Study Lays Out Needs Of Deeds Creek Watershed
March 5, 2022 at 12:14 a.m.
By David [email protected]
In 2020, the Pike Lake Association received a Lake and River Enhancement (LARE) grant from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to complete an engineering feasibility study along Deeds Creek. The city of Warsaw provided partial cost-share for the study.
On Friday, Ryan Workman, Warsaw Wastewater Treatment MS4 stormwater coordinator, and Ross St. Clair, Cardno Now Stantec water resource engineer, gave a brief presentation to the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety on the Deeds Creek Feasibility and Executive studies.
Workman said, “Last February, we had invested $4,500 toward a much-larger LARE grant for the report of this, for the Deeds Creek feasibility, in partnership with other groups, since that impacts our jurisdiction but most of the projects outlie or surround our jurisdiction.”
He said Cardno was doing the project itself and St. Clair drafted the executive summary that predominantly focuses on stuff that would have major impact for the city.
“So it’s going to highlight projects that are for flood storage, as well as sediment transport,” Workman said.
St. Clair said the study details “quite a number of things” but the main component that the city had an interest in “was issues of water quantity, so looking at opportunity for flood storage in the watershed.”
He said the study looks at the entirety of Deeds Creek drainage, which is about 15 miles from the north side of Pike Lake and extending all the way to Whitley County.
“We initially set out, our goal was to identify high erosion sediment input sections of the drainage, so we were able to accomplish that and then we added a component trying to look at opportunities for flood storage,” St. Clair said. “So, within our study, we did spend a considerable amount of time on the ground, walking and assessing the entirety of that drainage; really a road map for the surveyor’s department in the county drainage board that they can use as opportunity for future maintenance and improvement projects.”
He said within that, they identified six priority sites that they carried all the way through to conceptual design. The feasibility study gives a detailed report on each one.
“Those are really focused primarily on issues of bank stabilization, opportunities for additional sediment, either retention or nutrient retention on site of those various areas. We have projects that are all the way at the bottom of the drainage, which we identified as Reach 1, that’s just upstream from Pike Lake; all the way to almost the Whitley County line. So I think we had a good mixture of opportunities, as far as projects.”
With that, he said, they were able to get a lot of interest from different stakeholders, including the county, city, Pike Lake Association and The Watershed Foundation.
“We anticipate the DNR LARE will continue to support these projects as they are implemented over the next number of years, either through final design or design and construction of the various projects,” St. Clair said.
While he didn’t go into details about the six projects, he said, “The overall recommendations that came from the study, we would like to implement the six priority sites that we identified. We carried those through concept designs, so those are ready either for construction or final design and construction.”
St. Clair said they’d like to look for opportunities to pursue the various flood storage areas that were identified in the study.
“We have six that we thought were set up the best as far as potential for flood storages or areas, typically that are adjacent to Deeds Creek - low-lying, marginal land. It could be with additional flood plain connection or grading. We could better connect the drainage itself to some of the surrounding areas,” he said.
There is a difficulty overall, he said, and it will take continued coordination with land owners and with the county drainage board. “They aren’t typically, of the mind, on a regulated drain to promote flood storage within their 75-foot easement that there’s. So it’s got to be opportunities where the impacts of the additional flood storage and those adjacent areas isn’t going to impact, or at lease adversely impact, the overall goal of drainage the board obviously has,” St. Clair stated.
Beyond the sites the study identified as flood storage opportunities, he said there are additional opportunities, especially in the headwaters of the Deeds Creek watershed and in those tributaries that come into Deeds Creek.
“Sometimes, on a smaller scale, the concept of wetland creation or flood storage is a little bit easier to tackle as opposed to trying to accomplish it further down in the watershed where you’ve got obviously a greater drainage area that’s coming to that point,” St. Clair said.
He said they would like to see additional opportunities “for that channel-to-flood plain connection that we talked about and detailed in the report.”
Beyond that, he said they’re really focused on bank stabilization opportunities in the downstream reaches of Deeds Creek; two-stage ditch opportunities; encouraging additional stream restoration in the headwaters streams that are there; and additional diversity in the stream bed.
St. Clair said he believes the study will not only be a good road map for the county, but also for a lot of the stakeholders in the watershed to make improvements in the coming years.
Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer asked retiring city engineer James Emans, “Where does this impact the city?”
Emans replied, “Our interest, as a city in this, the findings in this study, although it’s all in the county - sediment transport, erosion - it ends up in Pike Lake. So our focus here is the water quality. We’re interested in their findings because as they are able to implement some of those proposed projects, it has a long-term impact on the water quality in Pike Lake. Some of the other aspects, when we engaged with this group, our interest is also flood control of Pike Lake. And I saw it as an opportunity - although the study initially was focused on sediment transport and water quality, their bank stabilization, I get that. I mean, bank stabilization is a good thing, but if they don’t do those projects, all of that washes into the lake at some point.
“So the city’s interest in this project is water quality from - as they are able to implement these bank stabilization projects - that ultimately helps us out. And more importantly, is there anything they can do as part of this bank stabilization project that gives us some type of storage, because flood control on Pike Lake is an interest that we have.”
Thallemer asked, “This doesn’t raise the need or the necessity to do any more stabilization of our banks? We’re doing those projects now.”
Emans said they’ve stabilized the shores of Pike Lake in those areas that needed it.
“This is kind of a future next step. We didn’t initiate this project. It was initiated by others. But when we heard about it, we did engage with it because it benefits us as well. We just felt it was important that the Board of Works knows that, going forward, the utility is probably going to approach you at times to participate in some of these projects,” Emans said.
In 2020, the Pike Lake Association received a Lake and River Enhancement (LARE) grant from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources to complete an engineering feasibility study along Deeds Creek. The city of Warsaw provided partial cost-share for the study.
On Friday, Ryan Workman, Warsaw Wastewater Treatment MS4 stormwater coordinator, and Ross St. Clair, Cardno Now Stantec water resource engineer, gave a brief presentation to the Warsaw Board of Public Works and Safety on the Deeds Creek Feasibility and Executive studies.
Workman said, “Last February, we had invested $4,500 toward a much-larger LARE grant for the report of this, for the Deeds Creek feasibility, in partnership with other groups, since that impacts our jurisdiction but most of the projects outlie or surround our jurisdiction.”
He said Cardno was doing the project itself and St. Clair drafted the executive summary that predominantly focuses on stuff that would have major impact for the city.
“So it’s going to highlight projects that are for flood storage, as well as sediment transport,” Workman said.
St. Clair said the study details “quite a number of things” but the main component that the city had an interest in “was issues of water quantity, so looking at opportunity for flood storage in the watershed.”
He said the study looks at the entirety of Deeds Creek drainage, which is about 15 miles from the north side of Pike Lake and extending all the way to Whitley County.
“We initially set out, our goal was to identify high erosion sediment input sections of the drainage, so we were able to accomplish that and then we added a component trying to look at opportunities for flood storage,” St. Clair said. “So, within our study, we did spend a considerable amount of time on the ground, walking and assessing the entirety of that drainage; really a road map for the surveyor’s department in the county drainage board that they can use as opportunity for future maintenance and improvement projects.”
He said within that, they identified six priority sites that they carried all the way through to conceptual design. The feasibility study gives a detailed report on each one.
“Those are really focused primarily on issues of bank stabilization, opportunities for additional sediment, either retention or nutrient retention on site of those various areas. We have projects that are all the way at the bottom of the drainage, which we identified as Reach 1, that’s just upstream from Pike Lake; all the way to almost the Whitley County line. So I think we had a good mixture of opportunities, as far as projects.”
With that, he said, they were able to get a lot of interest from different stakeholders, including the county, city, Pike Lake Association and The Watershed Foundation.
“We anticipate the DNR LARE will continue to support these projects as they are implemented over the next number of years, either through final design or design and construction of the various projects,” St. Clair said.
While he didn’t go into details about the six projects, he said, “The overall recommendations that came from the study, we would like to implement the six priority sites that we identified. We carried those through concept designs, so those are ready either for construction or final design and construction.”
St. Clair said they’d like to look for opportunities to pursue the various flood storage areas that were identified in the study.
“We have six that we thought were set up the best as far as potential for flood storages or areas, typically that are adjacent to Deeds Creek - low-lying, marginal land. It could be with additional flood plain connection or grading. We could better connect the drainage itself to some of the surrounding areas,” he said.
There is a difficulty overall, he said, and it will take continued coordination with land owners and with the county drainage board. “They aren’t typically, of the mind, on a regulated drain to promote flood storage within their 75-foot easement that there’s. So it’s got to be opportunities where the impacts of the additional flood storage and those adjacent areas isn’t going to impact, or at lease adversely impact, the overall goal of drainage the board obviously has,” St. Clair stated.
Beyond the sites the study identified as flood storage opportunities, he said there are additional opportunities, especially in the headwaters of the Deeds Creek watershed and in those tributaries that come into Deeds Creek.
“Sometimes, on a smaller scale, the concept of wetland creation or flood storage is a little bit easier to tackle as opposed to trying to accomplish it further down in the watershed where you’ve got obviously a greater drainage area that’s coming to that point,” St. Clair said.
He said they would like to see additional opportunities “for that channel-to-flood plain connection that we talked about and detailed in the report.”
Beyond that, he said they’re really focused on bank stabilization opportunities in the downstream reaches of Deeds Creek; two-stage ditch opportunities; encouraging additional stream restoration in the headwaters streams that are there; and additional diversity in the stream bed.
St. Clair said he believes the study will not only be a good road map for the county, but also for a lot of the stakeholders in the watershed to make improvements in the coming years.
Warsaw Mayor Joe Thallemer asked retiring city engineer James Emans, “Where does this impact the city?”
Emans replied, “Our interest, as a city in this, the findings in this study, although it’s all in the county - sediment transport, erosion - it ends up in Pike Lake. So our focus here is the water quality. We’re interested in their findings because as they are able to implement some of those proposed projects, it has a long-term impact on the water quality in Pike Lake. Some of the other aspects, when we engaged with this group, our interest is also flood control of Pike Lake. And I saw it as an opportunity - although the study initially was focused on sediment transport and water quality, their bank stabilization, I get that. I mean, bank stabilization is a good thing, but if they don’t do those projects, all of that washes into the lake at some point.
“So the city’s interest in this project is water quality from - as they are able to implement these bank stabilization projects - that ultimately helps us out. And more importantly, is there anything they can do as part of this bank stabilization project that gives us some type of storage, because flood control on Pike Lake is an interest that we have.”
Thallemer asked, “This doesn’t raise the need or the necessity to do any more stabilization of our banks? We’re doing those projects now.”
Emans said they’ve stabilized the shores of Pike Lake in those areas that needed it.
“This is kind of a future next step. We didn’t initiate this project. It was initiated by others. But when we heard about it, we did engage with it because it benefits us as well. We just felt it was important that the Board of Works knows that, going forward, the utility is probably going to approach you at times to participate in some of these projects,” Emans said.
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