Ground Water Induced Flooding in the Bellevue, Ohio, Area, Spring and Summer 2008

Abstract

On March 18, 2008 ground water levels rose to 40-year high levels in the Bellevue, Ohio area. Sinkholes, rounded depressions in the landscape formed by solution of bedrock or collapse of an underlying cavity, which typically accept surface water, were acting as springs. Flooding of fields, roadways and homes occurred because of the lack of a defined surface drainage. The purpose of this report is to outline the geologic, hydrologic, and meteorological conditions that led to the flooding experienced in the vicinity of Bellevue, Ohio in the spring and summer of 2008. A combination of geologic conditions present at the surface and near-surface, and unique increases in precipitation, created a situation where a rising ground water table breached the ground surface, flowed from existing sinkholes, filled existing closed basins and karst features, and drained slowly over the course of months.