Foothill Features

Throughout much of its history, Athens, Ohio has been prone to flooding. As Ohio University and the town rapidly expanded during the 20th Century, the need to address flooding became more urgent. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Athens Local Protection Project, which sought to mitigate damages from future flooding, came into existence. The project channelized a portion of the Hocking River that ran through town, but did so at a time when environmental and ecological concerns were often overlooked in river management. Today, there is growing interest to address these concerns, but the hope to return to a more natural river could be a long and complicated path.