

Mean discharge, adjusted for storage, cubic feet per second----------------- 154 2,601 

Adjusted runoff, in inches ----------------------------------------------- .36 6.09 

92, Scioto River at Columbus, Ohio 

February 

560 

264 

386 

675 

924 

810 

359 

475 

--------

--------

--------

2,357 

1,598 

3.37 

Location. --Lat 39°54 1 34 11 , long 83°00'33 11 , on right bank at sewage-treatment works of city of Columbus, Franklin 

County, 0. 4 mile downstream from bridge on Frank Road. 

Drainage area. --1, 624 sq mi. 

Ga~e-height record. --W~ter-stage recorder graph except Dec, 5-8, Jan, 1, and for period 1 p.m. Jan. 21 to 

a.m. Jan. 22, for which graph was reconstructed on basis of high-water mark in gage house and Weather 

Bureau gage readings 4t miles upstream. Datum of gage is 680,40 ft above mean sea level, adjustment of 1912. 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 45, 100 cfs. 

Max1ma. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 68, 200 cfs 1 a, m. Jan. 22 (gage height, 27. 22 ft from high-water 

mark). 

1920 to December 1958: Discharge, 40,300 cfs Jan. 27, 1952; maximum gage height, 24.70 ft Mar. 21, 1927, 

Jan. 27, 1952, 

Maximum stage previously known, 25.9 ft Mar. 25, 1913 (discharge, 138,000 cfs, estimated by Franklin 

County Conservancy District). This stage is not comparable with present gage heights because of subsequent 

channel improvement and levee construction, 

Remarks. --Flow regulated by Griggs Reservoir, by O'Shaughnessy Reservoir beginning in 1924, and by Delaware 

Reservoir beginning in 194 7. 

Mean discharge in cubic feet per second December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 535 600 9,310 11 480 440 15,500 21 244 34,000 2,020 

2 535 1,220 8,660 12 435 380 12,100 22 244 48,200 1,490 

3 530 1,810 7,860 13 435 329 11,800 23 240 18,000 1,600 

4 628 1,930 6,220 14 380 400 10,900 24 244 ll' 900 2,160 

5 1,100 1;440 5,460 15 356 1,030 ll ,000 25 244 10,700 2,720 

6 1,900 623 2,020 16 315 2,440 9,920 26 252 ll, 900 2,850 

7 1,600 535 1,430 17 273 2,640 12_, 900 27 252 ll, 100 1,890 

8 1,300 475 1,350 18 256 1,770 7,740 28 256 9,310 1,880 

9 804 465 1,300 19 256 1,230 3,940 29 260 8,100 -------- 10 562 475 12,900 20 281 1,240 2,590 30 264 8,070 -------- 31 285 9,490 --------

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second------------------------- 508 6,524 5,982 

Mean discharge, _ad~usted for storage, cubic feet per second--------------- 502 7,237 5,208 

Adjusted runoff, 1n 1nches ---------------------------------------------- .36 5.14 3.34 
SCIOTO RIVER BASIN 37 

94. Hoover Reservoir at Central College, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°06'30 11 , long 82°53 100", at dam on Big Walnut Creek, half a mile northeast of Central College, 

Franklin County, and 12 miles northeast of Columbus. 

Drainage area. --190 sq mi. 

Remarks. --Capacity table computed from data furnished by city of Columbus. 

Elevation in feet and contents . in acre-feet 

Date Time Elevation Contents Date Time Elevation Contents 

Nov. 30, 1958 12 p.m. 887.27 53,100 Jan. 21, 1959 8:30p.m. 894.76 74,680 

Dec. 31 12 p.m. 886.88 52,080 31 12 p.m. 890.02 60,390 

Jan. 20, 1959 12 m. 887.64 54,070 Feb. 28 12 p.m. 889.76 59,700 

95. Big Walnut Creek at Central College, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°06 1 13 11 , long 82°53'03 11 , a quarter of a mile east of Central College, Franklin County, 0. 4 mile 

downstream from Hoover Dam, and 3 miles southeast of Westerville. 

Drainage area. --190 sq mi. 

Gage-height record. --Water-stage recorder graph. Datum of gage is 814. 96 ft above mean sea level. 

D1scharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 13,200 cfs and 

extended on basis of computations of flow over Hoover Dam. Backwater from ice Jan. 5, 21 (2-7 a.m.), 27, 

Jan, 30 to Feb. 1. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 23,800 cfs 10 p.m. Jan. 21 (gage height, 19.75 ft). 

1938 to December 1958: Discharge, 14,400 cfs Aug. 4, 1943 (gage height, 16.6 ft). 

Remarks. --Flow completely regulated by Hoover Dam beginning September 1954. 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January 

1 52 62 200 11 51 134 3,360 21 53 9,480 

2 53 58 168 12 52 134 945 22 53 10,600 

3 53 55 134 13 54 162 558 23 53 1,590 

4 54 55 122 14 53 190 606 24 53 653 

5 53 55 113 15 53 215 1,310 25 53 405 

6 52 55 137 16 53 227 790 26 53 296 

7 52 53 196 17 53 224 472 27 53 210 

8 52 53 196 18 53 221 447 28 53 205 

9 52 85 193 19 53 221 221 29 53 205 

10 52 134 3,180 29 53 227 131 30 53 200 

31 53 200 

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second------------------------- 52.8 860 

Mean discharge, adjusted for storage, cubic feet per second--------------- 36.2 995 

Adjusted runoff, in inches---------------------------------------------- .22 6.04 

96. Alum Creek at Columbus, Ohio 

February 

109 

159 

215 

211 

211 

211 

180 

218 

------

------

------

535 

523 

2.86 

Location. --Lat 39°56 142 11 , long 82°56'28 11 , on left bank a quarter of a mile downstream from Livingston Avenue 

Bridge in Columbus, Franklin County, and 6 miles upstream from mouth. • 

Drainage area. --190 sq mi. 

Gage-height record. --Water-stage recorder graph except for period 10:30 p.m. Jan. 21 to 8 a.m. Jan. 25 

(recorder overtopped) for which graph was reconstructed on basis of high-water mark in gage house and 

engineer's readings. Datum of gage is 733. 62 ft above mean sea level. 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 16,400 cfs and 

extended above on basis of contracted-opening measurement of 1959 peak flow. Backwater from ice Dec. 8-12, 

14, 17-18, Jan. 5-10, 18-19. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 26, 400 cfs 4 a.m. Jan. 22 (gage height, 19. 59 ft, from high-water 

mark). 

1923-35, 1938 to December 1958: Discharge, 8, 800 cfs Feb. 27, 1929 (gage height, 13.6 ft). 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 23 120 226 11 35 41 5,130 21 25 8,030 114 

2 22 303 143 12 30 33 659 22 23 16,600 117 

3 23 326 130 13 30 30 464 23 23 1,970 170 

4 60 212 161 14 25 49 690 24 23 550 392 

5 192 160 152 15 25 219 1,920 25 23 332 252 

6 154 110 117 16 22 347 705 26 24 230 188 

7 115 95 112 17 20 310 405 27 26 164 164 

8 85 75 112 18 20 180 340 28 24 132 161 

9 60 65 116 19 24 150 233 29 24 130 ------ 10 45 45 3,410 20 29 150 135 30 31 312 ------ 31 34 513 ------

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second------------------------- 42.5 1,032 585 

Runof~ in inches ------------------------------------------------------ .26 6.26 3.21 
38 FLOODS OF JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 IN OHIO 

98. Big Walnut Creek at Rees, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 39°51'24 11 , long 82°57'26 11 , on right bank at downstream side of highway bridge, half a mile southwest of Rees, Franklin County, and 4t miles downstream from Alum Creek. 

Drainage area. --544 sq mi. 

Gage-hetght record. --Water-stage recorder graph except for period 3 a.m. Jan. 22 to 12:30 p.m. Jan. 26 for 

whtch graph was reconstructed on basis of high-water mark in gage house and outside gage readings. Datum 

of gage is 698. 20 ft above mean sea level, adjustment of 1912. 

Dischar~e record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 16, 800 cfs and 

exten ed above on basis of contracted-opening measurement of 1959 peak flow. Backwater from ice Dec. 17, 

18, Jan. 7, 8. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 59, 800 cfs 1 p.m. Jan. 22 (gage height, 22.03 ft, from highwater mark). 

1921-25, 1938 to December 1958: Discharge, 21,800 cfs Feb. 27, 1929 (gage height, 18.0 ft). 

Maximum stage known prior to 1959, 20.5 ft Mar. 25, 1913, present datum, at site 0. 3 mile upstream. 

Remarks. - Flow regulated by Hoover Reservoir beginning September 1954. Diversion above station for part of 

mumcipal supply of city of Columbus beginning June 15, 1956. 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 99 353 942 11 139 220 12,400 21 121 8,790 444 

2 101 1,150 725 12 141 212 3,330 22 119 44,600 452 

3 103 712 634 13 130 204 1,740 23 116 12,400 634 

4 186 476 745 14 116 259 1,890 24 123 2,200 976 

5 424 253 674 15 116 814 4,020 25 130 1,600 805 

6 358 204 547 16 105 1,030 2,470 26 119 1,190 661 

7 238 190 538 17 100 761 1,46'() 27 121 915 621 

8 223 170 590 18 100 4~0 1,220 28 125 775 568 

9 184 161 590 19 110 452 870 29 132 735 ------ 10 154 156 5,630 20 132 481 577 30 156 1,020 ------ 31 168 1,310 ------

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second-------------------------- 151 2,718 1,670 

Mean discharge, adjusted for storage and diversion, in cubic feet per second - 169 2,888 1,693 

Adjusted runoff, in inches ----------------------------------------------- .36 6.12 3.24 

100. Darby Creek at Darbyville, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 39°42'05 11 , long 83°06'35 11 , near right bank on downstream side of pier of bridge on State Highway 

316, three-eights of a mile northeast of Darbyville, Pickaway County, and 3 miles downstream from Greenbrier 

Creek. 

Drainage area. --533 sq mi. 

Gage-hetght record. --Water-stage recorder graph. Datum of gage is 713. 6 ft above mean sea level, adjustment of 

1912. 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 21, 300 cfs and 

extended above on basis of contracted-opening measurement. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 49, 000 cfs 12 m. Jan. 22 (gage height, 17. 94 ft). 

1921-35, 1938 to December 1958: Discharge, 22,600 cfs Feb. 27, 1929 (gage height, 14.9 ft); maximum gage 

height observed, 15. 9 ft Feb. 27, 1929 (backwater from ice). 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 94 177 1,780 11 199 200 12,100 21 126 6,600 640 

2 103 602 1,070 12 180 190 6,640 22 130 38,400 675 

3 105 1,120 89.2 13 160 180 2,860 23 126 15,400 635 

4 108 710 1,060 14 150 199 2,760 24 130 5,580 862 

5 262 511 1,360 15 136 352 4,670 25 132 3,160 862 

6 529 350 826 16 126 1,560 3,670 26 120 2,080 700 

7 343 310 550 17 126 1,500 2,150 27 120 1,540 615 

8 278 270 541 18 118 850 1,690 28· 116 1,140 565 

9 250 240 499 19 128 700 1,280 29 124 952 ------ 10 220 220 4,310 20 128 650 874 30 130 1,290 ------ 31 134 2,880 ------

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second-------------------------- 166 2,900 2,041 

Runoff, in inches ------------------------------------------------------ .36 6.27 3.99 
LITTLE MIAMI RIVER BASIN 

102. Scioto River at Chillicothe, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 39°20'31 11 , long 82°58'27", on right bank at north end of Chillicothe, Ross County, 450 ft downstream from Bridge Street bridge on U. S. Highway 23. 

Drainage area. --3, 847 sq mi. 

Gage-height record. --Water-stage recorder graph except for periods 3 a.m. t~ 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. 

Jan. 23, for whiCh graph was reconstructed on basis of high-water mark in gage house. Datum of gage is 

594.0 ft above mean sea level, adjustment of 1912. 

39 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 122, 000 cfs. Backwater from Ice Dec. 11-22, Jan. 9-12. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 144, 000 cfs 8 a.m. Jan. 23 (gage height, 32. 50 ft from highwater mark). 

1920 to December 1958: Discharge, 101, 000 cfs Jan. 23, 1937 (gage height, 27. 68 ft). 

Maximum stage known, 39. 8 ft Mar. 26, 1913 (discharge, 260, 000 cfs, estimated by Franklin County 

Conservancy District). 

Remarks. --Flow regulated by Griggs Reservoir, by O'Shaughnessy Reservoir beginning in 1924, by Delaware 

Reservoir beginning in 1947, and by Hoover Reservoir beginning in 1954. 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 1,130 1,020 13,600 11 1,200 1,200 18,400 21 850 11,800 4,910 

2 965 2,840 12,700 12 1,200 1,200 36,700 22 800 35,700 4,140 

3 965 4,720 11,200 13 1,100 1,180 34,700 23 774 127,000 3,750 

4 1,030 4,390 10,200 14 1,000 1,100 23,000 24 782 71,700 4,380 

5 1,620 3,440 8,870 15 950 1,720 21,200 25 822 35,100 5,200 

6 2,710 2,560 7,440 16 900 3,820 21,800 26 830 21,200 5,220 

7 3,010 1,920 4,140 17 900 5,690 20,100 27 822 16,500 4,850 

8 2,600 1,740 3,430 18 850 5,060 15,400 28 798 15,400 4,020 

9 2,310 1,500 3,310 19 850 3,610 12,100 29 790 13,100 -------- 10 1,640 1,300 6,790 20 850 3,510 7,030 30 814 11,500 -------- 31 830 12,400 --------

Monthly mean discharge. in cubic feet per second-------------------------- 1,184 13,710 11,740 

Mean discharge, adjusted for storage, cubic feet per second---------------- 1,161 14,558 10,953 

Adjusted runoff, in inches----------------------------------------------- .35 4.36 2.97 

120. Little Miami River at Milford, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 39°10'17 11 , long 84°17'53 11 , on right bank 500ft downstream from Wooster Pike Bridge in Milford, 

Clermont County, and 1 t miles upstream from East Fork. 

Drainage area. --1, 195 sq mi. 

Gage-height record. --Water-stage recorder graph except for period·ll a.m. Jan. 23 to 12 m. Jan. 24 for which 

graph was reconstructed on basis of graph before and after this period. Datum of gage is 499. 35 ft above mean 

sea level, adjustment of 1912. 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 59, 700 cfs and 

extended above on basis of slope-area measurement of 1959 peak flow: Backwater from ice Jan. 20. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge. 84, 100 cfs 9 a.m. Jan. 22 (gage height. 22.30 ft). 

1915-17, 1925-36, 1938 to December 1958: Discharge, 69,900 cfs Mar. 6, 1945 (gage height, 20.90 ft). 

Remarks. --Some regulation by Cowan Lake on Cowan Creek, tributary to Todd Fork. 

Mean discharge. in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January !February 

1 280 770 2,020 11 436 383 8,300 21 407 48,200 1,390 

2 310 2,150 1,570 12 466 378 4,880 22 383 72,400 1,190 

3 364 1,470 1,370 13 441 373 3,620 23 364 17,600 1,550 

4 1,330 1,020 1,790 14 392 -407 4,290 24 383 5,300 2,480 

5 2,790 584 2,110 15 359 3,860 6,020 25 416 2,980 2,120 

6 1,890 407 1,880 16 341 3,730 3,610 26 392 2,410 1,910 

7 875 719 1,370 17 336 1,520 2,570 27 336 2,050 1,520 

8 731 1,030 1,170 18 345 892 2,980 28 350 2,020 1,280 

9 618 589 1,200 19 350 836 2,370 29 341 2,000 ----- 10 466 441 11,200 20 359 2,900 1,870 30 336 2,470 ----- 31 327 2,600 -----

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second-------------------------- 565 5,951 2,844 

Runoff, in inches -------------------------------------------------------;- .55 5.74 2.48 
40 FLOODS OF JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 IN OHIO 

122. Mill Creek at Reading, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 39°13'15", long 84°26'50", on right bank at upstream side of Koehler Street Bridge at Reading, 

Hamilton County, 1 mile upstream from West Fork Mill Creek and 13 miles upstream from mouth. 

Drainage area. --73. 1 sq mi. 

Gage-height record. --Water-stage recorder graph. Datum of gage is 527.00 ft above mean sea level, Ohio River 

datum. Twice-daily wire-weight readings used during periods of lagging intake, Dec. 10-23, Jan. 5-13, 17-19. 

Discharge record.- -Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 2, 560 cfs and 

extended above on basis of slope-area measurement of 1959 peak flow. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 5, 640 cfs 5 p.m. Jan. 21 (gage height, 19. 67 ft). 

1938 to December 1958: Discharge, 5, 780 cfs Mar. 6, 1945 (gage height, 20.00 ft, present datum). 

Mean discharge in cubic feet per second December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 21 159 62 11 29 20 305 21 25 3,980 74 

2 26 102 43 12 29 26 185 22 26 2,190 64 

3 43 58 48 13 22 26 209 23 26 299 199 

4 103 44 90 14 19 46 380 24 27 163 157 

5 224 29 53 15 22 320 318 25 20 109 103 

6 89 28 39 16 22 131 179 26 20 98 92 

7 47 29 32 17 23 54 143 27 20 76 82 

8 47 33 33 18 24 37 205 28 20 61 74 

9 40 29 69 19 28 47 120 29 24 74 ------ 10 29 24 1,050 20 29 436 90 30 27 195 ------ 31 26 107 ------

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second-------------------------- 38.0 291 161 

Runoff, in inches------------------------------------------------------- .60 4.59 2.29 

123. West Fork Mill Creek Reservoir near Greenhills, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 39°15'40", long 84°29'40", at dam on West Fork Mill Creek, 1! miles east of Greenhills, 

Hamilton County. 

Drainage area. --29. 5 sq mi. 

Remarks. --Gage-height record and capacity table furnished by Corps of Engineers. 

Elevation, in feet, and contents, in acre-feet 

Date Time Elevation Contents Date Time Elevation Contents 

Nov. 30, 1958 12 p.m. 675.09 1,550 Jan. 22, 1959 4:25p.m. 698.96 9,750 

Dec. 31 12 p.m. 675.06 1,540 31 12 p.m. 675.55 1,640 

Jan. 19, 1959 12 p.m. 675.16 1,560 Feb. 28 12 p.m. 675.13 1,560 

130. Miami River at Sidney, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°17'14", long 84°08'57", on right bank 100ft upstream from North Street Bridge in Sidney, 

Shelby County, and half a mile downstream from Tawawa Creek. 

Drainage area. --545 sq mi. 

Gage-height record. --Water-stage recorder graph except for period 10 a.m. Jan. 23 to 1 p.m. Jan. 28 for which 

graph was reconstructed on basis of recession graphs of other peaks or discharge estimated on basis of comparison with nearby stations. Datum of gage is 924. 70ft above mean sea level, adjustment of 1912. 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 9, 200 cfs and 

extended above on basis of velocity-area studies. Backwater from ice Dec. 1, 8-18, 20-22, 24-26, 31, Jan. 

6-12, 18, 19. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 16,800 cfs 11 p.m. Jan. 21 (gage height, 15.91 ft). 

1914 to December 1958: Discharge, 20, 700 cfs Mar. 20, 1927 (ga~ height, 14.4 ft). 

Maximum stage known, 19.6 ft, present datum, Mar. •25, 1913 (discharge, 44,000 cfs, computed by Miami 

Conservancy District). 

Remarks. --Data furnished by Miami Conservancy District. Some regulation by Indian Lake. 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 200 276 1,480 11 190 210 5,790 21 160 9,880 796 

2 195 692 917 12 200 210 3,590 22 150 12,900 755 

3 187 523 737 13 180 203 2,560 23 152 7,000 876 

4 450 397 971 14 180 219 2,440 24 160 5,000 1,180 

5 724 272 868 15 170 1,100 3,050 25 170 3,400 962 

6 469 240 701 16 160 1,160 2,320 26 160 2,400 863 

7 270 330 645 17 170 484 1,740 27 152 1,600 832 

8 260 260 637 18 170 420 1,420 28 154 1,200 818 

9 220 240 632 19 165 400 1,120 29 158 768 ------ 10 190 220 5,160 20 160 426 876 30 158 1,850 ------ 31 150 2,170 ------

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second------------------------- 214 1,821 1,598 

Runoff, in inches------------------------------------------------------ .45 3.85 3.05 
MIAMI RIVER BASIN 41 

136. Miami River at Taylorsville, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 39°52'22", long 84°09'51", on left bank 600ft downstream from Taylorsville Dam, three-quarters 

of a mile north of Taylorsville, Montgomery County, and 9t miles upstream from Stillwater River. 

Drainage area. --1, 155 sq mi. 

Gage-height record. --Water-stage recorder graph. Datum of gage is 700. 08 ft above mean sea level, adjustment 

of 1912. 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 23_ 200 cfs. Backwater from ice Dec. 1, 8-24, Jan. 5-13, 18-21. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 31,400 cfs 12m. Jan. 22 (gage height, 75.44 ft). 

1922 to December 1958: Discharge, 25,500 cfs Jan. 15, 1937 (gage height, 73.32 ft) and May 14, 1933 

(gage height, 73. 26 ft). 

1914-17, Discharge, 26,400 cfs Jan. 2, 1916 (gage height, 15.4 ft at site 1-3/4 miles upstream at Tadmor 

at different datum). 

Flood. of March 1913 reached a stage of 25.4 ft at site at Tadmor (discharge, 127,000 cfs, computed by 

Miami Conservancy District). 

Remarks. --Data furnished by Miami Conservancy District. Flood flow regulated by Taylorsville retarding basin 

JUSt above station and by Lockington retarding basin on Loramie Creek. Flow slightly regulated by Indian Lake 

and by Lake Loramie. 

' ' Mean discharge in cubic feet per second December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December .ranuary February Day December January February 

1 480 408 3,020 11 370 380 16,400 21 310 11,700 1,530 

2 452 1,080 1,940 12 390 380 10,400 22 300 30,200 1,510 

3 408 1,130 1,500 13 360 380 5,250 23 290 24,500 1,560 

4 572 820 1,750 14 330 408 4,630 24 300 16,400 2,240 

5 1,340 500 1,680 15 310 1,310 7,500 25 300 9,770 2,000 

6 1,120 420 1,330 16 310 2,510 5,360 26 287 4,760 1,720 

7 694 500 1,160 17 310 1,370 3,610 27 291 3,170 1,610 

8 600 550 1,130 18 310 750 2,940 28 287 2,190 1,520 

9 500 470 1,110 19 310 750 2,340 29 287 1,620 -------- 10 380 410 9,490 20 310 900 1,750 30 296 3,060 -------- 31 283 4,310 --------

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second-------------------------- 422 4,100 3,499 Runof~ in inches------------------------------------------------------- .42 4.09 3.16 

139. Stillwater River at Pleasant Hill, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 40°03'28", long 84°21'22", on left bank at downstream side of highway bridge three-quarters of a 

mile northwest of Pleasant Hill, Miami County, and 2 miles downstream from Painter Creek. 

Drainage area. --502 sq mi. 

Gage-height record. --Water-stage recorder graph except for period 10 p.m. Jan. 22 to 12 m. Jan. 23 for which 

graph was reconstructed on basis of graph before and after this period. Datum of gage is 846. 73 ft above mean 

sea level, adjustment of 1912. 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 14, 800 cfs and 

extended above on basis of contracted-opening measurements. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 19,300 cfs 8 p.m. Jan. 21 (gage height, 17.98 ft). 

1916-28, 1934 to December 1958: Discharge, 26, 400 cfs Jan. 14, 1937 (gage height, 17. 32 ft). 

Maximum stage known, 17.5 ft Mar. 25, 1913 (discharge, 51,400 cfs, at site about 3 miles upstream computed by Miami Conservancy District). This stage is not comparable with present gage heights because of 

failure of levee in 1913. 

Remarks. --Data furnished by Miami Conservancy District. 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 210 355 864 11 193 157 6,960 21 147 11 '700 464 

2 219 1,310 533 12 200 162 2,510 22 134 14,600 432 

3 207 632 484 13 170 166 1,590 23 142 6,580 640 

4 486 408 705 14 155 191 2,360 24 166 2,690 1,160 

5 870 205 489 15 140 1,260 4,430 25 155 1,320 786 

6 511 260 329 16 142 1,150 2,130 26 130 1,040 640 

7 317 282 276 17 155 479 1,400 27 134 720 586 

8 293 246 282 18 149 419 1,160 28 134 538 543 

9 210 202 297 19 149 364 814 29 132 464 ------- 10 177 175 6,080 20 157 364 56.2 30 128 2,310 ------- 31 118 1,780 -------

Monthly .m~an discharge, in cubic feet per second-------------------------- 214 1,694 1,411 

Runoff, In Inches------------------------------------------------------- .49 3.88 2.93 
42 FLOODS OF JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 IN OHIO 

142. Stillwater River at Englewood, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 39°52'10", long 84°16'57", on right bank 1, 000 ft downstream from Englewood Dam, 1 mile southeast of Englewood, Montgomery County, and 8t miles upstream from mouth. 

Drainage area. --646 sq mi. 

Gage-height record. --Water-stage recorder graph. Datum of gage is 699. 97 ft above mean sea level, adjustment 

of 1912. 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 9, 450 cfs 8 a.m. Jan. 23 (gage height, 80. 21 ft}. 

1925 to December 1958: Discha1·ge, 9, 980 cfs June 15, 1958 (gage height, 80.88 ft). 

Maximum discharge during flood in March 1913, 85, 400 cfs, at site one mile downstream, computed by 

Miami Conservancy District. 

Remarks. --Flood flow regulated by Englewood retarding basin. Data furnished by Miami Conservancy District. 

Mean discharge . in cubic feet per second December 1958-February 1959 ' 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 262 279 1,440 11 255 226 7,040 21 209 4,680 730 

2 290 1,340 956 12 280 214 6,870 22 193 8,900 748 

3 276 1,120 792 13 250 226 5,670 23 193 9,400 748 

4 401 712 1,oio 14 230 238 4,000 24 209 9,000 1,400 

5 1,120 381 940 15 200 1,040 4,580 25 226 8,230 1,240 

6 892 372 609 16 200 1,780 4,240 26 193 7,170 1,000 

7 514 405 477 17 226 818 2,250 27 188 5,660 892 

8 432 397 477 18 209 533 1,600 28 188 2,600 818 

9 389 311 464 19 209 542 1,300 29 188 818 -------- 10 269 255 4,340 20 209 507 932 30 188 1,930 -------- 31 171 2,910 --------

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second-------------------------- 299 2,355 2,056 

Runoff, in inches ------------------------------------------------------- .53 4.21 3.31 

148. Mad River near Springfield, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 39°55'23 11 , long 83°52'13", on right bank 150ft downstream from Rock Run, 2 miles downstream 

from Buck Creek and 3 miles west of Springfield, Clark County. 

Drainage area. --485 sq mi. 

Gage-height record. --Water-stage recorder graph. Datum of gage is 881. 42 ft above mean sea level, adjustment 

of 1912. 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 13, 500 cfs and 

extended on basis of contracted-opening and slope-area measurements of 1959 peak flow. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 30, 500 cfs 9 p.m. Jan. 21 (gage height, 15. 76 ft). 

1904-5, 1914 to December 1958: Discharge, 23,000 cfs Feb. 26, 1929 (gage height, 14.9 ft). 

Maximum stage known, 16. 9ft Mar. 25, 1913, present datum (discharge 55,400 cfs, computed by Miami 

Conservancy District). . 

Remarks. --Data furnished by Miami Conservancy District. 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December J~nuary February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 307 462 994 11 324 282 4,730 21 292 17,400 799 

2 318 590 850 12 329 292 1,830 22 297 16,700 774 

3 329 450 842 13 307 297 1,650 23 307 4,380 913 

4 456 400 1,200 14 292 363 2,240 24 313 2,020 913 

5 515 313 842 15 287 1,320 2,500 25 292 1,570 799 

6 412 346 714 16 297 860 1,520 26 292 1,350 765 

7 369 346 648 17 302 555 1,320 27 292 1,160 722 

8 369 329 624 18 297 488 1,160 28 276 1,020 714 

9 346 318 656 19 307 475 985 29 287 985 ------ 10 318 302 9,000 20 307 558 868 30 292 1,880 ------ 31 282 1,270 ------

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second-------------------------- 323 1,906 1,485 

Runof~ ininches------------------------------------------------------- .77 4.53 3.19 

150. Mad River near Dayton, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 39°47'48", long 84°05'32", on left bank 600ft downstream from Huffman Dam, 2t miles downstream 

from Mad Run, and 5 miles northeast of Dayton, Montgomery County. 

Drainage area. --632 sq mi. 

Gage-height record. --Water-stage recorder graph except for period 4 a.m. to 12 m. Jan. 22 for which graph was 

reconstructed on basis of highwater mark in house. Datum of gage is 699. 95 ft above mean sea level, adjustment of 1912. Temporary staff gage 1, 000 ft downstream used Dec. 1 to Jan. 20. 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 18,800 cfs. Stagedischarge relation indefinite, discharge estimated Jan. 24 to Feb. 6. Gage-height record doubtful, discharge 

estimated Dec. 9-12, 14-16, Feb. 7-9. 
MIAMI RIVER BASIN 43 

150. Mad River near Dayton, Ohio--Continued 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 21,200 cfs 2 p.m. Jan. 22 (gage height, 87.30 ft). Maximum gage 

height, 87. 78 ft 8 a.m. Jan. 22. 

1914 to December 1958: Discharge, 18,400 cfs Feb. 26, 1929 (gage height, 87.9 ft). 

Maximum stage known, 14.0 ft Mar. 25, 1913, at site 1 mile upstream at datum 83. 96ft higher, (discharge, 

75, 700 cfs, computed by Miami Conservancy District). 

Remarks. --Flood flow regulated by Huffman retarding basin beginning in 1921. Data furnished by Miami 

Conservancy District. 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 387 393 1,300 11 400 337 10,300 21 346 6,920 1,100 

2 387 822 1,100 12 410 346 3,410 22 337 20,200 1,000 

3 373 569 1,100 13 387 393 2,280 23 342 17,200 1,270 

4 480 499 1,400 14 370 393 2,480 24 360 5,000 1,260 

5 697 747 1,100 15 350 1,180 3,410 25 346 2,200 1,100 

6 569 811 950 16 360 1,490 2,170 26 333 1,700 1,040 

7 480 473 850 17 360 811 1,800 27 337 1,500 990 

8 473 393 800 18 351 717 1,590 28 333 1,300 960 

9 430 408 800 19 351 522 1,360 29 325 1,200 -------- 10 400 393 5,810 20 364 499 1,200 30 337 2,300 -------- 31 329 1,700 --------

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second-------------------------- 390 2,368 1,926 

Runoff, in inches ------------------------------------------------------- .71 4.32 3.18 

155. Miami River at Miamisburg, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 39°38'45", long 84°17'20 11 , on left bank 600ft downstream from bridge on State Highway 725 at 

M1am1sburg, Montgomery County, and 0. 3 mile downstream from Bear Creek. 

Drainage area. --2, 718 sq mi. 

Gage-height record. --Water-stage recorder graph except for period 9 a.m. -3 p.m. Jan. 21, 1 p.m. Jan. 22 to 

11 a.m. Jan. 23 and for periods of partially plugged intake Jan. 28-29, 31, Feb. 2-3, 10-11, 21, for which 

graph was reconstructed on basis of wire-weight gage readings. Datum of gage is 678. 60 ft above mean sea 

level, adjustment of 1912. 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 59, 800 cfs. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 62, 000 cfs 7 p.m. Jan. 21 (gage height, 20. 69 ft). 

1916-20, 1924-35, 1952 to December 1958: Maximum discharge, 55,000 cfs Feb. 27, 1929 (gage height, 

16. 5 ft, at site 2. 2 miles downstream at datum 677.06 ft above mean sea level). 

Maximum discharge known, 257, 000 cfs Mar. 26, 1913, computed by Miami Conservancy District. 

Remarks. --Flood flow regulated by four retarding basins beginning in 1920. Gage-height record furnished by 

Dayton Power & Light Co. Discharge measurements furnished by Miami Conservancy District. 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 1,180 1,460 7,790 11 1,270 1,160 32,600 21 1,020 35,000 4,360 

2 1,280 2,900 5,990 12 1,340 1,170 24,300 22 1,000 54,400 4,270 

3 1,320 3,600 5,110 13 1,230 1,220 15,400 23 1,000 55,600 4,470 

4 1,590 2,560 5,590 14 1,100 1,310 13,000 24 1,020 37,800 5,590 

5 3,120 1,500 5,250 15 1,030 3,440 15,500 25 1,000 23,600 5,610 

6 3,210 1,260 4,290 16 1,040 6,430 13,900 26 1,000 16,400 4,840 

7 2,140 1,520 3,530 17 1,100 3,850 9,800 27 980 13,000 4,480 

8 1,790 1,650 3,300 18 1,070 2,110 7,650 28 970 9,330 4,270 

9 1,620 1,510 3,390 19 1,070 2,070 6,470 29 980 5,110 -------- 10 1,280 1,320 16,700 20 1,070 2,350 5,150 30 1,000 7,190 -------- 31 970 11,100 --------

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second-------------------------- 1,316 10,090 8,664 

Runoff, in inches ------------------------------------------------------- .56 4.28 3.32 

159. Twin Creek near Germantown, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 39°38'10", long 84°23'48", on right bank a quarter of a mile downstream from Germantown Dam, 

12 miles northwest of Germantown, Montgomery County, and 3 miles upstream from Little Twin Creek. 

Drainage area. --275 sq. mi. 

Gage-height record. --Water-stage recorder graph except Dec. 1-4, Jan. 5-7 for which graph was reconstructed 

on basis of weather records and comparison with nearby stations. Datum of gage is 700. 24 ft above mean sea 

level, adjustment of 1912. 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 7, 700 cfs. Backwater from 1ce Dec. 7-31, Jan. 8-14, 17-21. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 8, 590 cfs 4 a.m. Jan. 22 (gage height, 29. 19 ft). 

1921-23; 1926 to December 1958: Discharge, 8, 790 cfs Jan. 27, 1952 (gage height, 28.76 ft). 

1914-20: Discharge, 9, 390 cfs July 8, 1915 (gage height, 11. 7 ft, from graph based on gage readings, at 

site 1 mile downstream at datum 12.49 ft higher). 

Maximum stage known, 18.3 ft Mar. 25, 1913, original site and datum (discharge, 66,000 cfs, computed by 

Miami Conservancy District). 
44 FLOODS OF JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 IN OHIO 

159. Twin Creek near Germantown, Ohio--continued 

Remarks. --Flood flow regulated by Germantown retarding basin beginning in 1920. Data furnished by Miami 

Conservancy District. 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 95 442 495 11 100 85 6,100 21 75 5,500 203 

2 100 747 278 12 100 85 2,080 22 75 8,450 206 

3 95 372 284 13 90 90 968 23 75 7,710 278 

4 180 263 534 14 80 100 1,710 24 85 6,390 456 

5 398 130 287 15 75 911 2,860 25 80 1,600 349 

6 267 160 172 16 75 694 1,160 26 75 478 296 

7 190 140 139 17 75 300 751 27 70 334 257 

8 130 120 141 18 75 180 586 28 65 233 225 

9 110 100 152 19 75 160 396 29 65 217 ------ 10 100 90 ~4, 600 20 80 170 257 30 65 1,370 ------ 31 65 940 ------

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second-------------------------- 106 1,246 936 

Runoff, in inches ------------------------------------------------------- .44 5.22 3.54 

164. Miami River at Hamilton, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 39°23'28", long 84°34'20 11 , on right bank 1, 000 ft downstream from Columbia Bridge at Hamilton, 

Butler County, and 3 miles downstream from Talawanda Creek. 

Drainage area. --3, 639 sq mi. 

Gage-fimgfit record. --Water-stage recorder graph. Datum of gage is 499. 98 ft above mean sea level, adjustment 

of 1912. 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 74, 000 cfs and 

extended above on basis of slope-area measurement of 1959 peak flow. 

Maxima. --January-February 1959: Discharge, 108, 000 cfs 9:30 p.m. Jan. 21 (gage height, 79.49 ft). 

1910-18: Discharge, 352,000 cfs Mar. 26, 1913 (gage height, 38.5 ft, at site 0. 7 mile upstream at datum 

64. 65 ft higher), computed by Miami Conservancy District. 

1927 to December 1958: Discharge, 78, 800 cfs Mar. 19, 1943 (gage height 76. 6 ft). 

Remarks. --Flood flow regulated by five retarding basins beginning in 1920. Data furnished by Miami 

Conservancy District. 

. ' Mean discharge in cubic feet per second December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January 

1 1,490 2,510 10,700 11 1,630 1,560 37,000 21 1,380 56,300 

2 1,540 4,060 7,470 12 1,740 1,470 35,900 22 1,310 73,900 

3 1,640 4, 620 6,170 13 1,680 1,540 20,500 23 1,310 63,500 

4 2,360 3,580 6,770 14 1,490 1,680 18,600 24 1,310 53,500 

5 3,780 2,280 6,750 15 1,360 4,900 22,200 25 1,260 33,400 

6 4,200 1,680 5,550 16 1,290 7,630 18,400 26 1,220 20,600 

7 3,020 1,920 4,710 17 1,400 5,170 13,200 27 1,230 15,700 

8 2,410 2,200 4,360 18 1,400 3,240 10,100 28 1,200 12,200 

9 2,280 2,040 4,340 19 1,370 2,750 8,360 29 1,190 7,890 

10 1,820 1,780 22,900 20 1,420 3,410 6,820 30 1,210 8,880 

31 1,210 13,200 

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second-------------------------- 1,714 13,520 

Runoff, in inches------------------------------------------------------- .54 4.29 

172. Blanchard River near Findlay, Ohio 

February 

5,670 

5,320 

5,840 

6,650 

7,080 

6,170 

5,670 

5,370 

--------

--------

--------

11,380 

3.26 

Location. --Lat 41°03'21", long 8J041'17", on left bank on upstream side of highway bridge, 2 miles west of 

Fmdlay, Hancock County, and 3 miles downstream from Eagle Creek. 

Drainage area. --343 sq mi. 

Gage-he1ght record. --Water-stage recorder graph except for period 6 a.m. Jan. 23 to 8 a.m. Jan. 25 and 4 a.m. 

Jan. 26 to 12 m. Jan. 27 for which graph was reconstructed on basis of graph before and after the period. 

Datum of gage is 754. 55 ft above mean sea level. 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 10, 400 cfs. Backwater from 1ce Dec. 13-21, Jan. 17-18, Feb. 6, 21. 

Maxima. --January 1959: Discharge, 13, 100 cfs 10 a.m. Jan. 22 (gage height, 16.11 ft). 

February 1959: Discharge, 15,000 cfs 1 a.m. Feb. 11 (gage height, 16.76 ft). 

1923-35, 1940 to December 1958: Discharge, 11,800 cfs Dec. 1, 1927 (gage height, 15.4 ft, from graph 

based on gage readings). 

Flood in March 1913 reached a stage of 18. 5 ft (discharge, 22,000 cfs, from rating curve extended above 

9, 500 cfs). 
MAUMEE RIVER BASIN 45 

172. Blanchard River near Findlay, Ohio--Continued 

Mean discharge. in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 120 87 1,200 11 51 37 10,300 21 40 2,350 240 

2 115 158 484 12 48 34 4,050 22 42 11,600 255 

3 106 147 290 13 50 37 1,350 23 44 8,400 682 

4 216 109 394 1_4 50 45 1,180 24 48 4,200 1,210 

5 399 82 296 15 50 118 2,120 25 47 2,000 663 

6 304 77 220 16· 45 142 1,520 26 42 1,000 420 

7 192 66 145 17 40 120 818 27 41 550 399 

8 150 54 134 18 40 100 622 28 40 279 448 

9 96 50 140 19 40 86 445 29 42 248 ------ 10 59 42 8,930 20 40 78 291 30 44 2,200 ------ 31 38 1,710 ------

Monthly _m~an discharge, in cubic feet per second-------------------------- 86.4 1,168 1,402 

Runoff, In Inches------------------------------------------------------- .29 3.93 4.26• 

178. Maumee River near Defiance, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 41°17'30", long 84°16'5011 , on left bank 40ft upstream from Independence Dam, 275ft downstream 

from point of diversion to Miami and Erie Canal, 4 miles downstream from Auglaize River, and 4! miles east 

of Defiance, .Defiance County. 

Drainage area. --5, 530 sq mi. 

Gage-height record. --Water-stage recorder graph. Datum of gage is 659. 12 ft above mean sea level. 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements. 

Maxima. --January 1959: Discharge. 35,000 cfs 12m. Jan. 24 (gage height, 7. 07 ft). 

February 1959: Discharge, 76, 500 cfs 9 a.m. Feb. 12 (gage height, 12.35 ft). 

1924-35, 1939 to December 1958: Discharge, 87, 100 cfs Feb. 16, 1950 (gage height, 13. 70 ft). 

Remarks. --Records herein include the flow of the Miami & Erie Canal. 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second. December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January 

1 3,550 794 19,900 11 1,400 1,320 59,700 21 712 3,720 2 2,810 2,340 16,200 12 1,380 1,100 72,800 22 733 9,930 

3 2,810 4,860 10,600 13 1,320 950 71,200 23 691 24,800 

4 2,280 4,940 6,900 14 1,200 904 56,900 24 691 32,800 

5 3,500 3,440 6,350 15 1,060 1,500 47,600 25 543 30,000 

6 3,230 2,160 5,780 16 950 1,700 41,400 26 783 22,800 

7 3,650 2,020 4,280 17 904 2,300 32,200 27 733 16,800 

8 2,400 1,960 2,850 18 858 1,840 25,600 28 490 12,600 

9 2,020 1,800 2,670 19 691 1,640 19,400 29 651 9,630 

10 1,380 1,540 24,700 20 815 1,420 12,100 30 691 12,000 

31 733 16,600 

Monthly mean discharge. in cubic feet per second-------------------------- 1,473 7,491 

Runoff. in inches ------------------------------------------------------- .31 1.56 

185. Sandusky River near Mexico. Ohio 

February 

9,620 

7,280 

9,310 

15,400 

16,700 

13,500 

10,900 

10,900 

---------

---------

---------

22,600 

4.26 

Location. --Lat 41°02'39", long 83°11 1 42 11 , on right bank at dpwnstream side of highway bridge, 3 miles upstream 

from Honey Cre'ek and 4~ miles north of Mexico, Seneca County. 

Drainage area. --776 sq mi. 

Gage-height record. --Water-stage recorder graph except for period 8 a.m. Jan. 23 to 4:30 a.m. Jan. 24 for which 

graph was reconstructed on basis of high-water mark in well, and Feb. 2-3, reconstructed on basis of weather 

records. Datum of gage is 733. 1 ft above mean sea level, adjustment of 1912. 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 15, 600 cfs. Backwater from Ice Dec. 8 to Jan. 21. 

Maxima. --January 1959: Discharge, 18, 900 cfs 10 p.m. Jan. 23 (gage height, 22. 43 ft). 

February 1959: Discharge, 10, 600 cfs 8-10 a.m. Feb. 11 (gage height, 16. 77ft). 

1923-35, 1938 to December 1958: Discharge, 15,200 cfs Mar. 22, 1927 (gage height 19.9 ft, from graph 

based on gage readings). 

Flood in June 1937 reached a stage of 22. ~. from information by local residents (discharge, 19,000 cfs). 
46 FLOODS OF JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1959 IN OHIO 

185. Sandusky River near Mexico, Ohio--Continued 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 328 160 3,110 11 190 110' 10,300 21 120 3,800 700 

2 362 270 2,100 12 150 100 9,920 22 llO 11,400 684 

3 328 420 1,200 13 140 90 7,480 23 110 16,700 922 

4 436 350 958 14 140 110 3,400 24 110 16,200 1,970 

5 985 280 864 15 140 150 4,490 25 120 9,620 1,750 

6 1 ,2·60 230 859 16 140 350 4,630 26 110 4,540 1,130 

7 842 200 642 17 130 450 3,700 27 llO 2,180 877 

8 550 170 439 18 130 350 2,180 28 llO 1,200 904 

9 400 150 400 19 120 250 1,540 29 llO 846 -------- 10 270 130 6,680 20 120 210 958 30 llO 1,990 -------- 31 llO 3,300 --------

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second-------------------------- 271 2,461 2,671 

Runoff, in inches ------------------------------------------------------- .40 3.66 3.58 

193. Huron River at Milan, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 41°18'00", long 8~36'30 ', on right bank 500ft downstream from birdge on U. S. HLghway 2'50, a 

quarter of a mile northwest of Milan, Erie County, and 2 miles downstream from confluence of East and West 

Branches. 

Drainage area. --363 sq mi. 

Gage-he1ght record. --Water-stage recorder graph except 1 p.m. Jan. 22 to 1 p.m. Jan. 25 for which graph was 

reconstructed on basis of normal recession curve. Datum of gage is 573. 43 ft above mean sea level, adjustment of 1912. 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 18, 100·cfs and 

extended on basis of contracted-opening measurement of 1959 peak flow. Backwater from ice Dec. 1-4, Dec. 7, 

to Jan. 21 (3 p.m.) Jan. 26 to Feb. 10 (2 a.m.), Feb. 20-23. 

Maxima. --January 1959: Discharge, 25, 800 cfs 4 a.m. Jan. 22 (gage height, 24. 08 ft) . 

.f'ebruary 1959: Discharge, 18, 500 cfs 7 p.m. Feb. 10 (gage height, 21.54 ft). 

~950 to December 1958: Discharge, 18, 200 cfs May 12, 1956 (gage height, 21. }0 ft). 

Mean discharge in cubic feet per second . December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January 

1 150 120 1,200 11 95 60 6,190 21 70 5,500 

2 150 250 600 12 85 55 1,610 22 65 18,500 

3 160 220 320 13 85 65 1,160 23 65 4,300 

4 550 170 340 14 85 85 1,790 24 70 1,600 

5 804 140 300 15 80 200 3,830 25 65 900 

6 348 120 230 16 80 270 1,220 26 65 650 

7 250 100 150 17 75 200 804 27 65 450 

8 190 85 150 18 75 160 723 28 65 340 

9 150 75 150 19 70 130 432 29 65 280 

10 110 70 12,509 20 70 120 340 30 60 1,700 

31 60 2,100 

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second-------------------------- 141 1,259 

Runoff, in inches ------------------------------------------------------- .45 4.00 

201. Cuyahoga River at Independence, Ohio 

~ebruary 

300 

290 

900 

1,610 

601 

426 

508 

532 

------

------

------

1,422 

4.08 

Location. --Lat 41°23'44",' long 81°371 54", on right bank 140ft downstream from highway bridge on Rockside Road, 

1 m1le northeast of Independence, Cuyahoga County, and 3 miles downstream from Tinkers Creek. 

Drainage area. --709 sq mi. 

Gage-he1ght record. --Water-stage recorder graph except for period 9:30 p.m. Jan. 21 to 3 a.m. Jan. 22, 7 a.m. 

Jan. 23 to 4: 3o p.m. Jan. 27 for which graph was reconstructed on basis of high-water mark in well and 

normal recession curve. Datum of gage is 584. 14 ft above mean sea level (levels by city of Cleveland). 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 17, 100 cfs and 

extended on basis of contracted-opening measurement of 1959 peak flow. Backwater from ice Jan. 6, 7. 

Maxima. --January 1959: Discharge, 24,800 cfs 12:30 a.m. Jan. 22 (gage height, 22.41 ft). 

February 1959: Discharge, 16, 100 cfs 5:30p.m. Feb. 10 (gage height, 20, 15ft}. 

1921-23, 1927-35, 1940 to December 1958: Discharge, 14,300 cfs Oct. 16, 1954 (gage height, 20.04 ft). 

Maximum flood known occurred Mar. 25, 1913 (discharge, 32,400 cfs, at Cleveland, estimated by the 

Cleveland city engineer). 

Remarks. --Water is diverted into the Ohio Canal at Brecksville, 6 miles above station, but the canal flows are 

mcluded in the tabulated discharges. Flood flows slightly regulated by reservoirs and lakes in the basin. 
GRAND RIVER BASIN 47 

201. Cuyahoga River at Independence, Ohio--Continued 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 675 909 2,070 11 616 516 ll ,000 21 463 10,100 1,580 

2 675 2,040 1,690 12 601 490 6,820 22 462 16,700 1,500 

3 684 1,300 1,540 13 567 497 5,500 23 480 8,890 2,400 

4 1,220 1,150 1,770 14 514 476 5,540 24 527 5,800 2,920 

5 1,370 880 1,560 15 502 1,090 7,160 25 505 4,000 2,140 

6 1,070 770 1,320 16 496 978 4,680 26 468 3,200 1,970 

7 819 730 1,170 17 477 802 3,610 27 492 2,600 2,250 

8 730 660 1,120 18 473 764 2,990 28 470 2,300 2,080 

9 705 616 1,090 19 477 725 2,530 29 474 1,920 -------- 10 629 555 

I 

12,100 20 483 691 1,910 30 597 3,960 -------- 31 532 2,750 -------

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second-------------------------- 621 2,544 3,358 

Runoff, in inches ------------------------------------------------------- 1.01 4.14 4.94 

207. Grand River near Madison, Ohio 

Location. --Lat 41°44'46", long 81°02'48", on downstream end of center pier of bridge on State Highway 528, half a 

m1le upstream from Grisw.old Creek and 2 miles south of Madison, Lake County. 

Drainage area. --587 sq mi. 

Gage-he1ght record. --Water-stage recorder graph. Datum of gage is 674. 47 ft above mean sea level, adjustment 

of 1912. 

Discharge record. --Stage-discharge relation defined by current-meter measurements below 12, 200 cfs and 

extended on basis of estimate of flow over dam for 1959 peak flow. Backwater from ice Dec. 7 to Jan. 22 

(4 a.m.). 

Maxima. --January 1959: Discharge, 21, 100 cfs 5 p.m. Jan. 22 (gage height, 14. 73 ft). 

February 1959: Discharge, 10, 900 cfs 7 a.m. Feb. 11 (gage height, 10. 73 ft). 

1922-35, 1938 to December 1958: Discharge, 16,600 cfs Mar. 22, 1948 (gage height, 12.48 ft). 

Mean discharge, in cubic feet per second, December 1958-February 1959 

Day December January February Day December January February Day December January February 

1 501 700 2,150 11 400 270 9,970 21 240 2,500 978 

2 545 2,200 1,510 12 370 220 6,590 22 230 18,000 637 

3 564 2,400 1,230 13 330 200 6,020 23 230 13,700 480 

4 1,170 1,800 880 14 310 180 5,530 24 230 9,020 997 

5 2,390 1,300 796 15 300 700 6,040 25 220 7,040 1,320 

6 1,790 1,100 743 16 290 1,000 4,410 26 220 4,660 1,310 

7 1,000 950 647 17 280 700 2,640 27 220 2,760 1,760 

8 700 700 428 18 270 500 2,000 28 220 1,640 2,400 

9 550 500 342 19 260 400 1,600 29 220 958 -------- 10 450 350 4,010 20 250 340 1,200 30 210 1,980 -------- 31 210 2,990 --------

Monthly mean discharge, in cubic feet per second-------------------------- 489 2,670 2,451 

Runoff, in inches ------------------------------------------------------- .96 5.25 4.35 
Table 5.--Summary of flood stages and discharges for the floods of January-February 1959 

Maximum flood previously known Maximum during present flood 

Drainage Period Discharge 

No. Stream and place of determination area of Gage Discharge Gage 

(sq mi) record Date height Date height Cfs per 

(feet) (cfs) (feet) Cfs 

sq mi 

l Mahoning River at Alliance-------- 87.9 1941- May 27, 1946 7.90 7,000 Jan. ~l 9.11 9,740 111 

2 Beech Creek near Bolton----------- 18.8 1943-54 June 24, 1950 8.27 2,210 Jan. 21-22 7.6 ------- ------- 3 Deer Creek at Limaville----------- 31.9 1941-55 Jan. 26, 1952 *10.18 1,530 Jan. 21-22 14.0 ------- ------- 4 Mill Creek near Berlin Center----- 19.7 1941- May 27, 1946 6.92 1,900 Jan. 21 7.01 1,890 95.9 

5 Berlin Reservoir near Berlin 249 1942- July 8, 1943 1,032._00 a91,150 Jan. 24 1,025.70 a62,010 ------- Center. 

6 Milton Reservoir at Pricetown----- 276 1923- June 29, 1924 953.8 a35,020 Jan. 27 951.67 a30,520 ------- 7 Kale Creek at Pricetown----------- 20.9 1940- May 27, 1944 8.3 3,630 Jan. 21 8.52 3,890 186 

8 Hinkley Creek near Charlestown---- 10.8 1947- Nov. 16, 1955 12.62 584 Jan. 21 13.91 943 87.3 

9 West Branch Mahoning River near 97.8 1926- Feb. 26, 1929 11.8 6,090 Jan. 22 13.60 8,340 85.3 

Newton Falls. 

10 Ordnance Creek near Newton Falls-- .16 1950- May 12, 1956 6.98 103 Jan. 21 5.54 92 575 

11 Eagle Creek at Phalanx Station---- 97.0 1926-34, Feb. 27, 1929 12.9 5,950 Jan. 22 13.12 6,700 69.1 

1937-

12 Mahon+ng River at Leavittsburg---- 580 1941- Jan. 27, 1952 15.88 b9,720 Jan. 22 19.37 b20,300 35.0 

13 Walnut Creek at Cortland---------- 9.12 1947- Oct. 15, 1954 4.60 1,200 Jan. 21 5.06 1,400 154 

14 Mosquito Creek Reservoir near 97.4 1943- June 3, 1947 903.65 a101,100 Feb. 16 901.4 7 a82,920 ------- Cortland. 

15 Mosquito Creek at Niles----------- 139 1929-51 Dec. 30, 1942 5.16 3,080 Jan. 21-22 4.35 bl,950 14.0 

16 Meander Creek Reservoir at Mineral 84.9 1929- May 13, 1956 908.65 a40,360 Jan. 21 909.25 a41,800 ------- Ridge. 

17 Mahoning River at Youngstown------ 899 1921- Jan. 25, 1937 14.92 bl7,600 Jan. 22 18.62 bl6,900 18.8 

Mar. 26, 1913 26.5 42,500 

18 Mill Creek at Youngstown---------- 68.4 1943- May 27, 1946 9.00 6,100 Jan. 22 7.49 4,290 62.7 

March 1913 -------- 7,140 

19 Crab Creek near Youngstown-------- 7.15 -------- ------------- -------- -------- Jan. 21 -------- 1,170 164 

20 Crab Creek at Youngstown---------- 15.9 -------- ------------- -------- -------- Jan. 21 -------- 2,140 135 

21 Mahoning River at Lowellville----- 1,076 1942- May 27, 1946 13.73 b2o,ooo Jan. 21 14.43 b21,000 19.5 

22 Little Beaver Creek near East 505 1915- July 19, 1941 17.4 25,000 Jan. 22 14.70 17,000 33.7 

Liverpool. 

23 Tuscarawas River at Clinton------- 165 1926- Aug. 8, 1935 14.82 b2,700 Jan. 22 15.50 b2,120 12.8 

March 1913 22.2 -------- 24 Little Chippewa Creek near 13.9 1947- Apr. 24, 1957 13.33 1,360 Jan. 21-22 14.30 1,800 129 

Smithville. 

25 Chippewa Creek at Easton---------- 146 -------- ------------- -------- -------- Jan. 21 -------- 10,100 69.2 

26 Tuscarawas River at Massillon----- 526 1937- Mar. 5, 1940 11.39 6,940 Jan. 22 13.46 7,220 13.7 

27 Sandy Creek at Waynesburg--------- 254 1938- . Jan. 27, 1952 7.95 6,100 Jan. 22 10.05 15,000 59.1 

28 Middle Branch Nimishillen Creek 44.2 1941- Jan. 27, 1952 5.77 1,180 Jan. 22 6.50 2,470 55.9 

at Canton. 

29 Nimishillen Creek at North 175 1921- Feb. 26, 1929 9.9 6,660 Jan. 21 11.29 8,620 49.3 

Industry. 

30 Bolivar Reservoir at Bolivar------ 502 1938- Feb. 8, 1952 942.29 a57,830 Jan. 26 944.01 a63,440 -------

Ratio 

to 

Q2.33 

3.30 

-----

-----

l. 75 

-----

3.24 

2.86 

2.88 

-----

2.91 

b3.08 

2.19 

-----

-----

-----

bl. 99 

2.14 

-----

-----

b2.02 

1.39 

bl.46 

2.61 

-----

1.85 

3.53 

3.09 

2.61 

-----

~ 

00 

~ 

t"4 

0 

0 

t1 

(/) 

0 

"'j 

~ 

> z 

~ 

~ t:=J 

tl:l 

~ 

~ ..... 

tO 

C1 

tO 

1-1 

z 

0 

~ 1-1 

0 
31 I Leesville Reservoir near Leesville 47.9 1938- Apr. 17, 1948 969.59 a26,760 Jan. 24 966.87 a23,6lOI-------

32 Atwood Reservoir near New 70.3 1938- Feb. 8, 1952 934.51 a35,220 Jan. 26 933.16 a32,600 -------

Cumberland. 

33 I Dover Reservoir near Dover-------- 1,397 1938- June 11, 1947 902.68 a92,890 Jan. 25-26 901.65 a86,120l-------

34 Tuscarawas River below Dover Dam, 1,398 1923- Jan. 26, 1937 15.51 a26,400 Jan. 21 6.98 b6,220 4.451 b.7l 

near Dover. March 1913 23.5 62,000 

35 I Beach City Reservoir near Beach 300 1938- June 10, 1947 968.56 a34,100 Jan. 23 973.24 a53,520·-------

City. 

36 I Piedmont Reservoir at Piedmont---- 84.0 1938- June 1947 918.33 a46,710 Jan. 24 916.56 a42,120~-------

37 Clendening Reservoir at Tippecanoe 69.5 1938- Feb. 7' 1952 903.85 a38,080 Feb. 15 900.64 a31,520 -------

38 Stillwater River at Uhrichsville-- 367 1922- August 1935 *18.36 7,650 Jan. 22 5. 72 b3,410 9.29!bl,OO 

March 1913 15.5 -------- 39 I Tappan Reservoir at Tappan-------- 71.0 1938- February 1952 904.53 a48,480 Feb. 15 901.10 a39,460 -------

40 Tuscarawas River at Newcomerstown- 2,436 1921- Jan. 26, 1937 20.65 b46,800 Jan. 22 10.05 bl3,700 5.62 b.96 

March 1913 -------- 83,000 

41 I Whetstone Creek tributary near .236 1950- July 26, 1956 5. 71 155 Jan. 21 5.53 79 335 ----- ~ 0 

Olivesburg. 0. 

42 I Charles Mill Reservoir near 216 1938- June 19, 1947 1,013.34 a52,930 Jan. 25 1,013.53 a53,780 ------- ----- ~ 

t::t 

Mifflin. f12 

43 Touby Run at Mansfield------------ 5.17 1947- June 6, 1947 4.17 965 Jan. 21 3.94 910 176 1.82 0 

44 Clear Fork at Butler-------------- 143 1944- Apr. 12, 1948 8.01 7,100 Jan. 21 9.43 14,300 100 3.58 ~ 

Jan. 16, 1950 7.98 7,100 f12 

45 I Pleasant Hill Reservoir near 199 1938- June 8, 1947 1,036.69 a32,220 Jan. 23 1 ,044. 01 a43,540 ------- ----- ~ 

> Perrysville. 0 

1:;! 

46 Jerome Fork at Jeromeville-------- 120 1925-49 January 1937 11.40 3,720 Jan. 22 14.1 13,000 108 5.00 f12 

March 1913 s~~:~o ~-;59~820 > 

47 Mohicanville Reservoir near 269 1938- June 15, 1947 Jan. 26 956.85 a54,870 ------- ----- z 

Mohicanville. 

t::t 

48 Mohican River at Greer------------ 942 1921- Aug. 7' 1935 13.63 17,700 Jan. 22 12.39 bl5,600 16.6 b2.20 t::t 

1-t 

March 1913 27.0 55,000 f12 

0 49 Kokosing River at Uhrichsville---- 38.1 -------- April 1948 -------- 3,380 Jan. 21 -------- 9,620 252 ----- ~ 50 East Branch of North Branch 30.3 -------- ------------- -------- -------- Jan. 22 -------- 3,450 114 ----- Kokosing River at Knox Lake Dam, ~ 0 near Fredericktown. 1:;! 

f12 

51 Kokosing River at Mount Vernon---- 200 1953- Feb. 25, 1956 12.34 7,030 Jan. 21 18.19 38,000 190 

52 Dry Creek near Bangs-------------- 21.7 -------- ------------- -------- -------- Jan. 21 -------- 5,810 268 

53 Kokosing River at Millwood-------- 454 1921- June 22, 1937 18.10 27,500 Jan. 21 34.0 75,900 167 I 7.16 

March 1913 -------- 40,000 

54 Mohawk Reservoir near Nellie------ 1,501 1938- June 10, 1947 864.76 a126,800 Jan.· 25 873.94 al76,100I-------

55 Walhonding River below Mohawk 1,502 1921- Feb. 26, 1929 -------- 27,400 Feb. 9 12.72 b9,65o 6.421 b.s8 

Dam, at Nellie. March 1913 -------- 80,000 

56 Killbuck Creek at Killbuck-------- 466 1930- Aug. 7, 1935 21.77 28,500 Jan. 22 21.75 28,400

1 

60.9 I 6.45 

57 Mill Creek near Coshocton--------- 27.5 1936- June 28, 1957 12.73 7,650 Jan. 21 11.40 4,440 161 3.70 

58 Muskingum River near Coshocton---- 4,847 1936- Jan. 26, 1937 21.98 b78,700 Jan. 22 13.43 b32,900 6.79 bl.22 

March 1913 -------- 202,000 

59 Senecaville Reservoir near 121 1938- Mar. 24, 1945 837.27 a63,370 Jan. 25 836.69 a60,890 •-------

Senecaville. 

60 I Wills Creek Reservoir near Wills 844 1938- Mar. 11, 1945 771.38 a122,200 Feb. 16-17 764.51 a?4,810·-------

Creek. I 

See footnotes at end of table. ~ 

~ 
Table 5.--Summary of flood stages and discharges for the floods of January~February 1959--Continued 

Maximum flood previously known Maximum during present flood 

Drainage Period Discharge 

No. Stream and place of determination area of Gage Gage 

(sq mi) record Date height Discharge Dc;te height Cfs per 

(feet) ( cfs) (feet Cfs sq mi 

61 Wakatomika Creek near Frazeysburg- 140 1936- Jan. 27, 1952. ll. 61 10,000 Jan. 22 13.15 13,700 97.9 

62 Muskingum River at Dresden-------- 5,982 1921- Aug. 9, 1935 31.6 100,000 Jan. 22 20.50 b39,400 6.59 

March 1913 46.0 228,000 

63 South Fork Licking River near 133 1939-48 Mar. 6, 1945 12.1 5,200 Jan. 21 12.4 5,880 44.2 

Hebron. 

64 Raccoon Creek at Granville-------- 83.0 1939-48 Mar. 3, 1940 13.6 6,240 Jan. 21 16.6 8,700 105 

65 Raccoon Creek at Newark----------- 104 -------- ------------- -------- -------- Jan. 21 ------- 10,400 100 

66 Otter Fork near Centerburg-------- 2.97 1947- June .29, 1947 13.25 368 Jan. 21 13.52 445 150 

67 North Fork Licking River at Utica- 114 1939-48 Apr. 13, 1948 12.4 6,400 Jan. 21 15.8 ------- ------- July 1956 13.2 -------- 68 North Fork Licking River at Newark 239 -------- ------------- -------- -------- Jan. 21 ------- 29,800 125 

69 Licking River near Newark--------- 536 1939- Jan. 27' 1952 16.59 25,000 Jan. 21 20.3 45,000 84.0 

70 Licking River at Toboso----------- 672 1902-06, Jan. 27' 1952 18.75 32,500 Jan. 22 21.08 49,800 74.1 

1921- March 1913 20.0 35,000 

71 Licking River at Dillon----------- 754 1939- Mar. 7, 1945 27.57 30,300 Jan. 22 32.46 47,000 62.3 

March 1913 37.0 -------- 72 Muskingum River at McConnelsville- 7,411 1921- Jan. 26, 1937 21.14 bl26,000 Jan. 23 14.38 b81,600 11.0 

Mar. 27, 1913 33.5 270,000 

73 Hocking River at Athens----------- 944 1915- January 1907 26.7 50,000 Jan. 23 19.38 15,800 16.7 

Mar. 7, 1945 23.0 30,400 

74 Raccoon Creek at Adamsville------- 587 1915-35, Apr. 15, 1948 24.92 15,500 Jan. 24 19.42 7,090 12.1 

1938- January 1937 25.2 -------- 75 Scioto River at Foraker----------- 102 -------- ------------- -------- -------- Jan. 21 ------- 4,420 43.3 

76 Scioto River at La Rue------------ 255 1926-35, Mar. 20, 1927 15.0 10,700 Jan. 21 15.30' 16,3'00 63.9 

1938-51 Mar. 26, 1913 17.8 -------- 77 Little Scioto River above Marion-- 70.0 1938- June 7, 1947 8.16 3,720 Jan. 22 8.73 4,990 71.3 

78 Scioto River near Prospect-------- 571 1925-32, Mar. 22, 1927 -------- 10,100 Jan. 21 15.30 10,100 17.7 

1939- Mar. 25, 1913 -------- 27,000 

79 Mill Creek near Bellepoint-------- 181 1942- May 27, 1956 9.92 7,170 Jan. 22 13.85 20,300 112 

80 O'Shaughnessy Reservoir near 987 1924- Jan. 28, 1952 851.74 a2l,050 Jan. 22 854.40 a24,290 ------- Dublin. 

81 Scioto River below O'Shaughnessy 988 1921- Jan.' 15, 1937 15.45 b27 ,000 Jan. 22 22.04 b55,2oo 55.9 

Dam, near Dublin. Mar. 25, 1913 24.6 74,500 

82 Griggs Reservoir near Columbus---- 1,052 1921- Jan. 27, 1952 760.63 a6,490 Jan. 22 763.91 a7,730 ------- Mar. 25, 1913 766.2 -------- 83 Olentangy River at Claridon------- 156 1946- June 7, 1947 13.57 6,800 Jan. 22 16.77 14,900 95.5 

84 Shaw Creek at Shawtown------------ 25.2 1946-55 Apr. 12, 1948 6.05 1,250 Jan. 21 8.12 4,120 163 

85 Whetstone Creek at Ashley--------- 98.5 1954- Feb. 25, 1956 8.54 4,020 Jan. 21 14.34 19,100 194 

86 Delaware Reservoir near Delaware-- 381 1951- Apr. 6, 1957 931.14 a45,300 Jan. 25 944.75 a113,000 ------- 87 Olentangy River near Delaware----- 387 1923-34, Mar. 21, 1927 -------- 14,100 Jan. 31 88.11 b5,ooo 15.5 

1938-

88 Delaware Run near Delaware-------- 3.33 1947- Feb. 14, 1948 12.42 780 Jan. 21 13.01 1,050 315 

89 Olentangy River at Stratford------ 438 1934-35, June 19, 1939 8.77 l5,6oo 1 Jan. 21 6.75 b9,600 21.9 

1938- I 

Ratio 

to 

Q2.33 

2.91 

bl.l8 

-----

-----

-----

2. 7l 

-----

-----

3.75 

3.56 

3.62 

bl.67 

l.ll 

1.01 

-----

2.99 

3.02 

1.50 

4.14 

-----

b3.78 

-----

4.52 

4.58 

-----

-----

-----

-----

c.n 

0 

1-,:j 

tot 

0 

0 

t:::l 

r;p, 

0 

1-,:j 

~ 

> z 

~ 1 

~ t:tt 

; 

...... 

co 

<:n 

cc 

1-4 

z 

0 

~ 1-4 

0 
90 

91 

92 

93 

94 

95 

Olentangy River near Worthington--~ 493 

Scioto River at Columbus---------- 1,613 

Scioto River at Columbus---------- 1,624 

Scioto Big Run at Briggsdale------

Hoover Reservoir at Central 

College. 

Big Walnut Creek at Central 

College. 

11.0 

190 

190 

96 IAlum Creek at Columbus------------ 190 

97 

98 

99 

100 

101 

102 

103 

104 

105 

106 

107 

108 

109 

llO 

:ll 

112 

113 

114 

115 

116 

ll7 

118 

119 

120 

Blacklick Creek near Groveport----

Big Walnut Creek at Rees----------

58.5 

544 

Scioto River near Circleville-----12,635 

Darby Creek at Darbyville---------1 533 

Deer Creek at Williamsport--------! 331 

Scioto River at Chillicothe-------13,847 

East Fork Paint Creek near Sedalia 

Paint Creek near Greenfield-------

Paint Creek near Bourneville------

4.23 

251 

808 

Scioto River at Higby-------------15,129 

Little Miami River near Selma-----

North Fork Little Miami River near 

Pitchin. 

Little Miami River near Oldtown 

North Fork Massie Creek at 

Cedarville. 

South Fork Massie Creek near 

Cedarville. 

Massie Creek at Wilberforce-------

Shawnee Creek at Xenia------------

Little Miami River at Spring 

Valley. 

Caesar Creek near Xenia-----------

Anderson Fork near Lumberton------

Little Miami River near Fort 

Ancient. 

Todd Fork near Roachester---------

Little Miami River at Kings MillsLittle Miami River at Milford-----

50.6 

29.1 

129 

25.6 

20.2 

64.3 

4.21 

361 

66.8 

58.0 

677 

219 

1,048 

1,195 

See footnotes at end of table. 

1955-

1897-

1920-

1947-

1955-

1938-

January 1952 

May 20, 1957 

Mar. 25, 1913 

Jan. 27, 1952 

Mar. 25, 1913 

July 20, 1954 

Apr. 4, 1957 

Aug. 4, 1943 

1923-35, jFeb. 27, 1929 

1938-

1921-35, 

1938-

1939-56 

1921-35, 

1938-

June 

Feb. 

Mar. 

Mar. 

Mar. 

Feb. 

22, 1956 

27, 1929 

25, 1913 

7' 1945 

26, 1913 

27, 1929 

1926-35, IFeb. 26, 1929 

1938-56 ~ 

1920- Jan. 23, 1937 

Mar. 26, 1913 

1947- Mar. 22, 1948 

1926-35, Apr. 20, 1940 

1939-56 

1921-37, Mar. 6, 1945 

1938-

1930-

1952-

1952-

1952-

1954-

1954-

Jan. 23, 1937 

Mar. 26, 1913 

Aug. 3, 1958 

Aug. 2, 1958 

June 8, 1954 

Aug. 2, 1958 

Aug. 2, 1958 

1952- IAug. 2, 1958 

1948- Feb. 15, 1949 

1925-35, Feb. 26, 1929 

1939-51 

1938-51 IMar. 7, 1945 

1952- IJuly 22, 1958 

1912- Mar. 26, 1913 

1915-17, Mar. 6, 1945 

l925-3F, 

1938-

ll.58 

16.2 

24.70 

25.9 

ll. 92 

891.90 

16.6 

13.6 

18.0 

20.5 

*24.07 

34 

14.9 

14.7 

27.68 

39.8 

13.77 

10.8 

19.2 

26.4 

31.6 

8.59 

6.04 

10.2 

7.62 

7.24 

10.35 

15. 7l 

16.8 

16.80 

17.55 

33.7 

20.90 

bl4,300 

b6,620 

b40,300 

138,000 

2,790 

a65,600 

14,400 

Jan. 21 

Jan. 22 

Jan. 22 

Jan. 21 

Jan. 21 

Jan. 21 

8,800 IJan. 22 

12,300 

21,800 

69,200 

22,600 

29,300 

101,000 

260,000 

292 

13,900 

52,100 

177,000 

3,500 

955 

4,720 

1,620 

1,130 

4,300 

790 

18,400 

32,900 

14,500 

69,900 

Jan. 21 

Jan. 22 

Jan. 22 

Jan. 22 

Jan. 22 

Jan. 23 

Jan. 21 

Jan. 21 

Jan. 22 

Jan. 23 

Jan. 21 

Jan. 21 

Jan. 21 

Jan. 21 

Jan. 21 

Jan. 21 

Jan. 21 

Jan. 21-22 

Jan. 21 

Jan. 21 

Jan. 21 

Jan. 21 

Jan. 22 

Jan. 22 

15.68 

16.2 

27.22 

12.09 

894.76 

19.75 

19.5~ 

b16,500I 33.5 

b68,2001 42.0 

2,920 265 

a74,680 

b23,800I125 

26,4001139 

10,300 176 

22.03 b59,800 110 

27.2 b100,000 38.0 

17.94 49,000 91.9 

17.6 I 39.600 1120 

32.50 bl44,000I 37.4 

14.47 

11.0 

5151122 

14,500 57.8 

16.63 I b24,1001 30.6 

26.40ib160,000I 31.2 

9.42 

7.58 

12.20 

8.55 

8.27 

11.25 

16.02 

19.0 

21.9 

19.50 

31.80 

22.30 

7,920 157 

3,350 115 

14,800 115 

2,960 116 

2,4401121 

7,300 114 

855 203 

36,400 101 

10,600 159 

7,600 131 

67,000 99.0 

25,500 116 

84,1001 70.4 

2.09 

5.18 

b4.50 

4.67 

3.96 

2.60 

2.46 

1.55 

4.39 

4.35 

2.63 

~ 

r:/2 

~ 0 

l:l;j 

g 

t'lj 

r:/2 

> 

z 

t:::1 

t:::1 

1-1 

r:/2 

c 

~ 

~ 

~ r:/2 

CJ1 

1-l 
Table 5.--Summary of flood stages and discharges for the floods or. January-February 1959--Continued 

Maximum flood previously known Maximum during present flood 

Drainage Period Discharge 

No. Stream and place of determination area of Gage Gage 

(sq mi) record Date height Discharge Date height Cfs per 

(feet) (cfs) (feet) Cfs 

sq mi 

121 East Fork Little Miami River at 477 1915-20, Mar. 6, 1945 23.42 39,400 Jan. 21 21.24 32,000 67.1 

Perintown. 1925-

122 Mill Creek at Reading------------- 73.1 1938- Mar. 6, 1945 20.00 5,780 Jan. 21 19.67 5,640 77.2 

123 West Fork Mill Creek Reservoir 29.5 1953- Apr. 5, 1957 689.76 a5,720 Jan. 22 698.96 a9,750 ------- near Greenhills. 

124 West Fork Mill Creek at Woodlawn-- 31.9 1952- Apr. 4, 1956 6.82 b2,000 Jan. 23 5.56 bl,340 42.0 

125 West Fork Mill Creek at Lockland-- 35.6 1938- May 25, 1947 16.93 6,310 Jan. 21 10.63 bl,700 47.8 

126 Mill Creek at Carthage------------ 116 1946- May 25, 1947 14.21 8,300 Jan. 21 16.17 b8,900 76.7 

127 Indian Lake at Russells Point----- 109 1946- June 29, 1957 3.23 -------- Jan. 22 3.58 -------- ------- March 1913 5.3 -------- 128 Buckongahelas Creek near DeGraff-- 37.5 1957- June 10, 1958 5.24 662 Jan. 21 6.83 1,960 52.3 

129 Miami River at Quincy------------- 408 1946-49 June 3, 194 7 12.1 4,860 January 16.5 -------- ------- 130 Miami River at Sidney------------- 545 1914- Mar. 20, 1927 14.4 20,700 Jan. 21 15. 91. 16,800 30.8 

Mar. 25, 1913 19.6 44,000 

131 Lockington retarding basin at 261 1922- June 11, 1958 912.2 a12,000 Jan. 22 909.8 a9.,5oo ------- Lockington. 

132 Loramie Creek at Lockington------- 261 1915- May 7, 1916 86.4 10,400 Jan. 22 84.43 b5,750 22.0 

Mar. 25, 1913 91.6 25,600 

133 Miami River at Piqua-------------- 842 1910- Mar. 25, 1913 29.1 -------- Jan. 21 14.8 -------- ------- 134 Lost Creek near Troy-------------- 55.3 -------- March 1913 ------- 29,700 Jan. 21 ------- 5,650 102 

135 Taylorsville retarding basin at 1,155 1922- May 14, 1933 787.1 a12,800 Jan. 22 791.5 a21,500 ------- Taylorsville. 

136 Miami River at Taylorsville------- 1,155 1914-17, Jan. 2, 1916 ------- 26,400 Jan. 22 75.44 b31,400 27.2 

1922- March 1913 ------- 127,000 

137 Poplar Creek near Vandalia-------- 3.16 1947- Nov. 16, 1955. 6.07 1,110 Jan. 21 6.10 1,130 358 

138 Greenville Creek near Bradford---- 195 1930- May 14, 1933 9.2 9,320 Jan. 21 8.93 5,990 30.7 

March 1913 12.1 18,200 

139 Stillwater River at Pleasant Hill- 502 1916-28, Jan • 14 , 19 3 7 17.32 26,400 Jan. 21 17.98 19,300 38.4 

1934- Mar. 25, 1913 17.5 51,400 

140 Hog Run tributary at Laura-------- .46 1950- May 22, 1953 7.65 204 Jan. 21 6.00 54 117 

141 Englewood retarding basin at 646 1922- June 15, 1958 831.3 a65,800 Jan. 23 825.1 a48,000 ------- Englewood. 

142 Stillwater River at Englewood----- 646 1925- June 15, 1958 80.88 b9,980 Jan. 23 80.21 b9,450 14.6 

March 1913 -------- 85,400 

143 Mad River at Zanesfield----------- 6.41 1947- Apr. 11, 1948 6.76 1,380 Jan. 21 5.05 794 124 

144 Mad River near Urbana------------- 157 1925-31, Feb. 26, 1929 10.4 7,740 Jan. 22 12.05 8,000 51.0 

1939-

145 Buck Creek at New Moorefield------ 67.3 1942-58 Feb. 14, 1948 7.46 5,150 Jan. 21 7.7 8,130 121 

146 Beaver Creek near Springfield----- 37.3 1942-58 Feb. 13, 1948 7.95 4,980 Jan. 21 9.0 5,400 145 

147 Buck Creek at Springfield--------- 137 1914-21, Feb. 26, 1929 14.3 13,000 Jan. 21 12.39 10,500 76.6 

1924- Mar. 25, 1913 13.3 11,100 

148 Mad River near Springfield-------- 485 1904-05, Feb. 26, 1929 14.9 23,000 Jan. 21 15.76 30,500 62.9 

1914- Mar. 25, 1913 16.9 55,400 

149 Huffman retarding basin near 632 1922- Feb. 26, 1929 805.2 al4,100 Jan. 22 809.0 a25,000 Dayton. -------

Ratio 

to 

Q2.33 

1.54 

1. 74 

-----

-----

-----

-----

-----

-----

-----

1.98 

-----

bl.24 

-----

-----

-----

bl,85 

2.13 

1.64 

1.61 

-----

-----

bl.24 

1,13 

2.81 

4.57 

2.70 

3.00 

3.35 

-----

Cl1 

J:>.:) 

~ 

tot 

0 

g 

Ul 

0 

~ 

~ 

> z 

~ 1 

t;J 

C::l 

~ ..... 

~ 

at 

~ 

z """' 

0 

III 

0 """' 
150 

151 

152 

153 

154 

155 

Mad River near Dayton-------------1 632 

Miami River at Dayton-------------12,513 

Wolf Creek near Trotwood---------- 48.2 

Wolf Creek at Dayton-------------- 69.5 

Holes Creek near K&ttering-------- 20.6 

Miami River at Miamisburg--------- 2,718 

156 Clear Creek at Franklin-----------

157 Twin Creek near Ingomar-----------

158 Germantown retarding basin near 

46.7 

198 

275 

Germantown. 

159 Twin Creek near Germantown-------- 275 

160 

161 

162 

163 

164 

165 

166 

167 

168 

169 

170 

171 

172 

173 

174 

175 

176 

177 

178 

179 

180 

Dicks Creek near Excello----------1 44.8 

Fourmile Creek at Hueston Woods I 102 

Dam. 

Sevenmile Creek at Collinsville--- 121 

Talawanda Creek near Hamilton----- 311 

Miami River at Hamilton----------- 3,639 

Indian Creek near Millville------- 99.1 

Miami River at Maimitown----------~3,880 

Tenmile Creek at Toledo----------- 158 

Auglaize River near Fort JenningsOttawa River at Allentown---------

Blanchard River near Forest-------

Eagle Creek near Findlay----------

Blanchard River near Findlay------

Tiderishi Creek near Jenera-------

Blanchard River at Glandorf-------

Roller Creek at Ohio City---------

333 

168 

82.5 

46.5 

343 

4.51 

643 

4.94 

Town Creek near Van Wert---------- I 20.4 

Auglaize River near Lefiance------ 2,329 

Maumee River near Defiance-------- 15,530 

Maumee River at Waterville-------- 16,314 

Portage River at Woodville-------- I 433 

181 I Sandusky River near Bucyrus------- 89.8 

See footnotes at end of table. 

1914- !Feb. 26, 19291 87.9 

Mar. 25, 1913 --------

1905-06, Apr. 21, 1920 --------

1913- Mar. 26, 1913 --------

1938-50 l Mar. 19, 19431 53.5 

1916-20,,Feb. 27, 19291--------

1924-35, Mar. 26, 1913 --------

1952-

bl8,4001Jan. 22 

75,700 

59,800 Jan. 22 

250,000 

--------~Jan. 21-22 

9,950 Jan. 21 

-------- Jan. 21 

b55,000 Jan. 21 

257,000 

1922- ========J Feb. ============= 26, 1929 ======== 778.3 ======== a21,400 Jan. g:~: 22 ~i 1914-20,1 July 8, 1915 -------- 9,390 Jan. 22 

1921-23, Mar. 25, 1913 -------- 66,000 

1926-

1937- I Jan. 4, 1949 

1910-18, Mar. 26, 1913 

1927- Mar. 19, 1943 

1943, 

1945-48, 

1950 

1921-35, 

1940-

1923-35, 

1943-

1947-57 

1923-35, 

1940 

1947-

1921-28, 

1947-51 

1947-

June 1, 1943 

Feb. 15, 1950 

June 29, 1957 

Mar. 15, 1933 

June 7, 1947 

Dec. 1, 1927 

March 1913 

Feb. 25, 1956 

Feb. 15, 1950 

Mar. 4, 1955 

1945-53 IMar. 21, 1948 

1915- Feb. 16, 1950 

March 1913 

1924-35, Feb. 16, 1950 

1939-

1921-35, Feb. 16, 1950 

1939-

1928-35, Feb. 15, 1950 

1939- March 1913 

21.0 

76.6 

11.4 

17.8 

9.45 

10.1 

13.38 

15.4 

18.5 

14.53 

27.0 

8.65 

9.34 

26.4 

38.8 

13.70 

14.52 

14.51 

17 

--------•Jan. 21 

--------•Jan. 21 

--------~Jan. 21 

33,500 Jan. 21 

352,000 Jan. 21 

b78,800 

--------•Jan. 21 

---------,Jan. 22 

3,400 Feb. 12 

9,5501Jan. 23 

5,300IJan. 22 

-------- Jan. 21 

2,920 Feb. 10 

11,800 Feb. 11 

22,000 

348 Feb. 10 

15,800 Feb. 12 

351 Feb. 10 

935 Feb. 10 

52,500 Feb. 13 

120,000 

87,100 Feb. 12 

94,000 Feb. 12 

11,500 Feb. 12 

17,000 

1925-35,1Dec. 14, 1927 

1938-51 Mar. 23, 1913 ::~5~ ---~~~~~!Jan. 22 

87.30 

35.45 

55.1 

20.69 

b21,200 

b6o,8oo 

33.5 

24.2 

6,9901145 

4,7301230 

b62,000 22.8 

------- 13,300 285 

18.8 30,300 153 

787.2 a33,600 ---

b2.44 

b2.00 

bl.88 

29.19 b8,590 31.2 lbl.43 

9,8301219 

13,300 130 

-------1. 16,600 137 

21.40 44,500 143 

79.49 bl08,000 29.7 

23,500 237 

31.4 lbll5,0001 29.6 

9.27 1,500 9.5 

20.301 12,000 36.0 

10.88 7,740 46.1 

12,300 149 

16.76 

15.15 

27.9 

9.58 

11.77 

27.65 

12.35 

16.17 

11.81 

11.9 

6,300 ---

15,000 43.7 

4801106 

17,700 27.5 

8901180 

2,350 115 

58,800 25.2 

76,500 13.8 

85,000 13.5 

7,490 17.3 

13,5001150 

2.82 

b2.16 

2.18 

2.62 

2.86 

2.73 

2.19 

2.49 

3;74 

2.18 

1.64 

1.68 

1.19 

5.19 

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Table 5.--Summary of flood stages and discharges for the floods of January-February 1959--Continued 

Maximum flood previously known Maximum during present flood 

Drainage Period Discharge No. Stream and place of determination area of Gage Gage (sq mi) record Date height Discharge Date height Cfs per 

(feet) ( cfs) (feet) Cfs 

sq mi 

182 Sandusky River at Upper Sandusky-- 293 1911- Mar. 25, 1913 19.0 --------- Jan. 2:! 18.70 ------- -------- 183 Sandusky River near Upper Sandusky 299 1921-35, Dec. 15, 1927 10.5 8,900 Jan. 22 15.00 10,000 33.4 

1938- June 1937 14.3 -------- 184 St. James Run near Upper Sandusky- 5.35 1947- June 7, 1947 12.25 356 Jan. 21 12.66 408 76.3 

185 Sandusky River near Mexico-------- 776 1923-35, Mar. 22, 1927 19.9 15,200 Jan. 23 22.43 18,900 24.4 

1938- June 1937 22.5 19,000 

186 Sandusky River at Tiffin---------- 965 1904- Mar. 26, 1913 19.4 -------- Jan. 23 9.7 ------- -------- 187 Spicer Creek near Tiffin---------- 7.09 -------- ------------- -------- -------- Jan. 21 ------- 1,100 157 

188 Havens Creek at Havens------------ 5.00 1947- May 12, 1956 7.66 312 Jan. 21 7.13 Ice -------- Feb. 10 6.37 256 51.2 

189 Sandusky River near Fremont------- 1,248 1923-35, Jan. 15, 1930 *12.12 27,300 Feb. 10 15.20 28,000 22.4 

1938-

190 Sandusky River at Fremont--------- 1,351 1904- Mar. 26, 1913 21.5 -------- Feb. 11 18.0 ____ ...... __ --------

191 Norwalk Creek near Norwalk-------- 4.18 1947- May 12, 1956 14.37 1,060 Jan. 21 13.96 646 155 

192 East Branch Huron River near 84.9 1924-35 Feb. 26, 1929 9.5 4, 700 Jan. 21 12.3 ------- -------- Norwalk. 

193 Huron River at Milan-------------- 363 1950- May 12, 1956 21.10 18,200 Jan. 22 24.08 25,800 71.1 

194 Vermilion River near Vermilion---- 260 1950- Jan. 26, 1952 11.5 9,820 Jan. 21 13.80 20,500 78.8 

195 East Branch Black River at Elyria- 211 1922-35 Mar. 14, 1933 10.10 11,400 Jan. 21 14.7 ------- --------

196 Plum Creek at Oberlin------------- 4.88 1947- June 2, 1947 14.69 658 Jan. 21-22 16.13 990 203 

197 Black River at Elyria------------- 392 1944- May 13, 1956 18.02 14,900 Jan. 22 22.9 24,000 61.2 

198 Rocky River near Berea------------ 269 1923-35, Jan. 19, 1929 11.0 16,600 Jan. 22 14.10 21,400 79.6 

1943- March 1913 20.9 -------- 199 Cuyahoga River at Hiram Rapids---- 147 1927-35, Mar. 23, 1948 7.00 2,760 Jan. 23 8.11 3,670 25.0 

1944-

200 Cuyahoga River at Old Portage----- 405 1921-35, Jan. 26, 1952 10.42 b4,540 Jan. 21 11.54 b6,500 16.0 

1939-

201 Cuyahoga River at Independence---- 709 1921-23, Oct. 16, 1954 20.04 bl4,300 Jan. 22 22.41 b24,800 35.0 

1927-35, 

1940-

202 Big Creek at Cleveland Zoo, 37.5 -------- March 1948 -------- 5,900 Jan. 22 ------- 6,000 160 

Cleveland. 

203 Chagrin River at Willoughby------- 251 1925-35, Mar. 22, 1948 17.95 28,000 Jan. 21 16.73 22,000 87.6 

1939- Mar. 23, 1913 17.3 20,000 

204 Phelps Creek near Windsor--------- 26.4 1942- Mar. 22, 1948 8.97 3,840 Jan. 21 9.34 4,600 174 

205 Hoskins Creek at Hartsgrove------- 6.94 1947- March 1948 14.53 543 Jan. 21 14.55 552 79.5 

206 Mill Creek near Jefferson--------- 78.3 1942- Mar. 22, 1948 9.95 7,010 Jan. 22 12.50 9,810 125 

207 Grand River near Madison---------- 587 1922-35, Mar. 22, 1948 12.48 16,600 Jan. 22 14.73 21,100 35.9 

1938-

208 Ashtabula River near Ashtabula--~- 118 1924-35, May 16, 1942 9.67 10,800 Jan. 22 11.03 11,600 98.3 

1939-47, 

1950-

209 Conneaut Creek at Amboy----------- 178 1922-35, Oct. 16, 1954 *12.94 12,900 Jan. 22 11.70 17,000 95.5 

1950- --

*Occurred at different time than maximum discharge, a Contents in acre-ft. b Affected by regulation. 

Ratio 

to 

Q2.33 

-----

2.00 

-----

2.05 

-----

-----

-----

1.44 

1.87 

-----

l. 70 

-----

-----

-----

-----

2.41 

2.73 

2.10 

2.53 

b2.24 

b2.90 

-----

2.39 

3.33 

2.08 

2.93 

2.43 

2.27 

2.66 

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