Ohio
Ohio River level at Cincinnati is rising. See predicted crest and what it means
Thanks to all the precipitation we’ve been having, the level of the Ohio River is rising.
The river level in Cincinnati was at 35 feet on Friday morning.
With more rain in the forecast this weekend, the river level is expected to rise and crest at just above 43 feet on Monday morning. While that level is well below flood stage, which is 52 feet, it is above the “action stage” of 40 feet.
According to the National Weather Service, the action stage is the river level at which agencies in the surrounding areas should start closely monitoring the river level.
The level at which the casual observer will start to see water encroach on land is 42 feet when flooding starts at PNC Pavillion.
The most recent significant crest on the Ohio River was at just below 65 feet on March 5, 1997. That ranked as the ninth-highest crest recorded on the river in Cincinnati.
The river crossed the flood stage seven times in the 1990s. Since 2000, the river has crested above flood stage twice – at 54.42 feet on Feb 2, 2020, and at 56.86 feet on March 4, 2021.
The highest level ever recorded on the Ohio River in Cincinnati was on Jan. 26, during the devastating flood of 1937.
Historic crests on the Ohio River in Cincinnati
- 80 feet on Jan. 26, 1937
- 71.10 feet on Feb. 14, 1884
- 69.90 feet on April 1, 1913
- 69.20 feet on March 7, 1945
- 66.30 feet on Feb. 15, 1883
What happens as the Ohio River level rises
42 feet: Flooding encroaches PNC Pavilion.
45 feet: Water floods stage area of PNC Pavilion.
47 feet: Water affects some areas of Coney Island and PNC Pavilion. High water affects some yards in California, Ohio
48 feet: Flooding in California impacts Eldorado Street, with water impacting some fringe areas of Coney Island park. PNC Pavilion is flooded by this stage.
50 feet: Water covers low areas of Kellogg Avenue. Outbuildings at Coney Island flooded, as well as PNC Pavilion. Parts of Humbert Avenue in the East End of Cincinnati are also flooded. Some of Public Landing becomes flooded, as well as Riverside Park off River Road.
52 feet (flood stage): Increasing sections of Kellogg Avenue from east of Delta Avenue upstream to near Coney Island to near Eight Mile Road are flooded, as well as parts of Humbert Avenue in the East End of Cincinnati. Most of Public Landing is flooded, as well as Riverside Park off River Road.
60 feet: Significant flooding in East End, California and New Richmond in Ohio, with backwater floods in Silver Grove, Kentucky, and riverfront buildings in Aurora, Indiana. Stretches of U.S. 52 are flooded, with numerous additional low-lying roads near the river flooded. Backwater flooding along the Little Miami, Great Miami and Licking rivers, also results in road closures. Some main levels of homes flooded in the East End sections of Cincinnati.
70 feet: This is just above the FEMA 1 percent flood. Widespread flooding between Fort Washington Way and the river occurs. Inundation of unprotected property in Ohio extends from Cincinnati upstream along and south of Route 52. Downstream of Cincinnati, most property between Route 50 and the river is flooded. In Kentucky, widespread inundation occurs in unprotected areas between Route 8 and the river. In Indiana, unprotected areas from near Route 56 to the river are inundated including Aurora.
80 feet: This flood will exceed the highest stage on record. Widespread property damage occurs, with devastating backwater flooding also occurring along Ohio River tributaries. The City of Cincinnati becomes flooded at low areas near the river, with many Ohio River communities flooded. Backwater flooding along the Little Miami, Great Miami and Licking rivers also results in major damage. Thousands of evacuations are necessary.
Source: National Weather Service in Wilmington
Out of prison, Indiana’s caviar king back on Ohio River to find fishing holes taken
David Cox, of English, Indiana, says once he began setting his nets again after a two-year prison sentence and a three-year ban on commercial fishing, all of his once-secret spots were taken.
Can you eat fish from the Ohio River?
In 1975, future presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, then governor of Massachusetts, bet 20 pounds of New England cod that the Red Sox would defeat the Reds in the World Series. If things went south for Boston, Ohio governor James Rhodes promised to send Dukakis 10 pounds of Lake Erie perch and 10 pounds of Ohio River catfish. The Reds ended up winning and the cod was sent to the Convalescent Home for Children, in Cincinnati.
At the time, people were still eating catfish from the Ohio without too much concern. The fish were also served at several restaurants along the river.
There were warnings in 1977
But two years later, in 1977, The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission released the results of a study of contaminants found in the tissues of Ohio River fish. They warned anglers in cities such as Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville, Wheeling and Gallipolis that man-made chemicals known as PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, had been discovered in the river fish. Later, high concentrations of mercury were discovered in the fish, too.
Thanks to the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the environmental regulations that followed, the river is now cleaner than it was in the seventies. And it’s still teeming with a variety of fish, including catfish, striped bass, drum and black bass, among other species.
But even though PCBs were banned by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1979, they are still found in fish, since they remain in the sediment in the bottom of the river. “Organisms live in the sediment and fish feed on them,” Rich Cogen, the executive director of the Ohio River Foundation told The Enquirer. Mercury is also a big problem, according to Cogen.
So the question is: Can you eat fish caught in the Ohio River?
The short answer is yes. But it depends on what species you are eating and where along the river you caught it.
There are also very strict limitations on how frequently you should eat them, according to the web site for the Ohio Sport Fish Consumption Advisory, part of the Ohio Department of Health.
In areas of the river between the Belleville Lock, located 204 miles downstream from the river’s origins in Pittsburgh, to the Indiana border, the advisory agency currently recommends consuming Ohio River fish no more than once a month max. That area includes Adams, Brown, Clermont, Gallia, Hamilton, Lawrence, Meigs and Scioto counties.
Here’s where to check
Recommendations change throughout the year, but you can keep up by visiting the Ohio Department of Health’s Sport Fish Consumption Advisory page, which provides updated information on when certain fish, usually bottom feeders such as carp, are deemed too dangerous to eat at all.
Here’s who should take a pass on Ohio River fish
The agency also warns that people who are more likely to have health effects from eating contaminated fish, includingchildren younger than 15 years old, pregnant women and women who are planning to become pregnant to avoid Ohio River fish altogether.
Just because you have to limit the amount of fish you eat, doesn’t mean the river is a bad place for fishing, as long as you limit your intake or do catch-and-release fishing. Just make sure you have a proper fishing license before casting your line.
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It isn’t over until it’s over. That’s the case for both the UCLA Bruins football program recruiting and for quarterback Brady Edmunds. Edmunds is currently committed to head to Ohio State but he took a visit from UCLA offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy earlier this week.
Kennedy met Edmunds on Thursday despite the fact that the quarterback has been committed to the Buckeyes since December of 2024 but could the UCLA Bruins be making a run at flipping the quarterback?
Edmunds has only had an official visit with Ohio State but could UCLA heave a heat check on the 6’5” quarterback? New UCLA head coach Bob Chesney is off to an unbelievable start to his recruiting with the Bruins and flipping a recruit of Edmunds’ caliber would be his most impressive move yet.
247 Sports has Edmunds as the No. 16 quarterback in the class, which would give UCLA a clear predecessor for Nico Iamaleava whenever the Bruins current starting quarterback decides to head to the professional level.
It’d be a full circle moment for the Bruins, as Edmunds was originally recruited to Ohio State by former UCLA head coach Chip Kelly, who bailed on UCLA to go run the Buckeyes offense. Ohio State is a great spot for a developing quarterback, as the Buckeyes produce tons of NFL talent, especially at the wide receiver position, which would help Edmunds put up some gaudy numbers in Columbus.
Chesney and the Bruins have geography on their side, Edmunds attends Huntington Beach High School in Southern California, which could potentially become a factor if Edmunds views UCLA as a program on the rise that’d be much closer to his friends and family than out in Ohio.
Time will tell if Kennedy’s visit will make a difference but UCLA’s recruiting has made waves in the first offseason under Chesney and the new regime.
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