May 26, 2007 by admin.

Lawn owners will gather the evening of July 19, 2007 to learn how to correctly collect a soil sample, have their lawn soil tested (free), and become better stewards of our lake and waterways.  For all the details, View and Print the Lawn Fertilizer Workshop brochure.

Posted in GLSM Watershed, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

May 24, 2007 by PilotRE.

May 24, 2007 at 1:46 pm  Great input from the truthdoctor! The technology exists to solve many of the issues. Islands can be built. Wetlands can be restored. The lake depth can be increased. The shoreline can be protected. But it all takes money and lots of it. No one wants to pay a use tax; and the State’s budgets are spoken for. Frankly the only possible short term solution is private philanthropic gifting and for that we need to start thinking outside the box and direct our energies to such a possibility. The State and its bureaucratic hierarchy has a proven record of ineffective activity with regards to water quality so perhaps indeed we must turn to the private sector for assistance.

A petition to improve our watershed that contained nearly 2000 signatures was sent to both Ohio governor candidates last summer. Neither, including our new Governor Strickland showed anyone the courtesy of a response. We must all realize that private enterprise represents the only viable solution to our clean water and lake level issues. The State of Ohio is broke and clearly has other priorities.

Posted in Lake level management, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

May 20, 2007 by truthdoctor.

the lake level issue is more complex than simply drawing down the level during the winter. consider this: once the lake recovers from a winter drawdown the threat of flooding would still exist. i can remember the lake being down over 23″ and the next large rain event, about 11″ in two days, created a situation where the lake nearly breached the west bank.

the current spillway releases more water faster than any other time. thus the law suit won by citizens below the spillway. many land owners on the south side of the lake will attest that water drains much faster(weeks vs. months) after flooding events than ever before. this leads to confusion as to why would landowners on the lake complain since water is draining from the lake at a higher rate. this was the key factor in the “takings lawsuit” filed by the citizens below the spillway.

so what are we to think as to the reasons for recent flooding? well there have been many changes within the watershed since the new spillway was constructed not to mention unusually high rainfall events in the last few years. the watershed is just over 58,000 acres for a lake of 14,000 acres. water has been leaving the watershed for thousands of years so we can assume that has not changed. however here are some things that have changed: there has been increased building activity(more roofs, streets and storm water discharge), much of the old wetlands that held many acre feet of water have been drained, the farming practices have changed and most of the wooded area and wetlands have been lost. another contributing factor is the lake has lost 30% of its capacity since its construction. all lakes eventually will fill in and continue to “spread out’ as they do so.

although considered by the agricultural industry as acceptable, nearly 3 tons/acre of sediment is being lost to the lake annually from the watershed. this does not have to be. the presence of significant amounts of highly erodable land and significant lack of riparian(filterstrips, brush, trees, etc.) corridors combine to produce a situation where erosion and sedimentation are a major problem. research indicates that one cottonwood tree can hold over 3,000 gallons of water. many have been removed from the watershed and subsequently the water is released to the lake.

the acreage devoted to pasture(unplowed and grass covered) has decreased by 85%, woodland acreage dropped 61%. these are figures from the u.s.census of agriculture from 1949 to 1997.

the destruction of fence-row vegetation between fields and the extention of field-edge plowing out to and into the watershed’s 400 miles of roadside ditches has contributed to the sediment problem, but also has increased the speed of water leaving the watershed. some experts agree that extensive field tiling has also contributed to water leaving the land and entering the lake faster.

so there you have another look at the lake level issue. support by all citizens of the grand lake wabash watershed alliances’ plan of action, contemplates all of these issues and the lake level too. if we are going to solve these problems it will require all mercer and auglaize citizens to get behind this plan and support the alliance and coordinator. the local newspapers announce glwwa meetings.

Posted in Lake level management, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

May 9, 2007 by sa.

Not sure how to post these with my blog but here they are

Posted in Manure management | 1 Comment »

May 9, 2007 by sa.

These pictures (see above) were taken last Sun. May 6th, 2007 off Prairie Creek in perfectly clear weather with no reported rain to cause field runoff. The pictures don’t do it justice but I think this is manure and the slick ontop of the water was approximately 100ft long. The farmer at the corner of Kittle Rd and State Route 219 in Celina at the end of Prairie Creek had spread manure earlier that day. The wind being out of the Southeast lead me to believe the farmer had gotton too close to the East bank of Prairie Creek and sprayed what seemed to be maure directly into OUR water and it drifted to this spot down wind and down stream. Being that it was a Sun and I wasn’t sure who to report it to so I took several of these shots and sent them to Rick Wilson of the OH. EPA’s PTI and Agricultural Unit, Division of Surface Water on Mon. May 8. He in turn notified the county Wild Life Officer and another representative of Mercer County Soil and Water to investigate. By that time the matter in the water had mostly disapated (but not totally unrecognisable) and the farmer mearly questioned. The EPA lead me to believe the County Reps never even looked down stream from the farm near the the site of the pictures! To me it would be common sense seeing how I took pictures of the water not the farm. I would say this is the root of a majority of water purity problems on the lake and I never thought you could get away this in today’s environmentally educated world. VERY SAD! For what its worth if you see something that looks to be pollution of some sort you can call the Sherrif right away and tell them to send the Wild Life Officer out to investigate. Now I know and so do you.

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Posted in Manure management | 1 Comment »

May 5, 2007 by Gayle.

I love the lake level, it makes for better boating in the summer months. Isn’t that what this lake is here for? Does the LIA control the lake level? Maybe moving into town would be the answer.

Posted in Lake level management | 1 Comment »