lake level

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.

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