Editing Zoar, Ohio (section)

==Flooding threat==
The future of the village is threatened because a Tuscarawas River [[levee]] that protects the village has been given the lowest safety rating by the [[U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]]. The village sits at the base of the levee, which was built by the Corps in 1936 as part of its water management program in the region.

With the levee in failing condition, the Corps was evaluating three alternatives: 
* Repair the levee
* Purchase the village, tear it down, and let the area flood
* Relocate the village to higher ground.

The Zoar Village Government and the Zoar Community Association are working to preserve the village where it stands and have created the Save Historic Zoar Association.<ref>{{cite news |title= Historic Zoar's survival hinges on levee |url=http://www.timesreporter.com/communities/x713430321/Historic-Zoar-s-survival-hinges-on-levee |date=March 22, 2011 |publisher=New Philadelphia Times Reporter}}</ref>

Initial Corps estimates, as of mid-2012, put the cost of repairing the levee at about $130 million, slightly less than $1 million per resident. In June 2012 the [[National Trust for Historic Preservation]] placed Zoar on its annual list of "[[America's Most Endangered Places|America's eleven most endangered historic places]]."<ref>{{cite news |work=New York Times |title=Levee Needing Costly Repairs Lands Ohio Village on Endangered List |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/28/us/aging-levee-puts-village-of-zoar-ohio-on-endangered-list.html |date=August 27, 2012 |author=Ray Rivera}}</ref>

In November 2013 the Corps, following further review, reclassified the levee's safety rating from 1 (lowest) to Dam Safety Action Classification 3, meaning the possibility of failure is moderate to high. An expedited full evaluation is to occur within a year. In so doing, the Corps also dropped the option of breaching the levee from the list of solutions being considered, and studied options for repairing the existing levee, thereby significantly reducing the likelihood that the village would have to be destroyed or relocated.<ref>{{cite news |work=TimesReporter |title=Historic Zoar saved from levee breaching |url=http://www.timesreporter.com/article/20131122/News/131129704 |date=November 22, 2013 |author=Jon Baker}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |work=The Columbus Dispatch |title=Historic Ohio village to be spared |url=http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/11/22/Zoar-village-saved.html |date=November 22, 2013 |author=Alan Johnson}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |work=The Columbus Dispatch |title=Levee near Zoar won't be removed |url=http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/11/23/levee-near-zoar-wont-be-removed.html |date=November 23, 2013 |author=Alan Johnson}}</ref>

In 2023, the Army Corps of Engineers completed a $14 million project to repair the levee and save Zoar Village.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://savingplaces.org/places/the-village-of-zoar/updates/village-of-zoar-levee-project-finished-and-landmark-town-protected|title=Village of Zoar Levee Project Finished and Landmark Town Protected &#124; The Village of Zoar &#124; National Trust for Historic Preservation|website=savingplaces.org}}</ref>