PITTSBURGH — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers informed Congress this week that its flood risk management efforts in the Upper Ohio River Basin in fiscal year 2018 prevented an estimated $1.11 billion in flood damages in real dollars.

This amount is above the ten year average (FY09-FY18) of $310.3 million.

When a storm enters the basin, the district’s 16 dams and reservoirs impound runoff and precipitation to cut the downstream flood crest on rivers and then release the stored water in a controlled manner after the crest has passed to make space for the next storm’s runoff.

In total, the district’s system of 16 federal flood risk management reservoirs have prevent nearly $13 billion in flood damages in real dollars since their construction.

According to the Corps, the Kinzua Dam and Allegheny Reservoir have prevented a cumulative $1.3 billion in damages through 2018, with $47.8 million of that in Fiscal Year 2018 alone.

The East Branch Clarion River Lake has prevented a cumulative $96.6 million in damages through 2018, with $4.3 million in Fiscal Year 2018 alone.