Ice Jams starting to melt

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – The ice jams in the Muskingum river are starting to melt, and the water is beginning to rise.

Executive Director Of Muskingum County Emergency Management Agency, Jeff Jadwin has been monitoring the river along with other agencies for over two weeks now. Jadwin explained due to the warm temperatures the ice jams are slowly melting and he’s seen a slight rise in the water.

18 I did get a notice from the National Weather Service this morning, they’re expecting a one to two foot rise in the river from the melt and some of the rain that we’re supposed to get this evening. So that’s my big concern is how much rain we get tonight, is to how much the river will come up.

Jadwin wanted to remind people going down to see the ice jams to stay back at a safe distance. The City of Zanesville is monitoring low-level areas currently and have decided to close one public area.

Photo By: Karysa Kent

“We have decided to close Riverside Park, you’ll notice we have red barricade tape up and you know that’s only for our community’s safety,” Zanesville’s Assistant Fire Chief Doug Hobson said. “Last year we had the same thing happen at Riverside Park and we actually had to make a couple rescues. We just want the community to remain safe through this problem that we’re going through right now.”

The park will open once ice jams and flooding are no longer threats. To stay up to date on the river’s conditions visit the Muskingum County E.M.A. Facebook page or monitor Everbridge by visiting citizensalert60.org.