What a difference a day makes on the Little miami river

 Most roads are open again in Loveland as The Scenic Little Miami River has receded in some areas

By Chuck Gibson 

LOVELAND, OH (May 20,2020) – The rains stopped, the river receded, roads opened and clean-up has begun at Loveland Canoe & Kayak alongside the Scenic Little Miami River in Loveland, Ohio Wednesday, May 20. 

Thick clouds continued to loom over Loveland and the Scenic Little Miami River trailway, but relief from the rain allowed drier conditions to prevail. A quick trip into Historic Downtown Loveland revealed more normal traffic flow early Wednesday. “Road Closed” signs were gone and cars passed side-by-side under the Karl Brown Way railroad trestle. Just next door, Nate Lawry, livery manager, at Loveland Canoe & Kayak (LC&K)  and other workers were busy working on the clean-up there. Small puddles remained where the river raged less than 24 hours earlier. Yellow caution tape surrounded the grounds warning of continued dangerous conditions despite the receding river. Lawry kept watch and gave a friendly warning to sightseers still eager to get a look at how high the river conintues to flow. 

Mark Bersani, owner, was busy helping put things back in order inside the building which houses the Loveland Canoe & Kayak equipment. The Loveland-Symmes Fire Department had been there earlier lending a hand hosing down the thick layer of river silt left behind by Tuesday’s flood waters.

“It’s part of the job,” said Lawry. “Like Mark says, we keep paddling.”

With that, they continued restoring equipment to proper locations. All the while you could hear the hum of fans strategically placed to help speed up the process of drying things out. If you looked closely, you could see a water line probably close to three feet high on the wall just below the makeshift table/shelf Lawry and crew used to save items from being damaged by the flood waters.  Another day on the river for Loveland Canoe & Kayak. 

The photo array below tells the story of what a difference a day makes. 

Owner Mark Bersani with LC&K livery manager Nate Lawry (Chuck Gibson) 

Some of the mud left behind by the Tuesday flood waters at LC&K (Chuck Gibson)

If you look closely, you can see the water line on the back wall (Chuck Gibson)

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A more scenic view of the bend in the Little Miami River from the deck of Loveland Canoe & Kayak – just one day after overflowing her banks (Chuck Gibson)