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Dave Schutz is a truck driver who lives with his wife, Gaylene, in northern Hardin County. They own a home which lies at the bottom of a 60-acre watershed which is planted to corn this year. While plentiful rains were good for the surrounding crops, it became a problem for the Schutz’s because the water runoff traveled across their yard to reach the drainage ditch, occasionally filling their basement with 6 feet of water.

Schutz teamed with the Hardin Soil and Water Conservation District and the Natural Resources  Conservation Service in 2002. He chose these agencies for advice after he’d heard good things about the organizations from his in-laws. Although he is all smiles now, he found little humor in the previous water problem that left him literally “in over his head.”  The engineering design for the project was provided at no cost to Schutz, while the same design from a private engineering firm would have been a more costly route.

To address the runoff problem, a diversion was created to reroute the draining water around his house, instead of through it. Extending from the road to the rear of the yard, the diversion channel consists of a drop in elevation surrounding the house, encouraging water into a channel and carrying it back to the rear of the property where the water empties into a 6-foot vertical plastic pipe drop structure. The bottom of the pipe structure is coated in 6 inches of concrete to secure the structure’s position in the ground. The water is then carried underground through the pipe to the drainage ditch. This method of transporting the water reduces soil erosion around the diversion. There is also a dike included in the design of the diversion. The dike is designed to protect the Schutz’s house from a 25-year rain event.

When Schutz combined forces with NRCS and the Soil and Water Conservation District, he had no idea their efforts would be so successful. “We haven’t had a problem since,” he explained, “It’s been a cheap insurance policy.” He no longer worries about the possibility of swimming in his basement. In addition to the diversion, he also used the agencies to assist in planting a tree windbreak to reduce the strength of the winds that rip across his property. He planted two rows of trees along two  sides of his yard, one a row of Norway Spruce and the other a row of White Pine. The windbreak also provides energy saving benefits in the form of reduced heating needs and serves as wildlife habitat for birds and other small animals.

Media Contact: Christina Coulon, Ohio

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