Maumee ice makes quiet exit

River communities’ flood fears aren’t realized

Chunks of ice clog the Maumee River in Waterville. After cresting Sunday night, the water level had receded nearly three feet by midafternoon Monday.

THE BLADE/LORI KING
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Chunks of ice clog the Maumee River in Waterville. After cresting Sunday night, the water level had receded nearly three feet by midafternoon Monday.

The Maumee River, where it begins to jam in the river near the Farrer Dr. and River Rd.

“Breaking up is hard to do,” as Neil Sedaka used to sing.

But as luck would have it, given the anxiety over the amount of ice that formed in the Maumee River during this harsh winter, the waterway’s large chunks of frozen water broke up and flowed downstream in almost textbook fashion.

Water got a little high briefly on Sunday, but no problems were reported in flood-prone Waterville and Grand Rapids, Ohio. Chad Hoffman, Grand Rapids administrator, said it was a relief to see the ice near that village break up about 5:45 p.m. Sunday and move out within three hours.

“It was done by 8 or 8:30 p.m.,” he said.

In Waterville, the level of the Maumee River steadily increased for six hours Sunday before cresting at 11.91 feet about 9 p.m. By 3 p.m. Monday, it had receded by nearly three feet to 9.07 feet, Jim Bagdonas, Waterville administrator, said.

“The river’s flowing freely now,” he said. “As long as it doesn’t jam up downstream, we should be OK.”

A U.S. Coast Guard dispatcher said there were no signs of ice jams downstream.