Welcome to April in Ohio.
Biggest flooding in 12 years
The Miami Conservancy District, which manages the region’s dam and levee system, reported Monday that the rivers that run through the area are cresting or have already, with water around levees reaching their peak around 7 p.m. on Sunday.
As of Monday morning, that water only went down three-tenths of a foot. The system’s Englewood dam, north of Hamilton, was still actively storing water as of Monday morning, too, according to Miami Conservancy District Communications Manager Sarah Hippensteel.
Water will likely not return to typical levels for five to seven days, or even longer depending on additional rainfall. Although there have been a couple of other instances in 2025 of the flood protection system storing water, this is one of the larger flood events in more than a decade for the region, Hippensteel said.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
“The system is designed to slowly release,” she said. “We haven’t seen an event this size since around 2013.”
Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones said he’d “never seen it this high in many, many years.” He surveyed some of the county with Butler County commissioners Don Dixon and T.C. Rogers on Sunday from his department’s helicopter.
Footage the sheriff recorded and posted on his department’s Facebook page showed several flooded homes north of Hamilton adjacent to the river, including ones on Kennedy Road and the Hamilton Boat Club on Reigart Road.
Caesar Creek Lake
Due to rainfall rising lake levels, the marina, beach and boat ramps at Caesar Creek Lake in Warren County off of Ohio 73 were closed Monday/
Most of the boat ramps have water that is over the docks and more than 20 feet up the ramps. The Horse Camp is also closed.
The region received at least 3 to 4 inches of rainfall since Friday, Matthew Campbell, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service said.
State park officials said they are closely monitoring the situation and will let people know when it’s safe to open the ramps and marina. They expect the ramps will be closed for at least a week.
No big problems in Hamilton
Despite the amount of rain that’s caused the Great Miami River to crest at 73.53 feet in Hamilton, city leaders said they did not have a lot of reporters for water damage. The river covered the Great Miami River trails, but the levels are slowly falling and was at 72.1 feet as of Monday morning. By Tuesday, it’s expected to drop to just over 66 feet.
The city received few flooding-related reports, which included seven reports of water in basements, eight about flooding in yards and streets, and four trees down, said Edwin Porter, executive director of Infrastructure.
The lack of widespread flooding is a credit to the city’s infrastructure investments over the years, Porter said.
“The city of Hamilton continues to invest resources into maintaining and upgrading the stormwater collection systems, especially as roadway capital improvements are made,” he said. “The Public Works teams proactively clean and maintain the stormwater system all year, supporting efficient operation of the system during times of need.”
Additionally, he said while there are limitations to all systems, especially during periods of significant rainfall, he said Hamilton’s “system performed well as expected with minimal issues given the magnitude of the system and rain event.”
Hamilton police Sgt. Brian Ungerbuehler confirmed there was flooding at Combs Park, a 65-acre park on North B Street and adjacent to the river has a boat ramp, fishing areas and mostly consists of trees.
Neighboring Ross Twp. to the west of the city also had no reports of flooding, said township Fire Chief Chris Johns.
County parks closed near rivers
Butler County MetroParks closed multiple parks over the weekend. The parks closed Monday were Woodsdale MetroPark in Madison Twp. and the Wetlands Trial at Rentschler Forest MetroPark in Fairfield Twp.
Parts of the the Great Miami River Trail, including the Trenton Trailhead in Lemon Twp. and the area underneath the State Route 122 bridge in Middletown, were closed Monday.
Credit: Butler County EMA
Credit: Butler County EMA
“All of these parks are next to the Great Miami River,” said Katie Ely-Wood, communications manager for MetroParks of Butler County. “We anticipate that as the river starts to recede, MetroParks will be able to start clean-up work in order to reopen these parks and trails.”
Ely Wood expects these areas to be closed for a “few more days” until the “water starts to recede.”
“Lots of park closures, but the staff has been working really hard to make sure things are cleaned up and reopened,” she said. “We’re happy that several parks were able to reopen today.”
Other areas, including Sebald MetroPark in Madison Twp., the Oxford-Reily entrance of Indian Creek MetroPark in Reily Twp. and Sycamore Bluffs MetroPark in Oxford Twp. have been reopened.
Ely Wood recommended locals to stay away from high water over the next few days. “Water is moving quickly, so you don’t want to put yourself in a position where you could put yourself in danger,” she said.
Future weather forecast
After a chilly Tuesday, this week there will be another round of showers starting later Wednesday and continuing Thursday, according to the National Weather Service in Wilmington.
Tuesday will be sunny and chilly, with highs in the mid-40s, followed by a mostly clear, cold night with lows in the upper 20s and widespread frost in the early-morning hours.
Clouds will increase Wednesday, with a chance of rain in the afternoon and highs near 50 degrees.
Wednesday night will be rainy, the NWS said, with a possible thunderstorm after midnight and showers expected to continue through dawn. Lows will be around 40 degrees.
Showers will be likely during the day on Thursday with a chance for thunderstorms in the afternoon. Temperatures will be a little warmer, rising to the upper 50s.
There will be a lingering chance of showers with a chance of thunderstorms Thursday night, the NWS said, with a chance of thunderstorms in the evening. Lows will be in the mid-30s.
Friday is expected to be partly sunny with highs in the low 50s, followed by a partly cloudy night with lows in the mid-30s, possibly bringing areas of frost again before sunrise on Saturday.
Danny Susco contributed to this story.
