1. Purpose

   The Hocking River does flood from time to time; therefore it is necessary to establish procedures for monitoring conditions, notification, and implementation of actions to minimize potential damages to property and inconveniences to students, faculty, and staff.

   Departments located in the buildings and areas listed in  subsection I  of Policies and Procedures, below, must have plans in place for dealing with high water by:

   1. establishing a method of communicating potential flooding to building occupants;

   2. moving items to be protected from ground floor levels to upper floors;

   3. establishing pre-determined locations to which items may be moved;

   4. moving equipment and vehicles from garages, parking lots, and the grounds, to higher ground; and

   5. taking whatever steps are necessary to protect items that cannot be relocated.

   It will be the responsibility of each department to physically relocate their own equipment and supplies, as Facilities Management personnel will have the primary responsibility of performing numerous functions that are essential in lessening the impact of flooding conditions on buildings, building mechanical systems, and utilities. All persons shall use extreme caution in flood water, e.g. be alert for all electrical connections when moving or removing devices or equipment.

2. Areas and Buildings Affected

   The low lying areas of the campus are in the flood plain and could be affected if the river goes over the banks. The flood plain includes the following areas and buildings:

   A. West Green

   B. East Green

   C. South Green

   • Aquatic Center

   • Academic Research Center

   • Baker Center

   • Bird Arena

   • Boyd

   • Convocation

   • Grosvenor

   • Grover

   • Irvine Hall

   • James

   • Life Science Center*

   • Parks

   • Porter

   • Ryors

   • Sargent

   • Stocker

   • Treudley

   • Visitor's Center

   • Walter*

   • Wilson

   • Biddle

   • Bush

   • Clippinger

   • Edgehill Maintenance Building

   • Gamertsfelder

   • Jefferson

   • Johnson*

   • Lincoln

   • Lower Campus Grounds

   • McCracken

   • Morton

   • Perkins

   • Putnam

   • Read*

   • Shively

   • Tiffin

   • Ullom

   • Washington

   • Adams

   • Armbruster

   • Atkinson

   • Brough

   • Brown

   • Cady

   • Crawford

   • Dougan

   • Ewing

   • Fenzel

   • Foster

   • Hoover

   • Mackinnon

   • Martzolff

   • Nelson

   • O'Blennes

   • Pickering

   • Smith

   • Surface Science

   • True

   • Weld

   • Wolfe St. Apts.

   • Wray

   • Zoology

   D. Athletic Mall

   E. North Green

   F. Service Center

   • Carin Strength Center

   • Chessa Field (soccer)

   • Driving Range

   • Football Practice

   • Peden Stadium

   • Ping Center*

   • Pro Shop

   • Pruitt Field

   • Softball

   • Tennis Courts

   • Wren Stadium

   • Glidden Music Building*

   • Hwa-Wei Lee Library Annex

   • Music Addition

   • Sculpture Studio

   • Seigfred Hall

   • Biochemistry*

   • Central Food Service*

   • Corrosion Center*

   • Facilities Management*

   • Facilities Renovations*

   • Heating Plant Substation*

   • Human Resources Training Center*

   • Innovation Center*

   • Laushe Heating Plant*

   • Old Custodial Stores*

   • University Garage*

   * The buildings marked with an asterisk ("*") are either on the edge of the flood plain or they are raised so they are out of the flood plain, so in the event of flooding, they are likely to be surrounded by water.

3. Monitoring the River

   Safety and Risk Management will have primary responsibility for evaluating river elevation conditions and for triggering various levels of readiness notifications to departments on campus that would be affected by flooding conditions. There are a variety of factors that determine the possibilities and extent of flooding, including:

   1. Amount of rain in a given period of time up-stream from Athens.

   2. The quantity and rate of increase of water levels in a given time period.

   3. Temperature and time of year.

   4. Percentage of watershed covered.

   5. Soil condition, type of cover, and slope, which determine the amount of runoff in a given rain.

   6. Presence of ice in the river.

4. Notification Categories

   Notification to departments located in affected areas may be in either of two categories:

   1. Flood Watch

      Conditions are such that departments will be notified that flooding is possible and that they should review plans for relocating essential equipment and have personnel and equipment ready to implement relocation plans on short notice.

   2. Flood Warning

      Available information indicates that the river will go over the levee and will affect the lower areas of the campus. Departments will be advised to implement their flood plans.

5. Notification

   Notification to identified building managers and departments located in affected areas will be accomplished by automated telephone calls through the Emergency Event Notification System as follows:

   Safety and Risk Management is responsible for monitoring river conditions and for implementing, in conjunction with Facilities Mangement, "Flood Watch" and "Flood Warning" notifications. A listing of all building and department contacts that should receive "Flood Watch" and "Flood Warning" notifications shall be maintained by Facilities Management and provided to Safety and Risk Management. The Flood Plan and listing of buildings and departments shall be updated each Fall to recognize the changes that have been made in facility usage and assignments.

   Annually, Safety and Risk Management will schedule a meeting to discuss flood planning procedures with representatives of departments that are located in areas that are subject to flooding.

   Additional information may be obtained by contacting Safety and Risk Management.

Reviewers

Proposed revisions of this policy should be reviewed by:

1. President

2. Executive Vice President and Provost

3. Executive Staff

4. Vice President for Finance and Administration

5. Executive Director of Facilities Management

6. Director of Environmental Health and Safety

7. Unit heads responsible for operations located in buildings and areas listed in Policies and Procedures,  subsection I , above.

8. Policy and Procedure Review Committee

Forms, References, and History

1. Forms

   There are no forms that are specific to this policy.

2. References

   There are no external items that are particularly relevant to this policy.

3. History

   Draft versions of this policy that were circulated for review, their cover memos, their forms, and Reviewers' comments on them are available on the password-protected Review site.

   Prior versions of this policy were approved on:

   1. June 3, 2009 (accelerated review)

   2. October 22, 2004

   3. January 27, 1995

   4. December 18, 1990