Irrigation Influences Lake Levels During Drought Years, Study Suggests
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Staff Report-
Particularly hard-hit were Wawasee and Syracuse lakes, where water levels reached lows not seen since 1956, according to information from Kosciusko Lakes and Streams, which also notes that it now seems lake resident irrigation played a role in this event.
The low lake levels disrupted lake activities and were cause for concern for many lake residents. That’s when the KLAS center stepped in.
“It became clear we needed to conduct a research study on the lake levels and we were encouraged to have several Wawasee and Syracuse lake residents make donations to our center to make this research possible,” said Nate Bosch, center director.
The center conducted a water budget analysis for the lakes. This included looking at inputs, outputs and changes to the lakes over the periods leading up to and during the summer drought last year.
“While the study focused specifically on Wawasee and Syracuse lakes, the study results may have broad application for other lakes in the region and give insight on how to do a study like this on other lakes,” said Bosch.
According to the study, residential irrigation by lake residents went from being a minor to a major output from the lake during the drought year and likely contributed to the lower water levels. The study did not suggest that industrial and agricultural wells had the same effect but alluded to their potentially becoming significant in the future if well installations continue to increase, according to Bosch.
“During drought years not only is less water entering the lake, but lake residents are also removing more water for their lawns to compensate for drier conditions,” he said. “If a lake resident’s source for irrigation is lake water this can collectively have a noticeable impact.”
The study points out that while there are human-influenced factors, the majority of factors, including precipitation, evaporation and groundwater flow, cannot be directly controlled by people.
For more information on the study, contact the center at [email protected] or 547-372-5100, Ext. 6445. The full report is available online at water.grace.edu
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Particularly hard-hit were Wawasee and Syracuse lakes, where water levels reached lows not seen since 1956, according to information from Kosciusko Lakes and Streams, which also notes that it now seems lake resident irrigation played a role in this event.
The low lake levels disrupted lake activities and were cause for concern for many lake residents. That’s when the KLAS center stepped in.
“It became clear we needed to conduct a research study on the lake levels and we were encouraged to have several Wawasee and Syracuse lake residents make donations to our center to make this research possible,” said Nate Bosch, center director.
The center conducted a water budget analysis for the lakes. This included looking at inputs, outputs and changes to the lakes over the periods leading up to and during the summer drought last year.
“While the study focused specifically on Wawasee and Syracuse lakes, the study results may have broad application for other lakes in the region and give insight on how to do a study like this on other lakes,” said Bosch.
According to the study, residential irrigation by lake residents went from being a minor to a major output from the lake during the drought year and likely contributed to the lower water levels. The study did not suggest that industrial and agricultural wells had the same effect but alluded to their potentially becoming significant in the future if well installations continue to increase, according to Bosch.
“During drought years not only is less water entering the lake, but lake residents are also removing more water for their lawns to compensate for drier conditions,” he said. “If a lake resident’s source for irrigation is lake water this can collectively have a noticeable impact.”
The study points out that while there are human-influenced factors, the majority of factors, including precipitation, evaporation and groundwater flow, cannot be directly controlled by people.
For more information on the study, contact the center at [email protected] or 547-372-5100, Ext. 6445. The full report is available online at water.grace.edu
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