Portage River cleanout makes little progress

Farmers concerned with the frequent flooding of their property were once again asked to be patient Tuesday.
A project to clean out the Portage River is moving about as slowly as the river itself after residents petitioned in 2007 to have logjams and sediment removed from the waterway.
Little progress was reported Tuesday as engineers and officials from Wood, Seneca and Hancock counties heard from a representative of Wood County Soil and Water Conservation District about the process of mapping and studying the river. Once that's complete and a public hearing conducted, the project, estimated at nearly $2.8 million, can finally be sent out to bid.
The project's complexity should not be understated, however; it would involve clearing 46 miles of river and assessing to more than 9,700 land parcels in 112 square miles of watershed.